Hoji & Matcha

When it comes to Japanese food, why play it safe. At Hoji and Matcha you can unleash your adventurous side. Although not everything on their menu is experimentative and outlandish, hubby and I decided to give their squid ink spaghetti a go.
It came black as night and tasted like the sea. hubby liked it but I couldn’t stomach a second bite and went back to my boring old Kare raisu (curry rice). His lips were tsained black at the end of the meal, like he was wearing gothic black lipstick. You should have been there.
Anyway, we went all courageous and called their shoyu (that’s soy sauce) ice cream. Aha, soy sauce and ice cream or not two words that go together but when it comes to the Japanese, anything goes, It was actually delicious! Not too sweet and the salty soy sauce undercurrent really gave an asian kick to it.

Hoji & Matcha, as the name states, is a café that solely focuses on the greatness of green tea, and green tea only, and celebrates its ‘greatness’ through a variety of food.
With the iced matcha latte float being one of their main specialties, the shop also compliments the drink with matcha desserts that really makes it special to eat there. Of course, the drink itself tastes heavenly, with the ice cream really juxtaposing with the rich and creamy taste of the drink itself due to its near to flawless froth that forms around it. Other than that, there are also other green tea related dishes that are bound to tickle your tea leaf love.
That being said, I really enjoyed this place, and you should come here with all the friends you can bring to try this pretty decent place.

Hoji and Matcha is a little different when compared to the legion of café chains located in Bandar Baru Sri Petaling. Serving up Japanese themed drinks and desserts, this adorably named outlet is quick on it’s way to becoming one of Petaling’s most renowned café. From what I’ve heard, Hoji and Matcha is usually crowded over the weekends (with little or no parking spaces around at all) so my friends and I decided to pay them a visit on a Tuesday. There was still a surprising amount of people present though, but finding a space wasn’t very difficult.
The entrance of Hoji and Matcha just happens to be decked with a stunning variety of Japanese snacks, candy, biscuits, and many more colorful items that I couldn’t place. Hoji and Matcha’s menu consisted if not only drinks but also various brunch items, ice cream and a couple of noodle dishes as well. I was a little lost when it came for me to finally order up, but the patient and friendly servers there recommended I try their famous Iced Matcha Latte Float which costed me around RM12. It looked pretty appetizing at first, but be warned! The matcha latte tends to be MUCH more bitter than it is sweet. I did struggle with chugging it down at first, but got used to it’s taste over time. For all you green tea enthusiasts out there, Hoji and Matcha is a must try.

An avid food go-​er when it comes to Japanese cuisine, I’m fond of all the remixed versions of traditional foods. What a nice way to spruce up the ordinary. As this café is taking up Sri Petaling by storm, I explored deeper into their renowned theme of dishes basing upon Matcha, which is basically Japanese Green Tea.
Upon entering the café, I saw this whole decked out corner of Japanese treats, ranging from the over-​rated KitKat in a green tea flavor, some munchies, Japanese snacks, seaweed and so on. They even sold green tea as well as sesame sauce that they put in salads.
Moving on to the food, I took one of their ’ Agedashi Tofu ’ which is one of their specials. It’s just some fried tofu with some sweet sauce. Surprisingly, it wasn’t greasy nor did it feel heavy. My cousin had their squid-​ink pasta, which looked gross because everything was black. But he seemed to enjoy it. My aunt had the Chicken Katsu which she said was ordinary. However, the green tea here is VERY authentic. It had a slight bitterness to it which I had to get used to.
Prices here are affordable, but as for their desserts, it’s a bit upscale considering the portions were quite small.

Participating in the Green Tea boom in Malaysia, we have Hoji & Matcha. Focusing on these two, their dishes revolve around Hoji and Matcha as their main ingredients.
Walking into the café which is situated directly opposite of Public Bank (I have to warn you that parking is an issue), you will notice a mini market selling snacks and drinks imported from Japan. Yes, that means you’ll be able to get your Green Tea Kit Kat here! Sadly, the price of the snacks here is a bit more expensive.
I tried out their lunch set promo, RM12.90++ for a main course and drink. I ordered the Teriyaki Salmon Rice Set and picked a Matcha Latte to go with. The rice was unusually dry, I say unusual because Japanese rice are known for being moist and plump. But this was quite the opposite. The Teriyaki Salmon was delightful! It was well seasoned and not too strong on the teriyaki taste.
My Matcha Latte had more of a bitter taste than sweetness, but I guess that is what green tea is known for. The slight bitterness and earthy taste.
The staffs are very friendly. They were so patient when it came to explaining the menu to me when I asked.