Hello Arigato (Joo Chiat)

Our Review On Hello Arigato

We were at Joo Chiat on a Sunday Afternoon and we decided to try out luck to have our lunch at Hello Arigato, a minimalist-looking small cafe that serves Japanese Sandos and is always hard to get an empty table without reservation.

Just happened that a pair of customers were leaving and there were no other reservations, we were given a small corner table. Yeah, to a good start!

Hello Arigato - A Shelf Of Merchandise — A Shelf Of Merchandise

Scan This QR Code For Menu and Orders - Hello Arigato — A Shelf Of Merchandise

Though the place was quite crowded, the personal service from Hello Arigato was good. They gave us another chair for us to place our bags and told us to scan the QR Code at the corner of the table for their Menu and then place our orders at the counter.

They also have this big shelf of merchandises on the side and this tablet which you can see one of their staffs walking multiple times towards it – check on reservations, online orders?

Payment Counter - Hello Arigato — Their Payment Counter

Bottle of Antipodes Sparkling Water — Their Payment Counter

After we had decided what to eat, we placed our orders at the Payment Counter (no receipt was given) and we were shortly served with this bottle of Antipodes Sparkling Water – some nice story behind this water brand.

The Joo Chiat Menu, Recommended Items And What We Ordered

Hello Arigato has another (first) outlet at Upper Thomson and they have some varying items on their menus.

They serve various categories like Small Plates, Sandos, Pastas, Coffee, Sodas, Sweets, Bakes, Beers, Natural Wines, Modern Sakes and Classic Wines.

We ordered their Tamago Sando ($14), Teriyaki Sando ($15), Yuzu Frizz ($6) and Iced Black Coffee (Double Shot, $6). Above prices already included GST but exclude 10% Service Charge. Total cost for this meal – $45.10.

If you do not have any particular cravings, they have recommended items like Hello Twister Fries ($13), Gyu Sando ($26), Ebi Sando ($20), HCG Sando ($16), Kinoko Udon ($18), Sakura Ebi Udon ($22) and Hello Arigato Shibuya Toast ($14).

The Food Taste

— Yuzu Frizz

The Yuzu Frizz drink was served first. This drink was made of Yuzu Juice, Citron Jam and Lemon Slice according to the Menu.

Drink was not mixed and so the citron jam was all at the bottom. Yuzu Juice tasted really strong of Yuzu Taste and the Citron Jam was really gooey when scooped. We did not mix the drink too well in case the whole drink got too sweet (healthy living). This was generally a nice drink but we would have preferred it to come with a paper straw as drinking in contact with the ice made the drinking somehow troublesome.

— Iced Black Coffee (Double Shot)

The Iced Black Coffee (Double Shot) came together with the Yuzu Frizz. For $6, the size was small and we thought it was not valued for money. Until we took a sip… the coffee taste was really thick (that explained the Double Shot) with slight bitterness towards the end. We had to drink some water to dilute the bitterness so somehow we were thankful that the size was that small.

— Tamago Sando

The Tamago Sando came next. According to the menu, this was made of Japanese Egg Mayo, Tamagoyaki, Ajitama Egg and Japanese Milk Bread.

Cross Section - Japanese Egg Mayo, Tamagoyaki, Ajitama Egg, Japanese Milk Bread — Cross Section – Japanese Egg Mayo, Tamagoyaki, Ajitama Egg, Japanese Milk Bread

Ajitama Egg - Hello Arigato — Cross Section – Japanese Egg Mayo, Tamagoyaki, Ajitama Egg, Japanese Milk Bread

We liked eggs so we enjoyed the Tamago Sando a lot. With one bite, we got different texture (well-cooked and runniness) of the eggs because of the mixture of Japanese Egg Mayo and Tamagoyaki. The Ajitama Egg has a tinge level of sweetness and good to eat on its own. The milk bread was also not overly toasted and had the slight crisp to it.

The amount of egg ingredients was in right proportion as well as we did not get bloated at the end. This was also served with a spoon which was helpful in scooping the fallen (and messy) eggs in the wrapper.

— Teriyaki Sando

The Teriyaki Sando was served shortly and this dish was made of Fried and Glazed Chicken Thigh, Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, Lettuce and Japanese Milk Bread.

Cross Section - Fried and Glazed Chicken Thigh, Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, Lettuce and Japanese Milk Bread — Cross Section – Fried and Glazed Chicken Thigh, Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, Lettuce and Japanese Milk Bread

Fried and Glazed Chicken Thigh - Hello Arigato — Cross Section – Fried and Glazed Chicken Thigh, Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, Lettuce and Japanese Milk Bread

As compared to the Tamago Sando, the Bread from the Teriyaki Sando was well toasted and the bread doesn’t have any burnt taste or crumbs affecting our taste buds. This Teriyaki Sando was also not dripping with any excess teriyaki sauce (maybe due to the lettuce).

We thought the chicken thigh meat was rather tender, well marinated with the teriyaki sauce and the mayo gave it an even thicker sweet taste. This dish was served with a fork which we guessed it’s for picking out the meat.

Final Thoughts

We were sharing the dishes so we tried to tear apart the paper wrappers and they were pretty tough and not that easy.

We were also eating with the paper wrappers around the sando and at times we took a few bites off the paper wrapper.

Due to limited seating capacity, Hello Arigato has this 90-minute seating policy and we were able to have our meals within 60 minutes inclusive of waiting. Towards the end, one of the staffs (we believed could be the Manager) collected our plates and even asked for our views on the food tastes and drinks – a good gesture.

How To Get To Hello Arigato?

Addresses:

314 Joo Chiat Road Singapore 427565 (Google Maps)
227 Upper Thomson Road Singapore 574359 (Google Maps)

Opening Hours:

Hello Arigato Joo Chiat:

Tue – Fri 0900 – 1700 HRS
Sat – Sun 0800 – 1700 HRS

Hello Arigato Upper Thomson:

Tue – Fri 1100 – 1600 hrs
Tue – Sun 1800 – 2100 hrs
Sat – Sun 1000 – 2100 hrs

Useful Links: