Gourmet Chocolate at ION Orchard: Royce' Nama Counter

A 20-piece box of Royce' Nama Chocolate costs S$21 at the Hokkaido brand's counter on level B4 of ION Orchard, unit #B4-10, 2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801. For anyone searching gourmet chocolate near me around Orchard Road, this is the stop where Sapporo's best-known souvenir is sold chilled, by the box, without a flight to Japan.

ION Orchard sits directly on top of Orchard MRT station, served by the North South Line (NS22) and the Thomson-East Coast Line (TE14). Exits 3 to 6 and 8 to 9 open straight into the mall's basement levels, so on a rainy afternoon you can reach the chocolate without stepping outside. Take the escalators down to B4, the food level, and look for a cream and brown counter with a long refrigerated case running along its front.

The counter is a takeaway shop, not a café. There are no seats, no drinks and no plated desserts, just shelves of boxed products and a cold cabinet for the fresh items. Staff pack purchases in paper carriers, and most visits take five minutes. That speed is part of the appeal: you can pick up a gift between a lunch on B4 and a train home, which is how many office workers use it.

Royce' was formally established in Sapporo in July 1983, and its official timeline lists one line for 2001: the company's very first shop abroad opened in Singapore. That makes this city the brand's oldest overseas market, older than the many airport counters in other Asian hubs. Today Singapore has seven branches, from Takashimaya to Tampines Mall, and ION Orchard is the most central for visitors walking the Orchard Road strip.

The chocolate is still made in Hokkaido. The company's head office and Ainosato factory are in Kita-ku, Sapporo, and its larger Royce' Town factory is in Tobetsu, about 30km north of downtown Sapporo, according to the brand's English FAQ. The current president is Yasuhiro Yamazaki. Product dates on the official timeline show how the range grew: Pure Chocolate in 1990, Nama Chocolate in 1995 and Potatochip Chocolate in 2002.

Nama, meaning fresh, is a ganache-style chocolate cut into soft squares and dusted with cocoa. Every Nama box on the Singapore shop is S$21 for 20 pieces weighing 125g, whatever the flavour. The list covers Au Lait, Champagne made with Pierre Mignon, White, Matcha, Mild Milk, Mild Cacao, Ecuador Sweet and Ghana Bitter. Each box comes with a small wooden pick, which you will need, because the squares melt on warm fingers.

Au Lait is the version most first-time buyers choose, a milk chocolate with cream and a little liquor. Ghana Bitter suits anyone who finds Japanese chocolate too sweet. Matcha divides opinion: the green tea flavour is gentle, closer to a latte than to ceremonial tea. If you are buying for a group with mixed tastes, two boxes of different flavours cost S$42 and make a simple tasting at home.

Potatochip Chocolate Original costs S$20 for a 190g pack. Wavy, salted potato crisps are half-coated in milk chocolate, and the salt-and-sweet contrast is why the product has a following well beyond Japan. It keeps for only one month and should stay below 25°C, so it is a gift to hand over soon rather than to post. Buy it once; it is better than its novelty name suggests.

For gifts that travel more easily, look at the shelf items. Pure Chocolate Milk, 43% cacao, is S$12 for 20 thin tablets and keeps for three months. Chocolate Wafers Hazel Cream are S$18 for 12 pieces, and the Nutty Bar Chocolate box of six is S$17. Matcha Almond Chocolate costs S$27. Skip the S$100 Royce' Collection Red unless you need a corporate present; the individual boxes are better value.

The Singapore FAQ is direct about storage. Nama Chocolate and Petite Truffe are temperature-sensitive and belong in the chiller section of a refrigerator, and the product pages specify 10°C or below. These two items, along with Potatochip Chocolate, have a one-month shelf life, while most other products last three months or until the printed expiry. Afternoon heat on Orchard Road will soften a box within minutes outdoors.

Plan the purchase as your last errand before going home or back to the hotel fridge. If you are flying out, buy Nama on the final day and keep it in a cool bag. The Japanese head office does not ship overseas because chocolate melts easily, and Royce' Singapore delivers within Singapore only, at S$15 per location with chilled transport and arrival within seven working days.

Royce' products are not Halal-certified, which matters when buying for Muslim friends or colleagues. Several items contain liquor, according to the FAQ: Nama Champagne, Bitter, Au Lait, White and Matcha, the orange and kirsch versions of Petite Truffe, and the rum raisin bar. The company says most of its other products are free of both liquor and gelatin, so ask the staff to point out which boxes fit your needs.

For company gifts, the website lists tiered discounts: 5% off orders from S$500, 10% from S$1,000, 12% from S$2,000 and 15% from S$5,000. Those apply to corporate orders placed with the Singapore team, not to a single walk-in purchase. Liquor-free choices for a mixed office include Petit Truffe Praline at S$15 and the Potatochip tin, both simple to share across a meeting table.

B4 is ION's food level, so weekday lunch between noon and 2pm brings crowds from the offices around Orchard Turn. Weekend afternoons are busier still, especially before Chinese New Year and Christmas, when shoppers buy boxes by the bagful. The quietest time is shortly after 10am opening, when the cabinet is fully stocked. If a queue has formed, it moves quickly, because almost everyone knows exactly which box they want.

If the Nama flavour you want has sold out, walk to Takashimaya at 391 Orchard Road, about ten minutes along the street. Royce' has a counter in its Food Hall at B205-2-2/3, open 10am to 9.30pm. Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road, #B1-23, is the other central branch and stays open until 10pm, which helps if you finish dinner late in the Civic District.

Address: #B4-10 ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801. Hours: daily, 10am to 9.30pm. Nearest station: Orchard MRT (NS22, TE14), with basement exits into the mall. Prices in this guide come from the brand's Singapore web shop: Nama S$21, Potatochip Chocolate S$20 and Pure Chocolate S$12. Bring a cool bag in the afternoon, and refrigerate Nama within an hour of buying it.