Another new and under-the-radar café has opened in the Bugis district, this time at Middle Road. It can be slightly hard to find, so go towards the direction nearer to Shaw Tower.
“Kokoro” which means “heart” in Japanese, supposedly focuses on clean eating.
Their objective is to encourage diners to eat whole foods, and dishes that has gone through minimal modern processing.
For that matter, I wasn’t entirely convinced, and I reckon this is largely because they are new business owners and probably need to fine-tune the menu.
When I asked for recommendations, the very first thing suggested was the Baked Eggs with Baby Spinach and Smoked Chicken Sausage ($16.80).
Clean eating. Sausage. Hmm…
Also, the crowd around the Bugis area are typically the young working adults and students, and the idea of “clean eating” in reality, typically hits people of a certain age. “Kids” really don’t mind having deep fried chicken and buttery waffles of a thousand calories.
So the challenge is how to offer them healthy, wholesome food that is appealing. Although this will be tricky, perhaps some references can be taken from the Sydney and Melbourne cafes.
To be fair, I thought that the Baked Eggs dish was decent, especially in terms of its crispy, buttery croissant and side spinach salad tossed with in-house yuzu dressing.
The server asked for feedback, and I told her the presentation probably needed some work.
In this context and this era, café food needs to have a certain “look” to appeal to potential diners. It doesn’t have to be OTT-instagrammable, but it should look more professional. Just my 2 cents.
The other recommended items included Chicken Mimono ($15.80) – bone-in chicken thigh in combo broth with mushrooms and root vegetables; Miso Ratatouile ($14.80) – classic French provençal vegetable stew with white Japanese rice; and Matcha Yogurt Granola Bowl ($12.80).
Good to know that many of the dishes are cooked from scratch with no added MSG, and with less salt.
As the business is a collaboration with Two Bakers, some of the cakes and sweets are worth a try.
If you are up for a dessert, get the Matcha Chiffon ($8), topped with matcha Chantilly cream, hojicha cream, and cocoa nib.
Kokoro
43 Middle Road, Boon Sing Building #01-00 Singapore 188952 (Bugis MRT)
Tel: +65 6924 0673
Opening Hours: 9am – 6pm (Sun, Tues to Thurs), 10am – 10pm (Fri & Sat), Closed Mon
Other Related Entries
Bobii Frutii (Suntec City)
Belle-Ville (Bugis Junction)
Good Old Days Bistro (Beach Road)
LePak At Rayz (Bussorah Street)
Twenty Eight Cafe (Wilkie Road)
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