Hello Kitty Cafe, Superhero Cafe, Gudetama Cafe, and many more. Singapore has recently caught up with the cartoon cafe trends and more restaurants with unique character themes are seen sprouting up everywhere. If you are not into the cutesy girly themes, why not try out the magical wizardry cafe – Platform 1094 in the heartland of Serangoon?
I was deciding between a Superhero or “Harry Potter” themed cafe to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday, but decided on the latter as I have also not visited this place before, and yes I want to take videos of their signature cocktail drink! #hiddenmotive #stillasurprise
I tried to make a booking beforehand but reservations are only allowed at certain timings and there was a private event at 3pm. Thankfully, we only waited about 10-15 minutes before getting a table. The cafe is a little small hence there may be some constraints in taking photos especially if you are taking a small table. No complaints though!
Cafes/ Restaurants with interactive elements are really attractive, at least to me for sure. I love that there are props and figurines available at the shelf to complement your food photography. Kids will probably be fascinated with the wands as they can pretend being a wizard. I thought that the wand props are really cute even though they are not part of the Harry Potter wand series.
Platform 1094 menu:
The Goblet of Fire ($15; contains alcohol) is a recommended choice, not for the taste but the novelty. Once again, if you can play with the food, it’s a yes for me.
My bf find the drink very normal and nothing impressive. The drink is ignited with a blowtorch before we shake in cinnamon powder to create the sparks and flames. It is definitely insta-worthy, but is it worth $15? That depends on your priorities. For me it’s a yes, but I will only order it once.
Wild Mushroom Soup ($9) was slightly high on the price tag but it was the best dish of the day. In the first place, the cauldron already won my heart. The ingredients were perfectly balanced with the right amount of thickness, taste and texture, with real mushroom bits. I’m a fan of truffle oil and mushroom soups go really well with truffle. In fact, this was one of the better mushroom soups I have ever tried.
I ordered the Crab Meat Aglio Olio ($17) and bf had the Labanese Grilled Chicken Pasta ($16). While we find the flavours unique compared to other cafes, the execution fell short of my expectations. I have to say they were really generous in the portion especially the flying fish roe. But with all the overall ingredients added together, I found the flavor too overpowering for my palate. I wish they could tone down the taste a little more.
I also find the lunch/brunch menu lacking in terms of variety, perhaps it would be a better choice to visit Platform 1094 for dinner when there are more meat choices on the menu.
I reserved their signature dessert – Bloodberry ($18; contains alcohol) to surprise my bf instead of a cake as I have already prepared a cake for him during dinner together with our friends.
Bloodberry includes 2 chocolate ball shells, 1 filled with yoghurt parfait, and the other with Hoegaarden Rosee mousse, topped with berry foam and honey caviar. From an unbiased perspective, $18 for fine dining desserts seem like a reasonable price to me, and the food plating was quite exquisite. Taste wise, I wouldn’t say it impressed me much as the the flavours were not that noticeable.
Perhaps it’s just us, but we would rather pay for the normal cake slices.
While the food isn’t really to our liking, I personally feel that it is still worth a visit for the Harry Potter/ Wizard theme, especially if you are really into character or themed cafes. The staff managing the Facebook was really helpful in sending me information about the desserts and helping me arrange the surprise!
Oh and did you know that Platform 1094 is under Fresh Fruits Lab? Read my review here: http://mons-diary.blogspot.sg/2015/08/fresh-fruits-lab-chemistry-high-tea-set.html
Platform 1094:
1094 Serangoon Rd, Singapore 328192
Contact: 6204 6003
