Kafe Utu Tasting Session - Part 1

Kafe Utu Tasting Session - Part 1
12 Jiak Chuan Road

Opening Hours:
Tue - Sun: 8am - 5pm (All-Day Brunch), 6pm - 11pm (Lounge & Tapas),
Closed Mon


https://kafeutu.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kafeutu/

This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session, but I did pay the standard price during subsequent visits.
Attended with representatives from Chubby Botak Koala, Purple Taste, Emily.EatingThyme, MsJaniceEats, Fonda Tjang, Geeky Elephant, Alter Alter Ego, msginginly, Her Pen And Fork, and NAHMJ Food, Travel & Lifestyle Blog.

Cocktail Malaika (SGD $16)

Delicious Kenyan & Liberian Dishes (Part 1 of 2)

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 10
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 8
Budget about SGD $35 per person.


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Opening in early January 2019, Kafe Utu is an all-day brunch and lounge bar concept which brings a little slice of East Africa and West Africa to Singapore. Established by owner Kurt Wagner (trivia: X-Men Nightcrawler has the same name), who owns a chain of successful restaurants in Nairobi, Kenya, the name 'Kafe Utu' loosely means 'Cafe Personality / Humanity' in Swahili. An exciting, novel dining destination with a unique character, my main concern with Kafe Utu is that the average Singaporean would find African cuisine too exotic, and generally be unable to visualise it. Fortunately, the dishes at Kafe Utu are not just visually pleasing, but delicious as well.

Kafe Utu Signage

Kafe Utu Facade

Ambience at Kafe Utu is amazing. Kurt has designed and decorated the place beautifully, styling it like a comfortable living and dining room. No expense has been spared, and I'm secretly glad that they've stayed away from African clichés like wildlife decor or savannah themes. Instead, the warm lighting and sturdy wooden high tables and booths are comfortable, clean, and welcoming. I notice most of the wooden tables are really solid, hand carved from a single tree trunk. There's indoor and outdoor seating, spread across 3 levels, with spaces set aside for 2 lounges, and 2 bars.

Kafe Utu Logo

Kafe Utu Exterior

Kafe Utu Interior

Seating Outdoors

Seating Indoors

The Bar on the 1st level functions as a coffee bar, supporting their all-day dining menu. By contrast, the Bar on the 2nd level is the typical cocktail and drinks bar, supporting their lounge and tapas dining menu.

Bar

Bar

The Lounge on the 2nd level acts as a comfortable living room, decorated with artwork and books, with the 2 centerpieces being the plush sofa with sturdy wooden coffee table, and the wall length, hand carved mirror. The Lounge on the 3rd level is more open, allowing children some space to play, but also hosts their wine chiller and coffee grinder.

Lounge

Lounge

The low hanging, warm lights overhead on the 2nd level are clad in hand woven Rattan Lamp Shades. The Stairs are lit for easy guidance day or night, and the Lounge has several showcase photo books and paintings from around the African continent, such as A Window On Africa Ethiopian Portraits By Hans Silvester.

Rattan Lamp Shade

Light & Plant

Stairs

Volkswagen Beetle Wire Frame

Book - A Window On Africa Ethiopian Portraits By Hans Silvester

The solid, heavy wooden doors are hand carved from Mninga (African mahogany wood), by Swahili craftsmen and artisans. There are 2 distinct indigenous design patterns. The Carved Door, Zanzibar Design is on the 1st level, beside the entrance. It features a lotus flower surrounded by palm leaves, symbolising prosperity and protection. The surrounding rosette patterns symbolise the sea, and seaborne trade. The Carved Door, Kenya Design is on the 2nd level, separating the Bar from the Lounge. It features a blooming sunflower motif, symbolising happiness and health.

Carved Door, Zanzibar Design

Carved Door, Kenya Design

Several paintings by mixed media artist Janet Taylor Pickett decorate the Lounges. Her artwork has strong themes of flora and fauna, alongside humans / people, usually adorned in bright, colourful clothing, in settings of everyday life. A gallery of larger-than-life photographs adorn the wall on the 1st level. These portraits of indigenous people in traditional garb watch silently and stoically over diners. Short descriptions below each photograph briefly describe the subject, bringing their stories to life.

