Today is the last day of operations for Pompompurin Cafe at Orchard Central. Since we've never visited before, we decided to go before they are closed for good. Wanted to jio Nat along too but he had to work until 5pm... so it's just 3 of us today!
The first time I saw a Pompompurin cafe was in Tokyo Harajuku during my Japan trip with Wany a few years ago... We even went early to take a queue number so we can go in. However after waiting for a few hours we decided to leave even though it would have been our turn to go in soon, because I was having a fever and wanted to go back to the hotel to sleep. That trip was quite bad cos I fell sick early in the trip and took me a while before I recovered. Poor Wany had to go shopping on her own cos I was knocked out and sleeping in the hotel.
There were 4 different seating areas. The nicest ones are the booth seats but there were only 4 booths and the couple in front of us got the last booth. ( ͒˃̩̩⌂˂̩̩ ͒) So sad lah... So we requested for our 2nd choice which is the one at the back with the Pompompurin cushion seats. Luckily there was a table available there!
Before we placed our orders, I asked the waitress what are the gifts available cos I saw on their Facebook page that they will be handing out free gifts to their customers during the last 10 days before they close for good. The waitress said there's glass mugs, water bottles and soap dispenser.. unfortunately when we paid our bill, only the glass cups were left.
The manager who was processing our bill was a grouchy bitch who did not smile at all. I asked her about the gifts and she just rudely told me only cups left. With that tone and attitude like "Take it or leave it."... Whattttt...... I am a very friendly and polite person so I don't think there's any reason why people have to be rude to me.
Wany said maybe she is going to be out of a job so she can't be bothered with customer service at all. I think that is really unprofessional. Whether the manager was upset or angry with the management has nothing to do with the customers! As a customer service staff, you need to be professional at all times and not let your emotions or feelings get in the way of your work. If you cannot be professional about it then you should consider working in a job where you don't have to face any customers.
<(｀^´)> So angry.
Anyway... the total bill for 2 mains, 1 drink & 1 dessert is $71.75 inclusive of GST and service fee. We didn't order a lot cos Le hubby and I had a heavy brunch earlier. What we ordered is a typical order for 2 persons if they are sharing the drink and dessert. It is quite expensive, but it is a Sanrio themed cafe after all.
If it is not closing down today, will I go back again?
Hmmm... It depends. I am not a big Pompompurin fan. I am more of a Hello Kitty fan, though I also like Cinnamoroll and Gudetama. Paying $70+ for cute food which doesn't taste very good (the rice is tasteless and soooo hard!)... I think I rather spend the money on good hawker centre food... LOL! Maybe I am old already.. plus I have been to Japan so many times that it is getting harder and harder to wow me cos in Japan everything is done to perfection.
Overall I would say it was a good experience today though (other than that bitchy manager). It's a pity the cafe is closing down.. I think Singapore's market is too small to sustain a permament themed cafe. A pop up cafe will be more ideal cos you can always change the theme according to what's the latest trends. Just like what THE GUEST cafe & diner in Tokyo is doing.
