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Platform 1094
Theme cafes that are inspired by long running movie franchises would often enjoy a good run, especially if the movie series is still running or much talked about. However, if the cafe is modeled after J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter franchise, throwing in props, costumes and "magic" that enable customers to participate, then the interactive nature of the concept would ensure the cafe's greater longevity.
Singapore's Harry Potter inspired cafe is called Platform 1094. The name was adopted from its address along 1094 Serangoon Road, although searching for Harry Potter Cafe on Google would probably also lead you to this place. The folks behind this theme cafe are the similar ones who brought in Blue Willow (now closed), the avatar themed blue cafe that once operated from Clementi. It is no wonder that creativity runs deep in this group, as several of the food and drinks served here are certainly iconic to the theme. 
The food is also of fairly good quality, with this crab meat Aglio Olio being one of its signatures. Spaghetti prepared in a spicy sauce, the dish is served with crab meat slices, smoked salmon and fish roe. extremely generous and flavourful servings which made it a very popular choice here. the same cannot be said for another of its featured mains, the HP lamb shoulder. I guess, lamb dishes could be a hit or a miss at casual diners and for this restaurant, we found the meat a tad too rubbery and really difficult to bite through.I guess, other recommended mains could be alot easier to cut up. 
another fascinating feature of the cafe would be its really creative cake designs. This book of spells cake is actually part of the cafe's thematic offering, termed Sweet Treats of the Wizardry World, the chocolate cake is as tasty as it looks photo-worthy. other cakes and desserts there are also designed to the magical spirit of Harry Potter and are also commonly featured on social media posts. To top it off, the cafe is interactive, providing patrons with costumes, props such as magic wands and other figurines to make the experience more complete. 
if the desserts are much talked about, then the drinks here would be the champions. in fact, one of its drinks is probably the signature feature of the whole cafe. Mr Lich's flaming brew could well be the main highlight when people talk about this cafe. the blue drink is literally flaming when served, and customers can even sprinkle cinnamon powder over it to create that goblet-of-fire effect. Butterscotch beer is also a signature for the Harry Potter cafe in London, over here they have tweaked the drink slightly to a Butterscotch ale that is sweet, delicious with alot of froth. On the whole, we were greatly impressed by this experience, the cafe had several interactive elements, there were several cakes and drinks that stuck to the theme and were great for the camera and the general food quality was good.. just stay clear of the lamb. 
Platform 1094 1094 Serangoon Rd Singapore 328192 Opening Hours Tuesdays to Fridays: 11 am to 10 pm Saturdays & Sundays: 10 am to 10 pm (closed on Mondays) Welcoming Wizards & Witches since 2016.. Labels: #brunchcafe, #butterscotchale, #crabmeataglioolio, #harrypottercafe, #platform1094, #thematiccafe Blue Willow
there are several gimmicky concepts within thematic restaurants in Singapore, with most of them revolving around animated characters or a costumed theme. and in this ever saturated industry of quirky dining concepts, we managed to discover a themed restaurant that stood out not just for the effort and consistency in delivering the idea, but more importantly, the quality of its food as well.
Blue Willow is located along Clementi Road, near the Kent Ridge bus interchange and famous for its nearby prata shops that almost all NUS students would have fond memories of. the restaurant prides itself for being the only blue themed restaurant in Singapore. everything here from the fit out, to the lighting and the natural ingredients used to prepare the dishes includes an element of punchy blue colours. The Western-fusion cuisine served up here is generally on point, and the clever use of blue colours add to its photogenic quality. 
The starting inspiration of this cafe would be its blue wine. Probably one of the few places to serve up the Spanish Gik brand - the wine is a natural blue colour made from the skin of grapes used at the vineyard. the sweet taste of the drink makes it extremely palatable to wash down and over at Blue Willow, it is a popular choice that can either be chosen by the bottle or by each glass. with this joint being operated by the same group of young entrepreneurs behind Platform 1094 (the wizardry themed cafe), do ask for any other colour changing cocktails that may not be on the menu. 
in terms of their standout main dishes, we enjoyed this serving of the Blue Willow's Barramundi, a flame grilled fish dish that was already fragrant when served. decked with beetroot, baby spinach and splashed with blue mustard cream sauce, we enjoyed the freshness and tender texture of the fish. The other main dish that we ordered, the Grilled pork loin, was also very juicy and well accompanied by a generous serving of zucchini, eggplant pesto, mashed potatoes and mayo sauce. under the blue lights of the restaurant, the mains are as Instagrammable as they are tasty. 
the desserts here are another "attraction" by themselves. Needless to say, the cakes are in bright blue colours. we picked the Blue Velvet cake and this dome shaped mousse-like cake called Tea by Lupicia. We particularly enjoyed the latter, because we simply love sweet stuff, and the chocolate mousse infused in tea and a tinge of Gik wine makes it one refreshing dessert. All in all, we found our visit truly experiential dining. from being able to interact with the colour-changing cocktails, to the discovery of blue dishes and their distinct natural tastes to enjoying desserts in the al-fresco backyard of blue, we rate this as one of the best thematic restaurant experiences we had in recent time. 
