Weets Eats: Komyuniti has great starters and youthful vibe
Seemingly out of nowhere, Yotel Singapore popped up on Orchard Road, surrounded by Shaw Centre, Pacific Plaza and the Royal Thai Embassy.
Yotel is a chain of trendy hotels targeted at youthful travellers, and the Singapore outlet is vibrant. The youthfulness extends to its food and beverage outlet Komyuniti.
Located on the 10th level, every wall and corner is ready for social media, the servers are young and attractive, and there are charging stations everywhere.
Even the food and drinks seem to want to attract the young - the cocktail programme is complex, while the food menu is simple.
But even though the latter is much like what you will find at any other cafe, there are gems.
I was surprised by how much I liked the buttermilk fried chicken ($13). The tenderness and juiciness of the chicken pieces were intact, and that bed of sweet potato mash was pleasing.
Komyuniti has an unusual savoury cocktail called Chaussettes ($18) with truffle vodka, cheese syrup and truffle oil, and it should go with chicken.
Another good dish for drinks is the fried brussels sprouts ($9). Again, there was nothing innovative about it, but it is an easy bar dish with a hint of sweetness and lots of crunch.
It is not a surprise to see salmon poke ($13) on the menu, considering its target audience.
What was pleasantly unexpected was the side of crackers. If they had offered belachan with it, it would have been perfect.
A couple of the mains proved problematic though.
The roasted pork belly ($19) looked promising, but the first bite into that soggy cap was the start of the downward spiral.
The meat was tough, there was no variety in texture, and then you have the sad chewy pork skin. The sides did nothing to help.
The price is great but it did not matter how cheap it was, it was not worth the money.
I also tried slow-roasted duck breast ($20), but it was so unremarkable that I had forgotten I ate that until I checked my notes, Instagram feed and photos on my phone. And even then, I had no impression of it.
My suggestion is that you order a few cocktails - a lot of them are fun and tasty - and starters, skip the mains and move on to the desserts, because those are good too.
My favourite from the dessert menu is the caramelised banana cake ($10). The banana cake was beautifully moist and flavourful, but it was the subtle and creamy toasted barley ice cream that won me over.
Komyuniti
Level 10, Yotel Singapore, Tel: 6866-8000
Opens Sunday to Thursday, noon to midnight;
Fridays, Saturdays and eve of public holidays, noon to 1am
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