Kumoya – Delicious Food at a Hip Japanese Cafe!

The storefront of Kumoya

Kumoya at the Jalan Sultan area has some really delicious Japanese-inspired food. We love their mains and their yoghurt parfaits. They have also partnered with Compound Coffee to bring you delicious artisanal coffee. We highly recommend coming down here for lunch or dinner with dessert.

The Jalan Sultan area between the Bugis and Lavender MRT stations is really a food paradise rivalling East Coast Road. Bordered by Jalan Sultan to the east and Arab Street to the west, you can find super delicious cafes like Artistry and Symmetry juxtaposed with super delicious hawkers like Zam Zam and Kampong Glam. Only the best eateries survive here and Kumoya is in a tough neighbourhood.

For the more experienced, Kumoya is the reincarnation of the previous Karafuru Desserts in the same location. With an initial focus on desserts such as eclairs and yoghurt parfaits, Kumoya has introduced a limited selection of mains such as their Tempura Soft Shell Crab, Karaage Chicken and their breakfast platter, aptly named ‘Breakfast‘. All their mains are served with their signature pancakes!

Service and Ordering

The interior is really crisp and shiny. We love how bright everything is. Here at Kumoya, you won’t go wrong with any of their mains. For a dedicated dessert place transitioning to a fuller menu, we were really impressed with the standard of food that we sampled.

Kumoya – Breakfast

This is Kumoya’s rendition of the typical Sunday brunch. With a perfectly done hash brown, fluffy pancakes that go so well with maple syrup and super crispy bacon, this is a classic. For western brunch fans, this would be a good option. We rate this 4/5 and it is priced at S$16.90.

Tempura Soft Shell Crab

This is one of those soft shell crab dishes where you can eat the whole crab, every single part of it. You can try Kumoya’s signature fluffy pancakes that are included here as well! It is served with wasabi mayo sauce. The crab was as crispy as it should be, and it had a great flavour to it. We rate this 4/5, and you can get it at S$16.90.

Karaage Chicken

This was my favourite main of the bunch. The karaage chicken here is made to perfection. This is a common and easy-to-make food, and when the chef is able to make something so typical this outstanding, it is quite a testament to his skill. You need to have the correct battering and deep-fry duration to produce crispness and flavours of this standard. The chicken goes very well with the provided tomato shoyu sauce.

We rate this 4.2/5 and you can get it at S$14.90.

Sakura Yoghurt Parfait

Kumoya has some really great desserts, and this Sakura Yoghurt Parfait was our favourite. A parfait is a rich cold dessert made with whipped cream, eggs and fruit, while the ‘Sakura’ here ostensibly refers to the Japanese cherry blossoms – this is a very instagram-worthy dessert, and the colour and design is definitely a nod to the cherry blossoms.

There is a small cup of delicious strawberry sauce that you can pour all over the yoghurt! It looks great and more importantly, it tastes great. The yoghurt here beats llaollao’s rendition by a country mile, with big shiokness as you eat the flavourful strawberry sauce with the smooth and creamy yoghurt. The cereal and the souffle cheesecake go very well together with the yoghurt. There is also vanilla pudding!

We rate this 4.3/5 and you can get it at S$14.90.

Petite Eclairs

These are miniature bite sized eclairs that come in a tremendous multitude of flavours! Targeted at corporate events, these are sized so that you can try many flavours. The flavours are really exquisite and exotic. There is yuzu, matcha, sakura, passion fruit, pistachio, blackforest and hazelnut, amongst others.

We’re not too sure about the pricing for this because of its size – S$3 per piece, S$11.50 for 4 pieces, S$17 for 6 pieces, S$32 for 12 pieces and S$86.40 for 36 pieces. In terms of taste we give these 3.8/5.

The Drinks – Yuzu Fresh Soda and Cappuccino

Yuzu is a citrus fruit that is commonly found in Japan, and it is something of a hybrid between a mandarin orange and grapefruit. The yuzu juice is freshly made at Kumoya, and we must say the combination with the Schweppes Soda Water was fantastic. The new trend in town is really carbonated juices from Korea and Japan, and those taste really good. We rate it 4.2/5 and you can get it at S$7.50.

The cappuccino from Compound Coffee gets a 4/5 for its smooth and fragrant brew. It is priced at S$6.

Final Thoughts

Kumoya’s owner Joseph is a really cool guy. He was previously an Art Director and it really shows in the ambience of the cafe. For this invitation, we were really impressed with the food. We’re pleased to say that Kumoya has recently adjusted their prices downwards (latest prices are reflected above), for a more wallet-friendly experience!

We do note some comments that the mains don’t make you super full. Well, we think that each dish has just enough food to give you just a bit of space for their delicious desserts! You must get their desserts after your mains. We rate Kumoya a must-visit, and we must say that it is a place that you will easily fall for.

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