Blue Willow 28 Clementi Road Singapore 129754 Opening Hours Tuesdays to Fridays: 12 pm to 12 am Saturdays & Sundays: 11 am to 12 am (closed on Mondays) The blue Alfresco seating backyard opens from 6 pm.. Labels: #bluethemed, #bluewillow, #bluewillowsg, #bluewine, #clementiroad, #thematiccafe, #westernfood Kumoya Singapore
Themed cafes typically have shorter shelf lives, depending on the longevity of the character that their food revolves around. Kumoya Singapore tries to angle this somewhat differently; while riding on the revival of Miffy - the rabbit which surprisingly existed before Hello Kitty, in Singapore as well as positioning itself in the heart of the Kampong Glam conservation district and getting its full halal certification, something that not many themed cafes can offer.
the cafe itself of course centers around Miffy, with plush figurines of the bunny in various sizes being found all over the store. customers could pose for pictures with them, practically dine with them, or even include them in their Instagram shots. alot of Miffy merchandise are also available for sale, from the giant plush to smaller items like coasters and key chains. Quite certainly, the food are all presented with everyone's favourite bunny in different forms. 
We went for their signature main dish called the Splashing Good Fun Japanese seafood curry rice. the rice is moulded into the shape of Miffy and served with various breaded seafood as well as Japanese curry. nothing fancy, but just the most thematic of all the main courses served here. we also tried the Egg-citing Miffy smoked duck cold pasta which was actually the tastier dish, but other than a Miffy boiled egg, this dish doesn't quite have a unique design to it. seems like we ought to go for form over substance in this instance.. 
the dessert choices all exude cuteness that probably makes this family restaurant a hit with the social media junkies. This Bellylicious Belgian chocolate lava cake comes in a package of cotton candy, Hokkaido soft serve, a Miffy cookie and a molten lava cake. probably the most value for money of the desserts. Cotton candy seems like a recurring concept used for the popular desserts and we also had a Miffy original orange soda that has a huge Miffy cotton-ball on top of it. while the desserts are balls of fun, a big let-down was the organization of the service crew - who couldn't handle the concept of desserts being served later. so you either have got to receive your mains and desserts all at once, or you'd have to go again to order your desserts after you're done with your mains. how silly.. 
in all, this thematic cafe is a series of hits and misses. certainly a must-visit for Miffy fans and a cosy hang-out for families with young children. the halal-certification is also a plus as this makes them more inclusive in Singapore's multi-racial community. for the neutrals, the food is rather pricey and pretty much average. the whole idea of handling the desserts was also quite silly, especially when they were quite amply staffed on the day we visited. i guess, once for the experience is what this place is about - unless you're a big fan. 
Kumoya Singapore 8 Jalan Klapa Singapore 199320 Opening Hours Sundays to Thursdays: 12 pm to 9 pm (closed on Mondays) Fridays & Saturdays: 12 pm to 10.30 pm Enjoy unique Japanese-French inspired food in a cheery, all-white setting.. Labels: #frenchjapanesefusion, #jalanklapa, #kumoyasingapore, #miffycafe, #thematiccafe Gudetama Cafe (Singapore)
there are usually a few question marks surrounding thematic cafes, from their food quality to the sustainability of the concept. this is even more so for Gudetama, the Japanese egg character with pretty much single dimensions. Nonetheless, the throngs of crowds since they opened their doors at Suntec City seem to prove otherwise, and more importantly, food reviewers actually praised the food..
the whole store is designed around this character - who represents a lazy egg literally. besides the instagram-worthy food itself, there are a few photo opportunities within the store from the cushions, the seats to some life-sized figurines. we kinda liked the egg-shaped pods for family dining, thought it was rather cute. after a 30 min wait (on a Monday evening) and an overdose of the theme song played from its video wall, we finally got into the cafe. 
there is effort for every dish served to showcase the character itself. right from the get-go with appetizers and this Gudetama Lobster Onsen, a rich lobster bisque served inside a crispy bread. the soup is actually not bad, though not many patrons were game enough to finish the bread. the mains were a little bit off colour on our visit, although we know that they could do better from the blog reviews online.. 
we tried the Lazy Surfer, which is essentially a platter of seafood dripped in a spicy sauce and served with pineapple rice. there's a 'Bo Chup' tag on the rice (could be explaining the chef's mood) to represent the laziness but the overall portions and quality of the clams, squids, prawns and fish was normal. the other dish we tried was the Eggcited Cajun Chicken with Waffles, which was a tad disappointing due to the soft texture of the waffles. the sauce turned out to be the same one as the lobster bisque which was somewhat repetitive, overall a pretty bland dish. 
the drinks were also themed and turned out to be pretty refreshing cocktails. there's also a whole line of desserts from their cake bar, to their signature Shoyu Ramen dish (it's actually a pastry) that is worth a try. The overall thematic experience at Gudetama Cafe (Singapore) is probably memorable, but do come prepared for a fairly long wait, and a slightly pricey meal. We probably shouldn't complain when an operator creates an eggciting new concept to liven up our otherwise drab retail scene, so thumbs up for effort and certainly something worth a visit. 
Gudetama Cafe (Singapore) #01-61 Suntec City Mall 3 Temasek Blvd, Singapore 038983 Opening Hours Mondays to Thursdays: 9 am to 10 pm Fridays to Sundays: 8 am to 10 pm the food is freshly prepared using quality and natural ingredients without any MSG and preservatives.. Labels: #gudetamacafe, #gudetamacafesg, #sunteccity, #thematiccafe |
..ThE lEgEnD..
Last Movie: Ad Astra
Golden Village, Singpost Centre 
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