Halo Ube & Matcha is open at 100AM, 100 Tras Street #01-05, in the unit that used to be Hvala Kissa. The Hvala team swapped a decaf coffee concept for purple yam and matcha drinks that start at S$4. HungryGoWhere's Zawani Abdul Ghani reviewed it in 2026. Tanjong Pagar MRT Exit A is a five-minute walk. Weekdays run 11.30am to 8.15pm. Friday to Sunday, 10.30am to 9.30pm.
Why the Kissa lasted months, not years
Hvala founder Andrea Tan won the Singapore National Brewers Cup in 2015 and spent a decade making matcha a default cafe order. The group runs teahouses and a three-storey Keong Saik shop. Hvala Kissa opened at the end of 2025 as a decaf-focused coffee room. Halo replaced it fast. That looks twitchy until you taste the menu. Filipino dessert shops have sold ube for years. 2026 is the year it jumped onto bubble tea boards and supermarket shelves. Hvala got there first in a mall that feeds the Tanjong Pagar lunch rush.
The room still seats about 20. Industrial fit-out, no plush chairs, QR or counter order. Auto-stir bases mix the ube and matcha so the cup is even. You can set sweetness from less sweet to extra sweet. That scale is coarser than a bubble-tea percentage. Ask for less sweet on the banana pudding coffee anyway. Wani found it sweet even on the low setting.
Order the pudding coffee, not the safe latte
Ube banana pudding coffee is S$7.50. Ube banana pudding is stirred through coffee and finished with Biscoff crumbs. It drinks like a thick smoothie with a caffeine kick. Banana leads. Coffee is still there. Skip it if you wanted a clean latte. Ube liquid mochi hojicha is S$6.90. Stretchy liquid mochi replaces pearls. Hojicha's roast sits against ube earth. That is the balanced cup.
Ube matcha latte at S$6.90 is the average one. Fine if you want no thinking. Weak next to the two drinks above. Matcha latte, iced matcha strawberry latte at S$6.90, and iced hojicha latte at S$6 sit for people who refuse ube. Tisanes and a yuzu drink cover the no-caffeine table.
Desserts, timing, and who this shop is for
Ube brownie with gelato is S$12.90, dense chew, vegan Sicilian pistachio gelato on top. Worth a solo plate after a late lunch. Ube mochi tart is S$9.90, cookie shell, ube filling, coconut Chantilly, mochi skin. Share it. Sweetness stacks. Ube pound cake is S$5.50. Ube gelato is S$5.90 and tastes closer to vanilla than earthy yam.
Go after the weekday lunch crush. The room goes quiet, no playlist, a few occupied tables. Walk-ins only. Office takeaway is the main traffic. You will not linger two hours. You will get a S$4 drink in a precinct where many cups cost more than a kopitiam breakfast. That is the South story, not another Orchard matcha queue.
Practical Details
- Dates: Opened 2026, ongoing
- Time: Mon-Thu 11.30am to 8.15pm; Fri-Sun 10.30am to 9.30pm
- Venue: Halo Ube & Matcha, 100AM #01-05, 100 Tras Street, Singapore 079027
- Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar (Exit A, about 5 minutes' walk)
- Price: Drinks from S$4; banana pudding coffee S$7.50; brownie with gelato S$12.90
- Website: Instagram @heyhalosg