VE/LA, the Bangkok specialty coffee and matcha chain, opened its first Singapore cafe at Changi Airport Terminal 1 on Friday (25 September), the brand announced, and it runs 24 hours a day.
The cafe is at #01-K22, on the landside of Terminal 1 where the terminal meets Jewel, so no boarding pass is needed. It is the brand’s first airport outlet and its first round-the-clock cafe anywhere. The same menu runs through the night, in a room of warm wood, soft rounded forms and VE/LA’s signature white orchids.
VE/LA, pronounced “vela” after the Thai word for time, started in Bangkok in 2021 under founder Pete Kasidit Prasitrattanaporn and is part of the Apostofi Group. Singapore is its third country, after Thailand and the UK, where it opened on Maddox Street in London’s Mayfair earlier this year.
“Singapore feels like a place that perfects what it does,” Mr Prasitrattanaporn said. The Changi Airport team approached the brand about the site.
A Singapore-only kaya toast latte
The local exclusive is a Kaya Toast Latte at S$10, the priciest drink on the menu. Pandan kaya and coconut cream sit under the latte, which is topped with toast cubes and a drizzle of salted egg sauce. It joins the chain’s other city signatures, the Sunny Cold Brew in Bangkok and the Bangkok Latte in London.
Elsewhere on the menu, the Ube Vanilla Matcha is S$9.50 and the Cloudy Matcha, a matcha latte under a layer of cream, is S$10. The VE/LA Airecano, the brand’s take on an iced americano, is S$8.50. It is aerated with the espresso machine’s steam wand for a light, foamy top without milk.
Coffee sorted by time of day
The Changi menu follows the format VE/LA uses in London: specialty coffee, matcha and craft tea, grouped on a colour gradient tied to the time of day. A small pastry counter carries bakes from a local bakery, including a pecan cinnamon bun at S$6.80.
The stand seats about 20. VE/LA is not halal-certified.
Changi Airport MRT station is the nearest stop, with Terminal 1 linked on foot through Jewel.
