As one of the most anticipated theme cafe openings of 2016, Gudetama Cafe Singapore has some pretty high expectations to fulfill. After all, there’s already a Hello Kitty and a Pompompurin Cafe in existence, not to mention the re-opening of the Pokemon Cafe — so what does the new Gudetama Cafe have to offer the jaded palate of the Singapore J-pop fan?

Good food in great portions, plain and simple. Compared to the offerings of recent theme cafes (not to mention upscale bistros and brunch places), the food at Gudetama Cafe Singapore is all robust flavors and playful fun. We ordered truffles fries, soup, the gigantic Nua breakfast, and the shoyu ramen desert that will mess with both your mind and your palate (it’s actually chocolate cake and panna cotta that looks like ramen and tofu).

What the cafe still lacks though, is the flair, polish, and attentiveness form its staff that its more established sisters like Hello Kitty Garden Cafe have. We’ve had a bit of trouble getting our water glasses refilled, our food was served a little late for our liking (only the truffle fries arrived on time — good management decision there!), and when everything was said and done, was charged a fee for the questionable service (which is to be expected, since it’s a theme cafe).

Overall it was a good experience, and we may do a repeat with friends and family (hopefully the staff has ironed out the kinks by then). Expect more from the lazy egg that could (but doesn’t want to) as the cafe prepares for its grand opening in a few weeks time. Maybe I’ll even be convinced to roll out of bed and chow down on another cone of fries, mabe two…