Artwork Her Offering Was Illuminated By Janet Taylor Pickett

Artwork An Offering & They Came With Offerings By Janet Taylor Pickett

Photograph Wato Dilo

Photograph Wato Dilo

Photograph Aichatou Boulanza

Photograph Aichatou Boulanza

Service at Kafe Utu is personable and engaging. The Founding Team feels like a family, which bodes well for owner Kurt Wagner, as happy staff are generally more productive and less likely to leave. Staff are friendly, showing good product knowledge on the menu, able to make recommendations, and introduce dishes when they serve. They are proactive, offering to clear away finished plates throughout the meal, as well as changing cutlery for the upcoming course. Staff also clean up quickly when diners leave, resetting tables for the next guest. I like that they check for feedback on the dining experience.

Kafe Utu Founding Team, Source Credits: Kafe Utu

Kafe Utu Founding Team, Source Credits: Kafe Utu

Barista Mark Chan works the Espresso Machine, a LaMarzocco Leva, producing aromatic, award-winning brews with Japanese Hokkaido milk and Coffee Beans Ubuntu; the latter a blend of 3 coffee beans sourced from Uganda, Brazil, and Mexico. The result is a signature blend, less acidic than elsewhere, with deeper nutty chocolatey roasted flavours - hints of cashew nuts and brown sugar, subtle notes of red wine, caramelized apricot acidity, with an intense dark chocolate finish.

Espresso Machine

Coffee Beans Ubuntu

Brewing Coffee

Barista Mark Chan Brewing Coffee

Mixologist Chris Alvarez heads up the bar, creating beautiful and tasty cocktails. They only use premium liqueur here, none of the average stuff. Even their syrup mixers are home made.

Making Cocktails

Mixologist Chris Alvarez Making Cocktails

Food at Kafe Utu is focused on Kenyan cuisine, Liberian cuisine, and American cuisine. It would be inaccurate to say they offer African cuisine, because that's so broad and varied, it's the equivalent of saying Asian cuisine. Instead, it's better to describe their offering as East African cuisine and West African cuisine, focused on all-day brunch, local snacks and desserts, and signature recreated indigenous dishes. Helming the kitchen is a talented young Singaporean Chef, Darren, who through understudying the Kenyan chefs from the original chain, and through trial-and-error, has recreated the textures and flavours from the continent. His dishes are approved by not only the owner's family, but also Kenyan and South African customers. In fact, 90% of their items are made in-house, from desserts, to jams, to sauces.

Menu All-Day

Menu Beverages

Menu Lounge

Menu Premium Liqueur

Dishes are hearty and filling, about medium to large for an individual, and may be shared. Textures in each dish are distinct, standing out clearly. Flavours are bold, punchy, derived from the freshness of the ingredients, alongside several imported ingredients to ensure a close authentic taste on the palate. They've also adopted a novel idea for storage of their stock; simply place them in large bowls, and lay it out in the open, lending a fresh, vibrant aesthetic to their lounge living rooms. The Kenyan cuisine and Liberian cuisine here is at once comforting and familiar, yet novel and exotic. Prices are mid-range, comparable to most other restaurants, budget about SGD $35 per person for a meal at this dining destination.

Meal Flat Lay

Bowl Of Lemons

Bowl Of Chili

They serve glasses of Water (SGD $Complimentary) in a square mug, which is a little tricky to drink from. I found it's best to drink from a corner of the water glass, to reduce spillage. These glass mugs are hand blown by African artisans, and are called 'Kitengela'.

Water (SGD $Complimentary)

The Fresh Berries Smoothie (SGD $9) features a thick, grainy, rich berry smoothie, a blend of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and unsweetened Greek yoghurt, topped with a cherry. It has a fruity sweet sour flavour, refreshing and sharp on the palate.

Fresh Berries Smoothie (SGD $9)

The Malindi Latte (SGD $6) features the smooth, nutty chocolatey toasted notes of the Ubuntu coffee beans and the fullness of fresh Japanese Hokkaido milk, enhanced with a little garam masala spice. Interesting hit on the palate, and I understand this is a popular way of drinking coffee in Nairobi, Kenya.

Malindi Latte (SGD $6)

Malindi Latte

The Ibada Ritual (SGD $6) sounds strong and stiff, with 4 shots of Ristretto espresso extracted over chilled Japanese Hokkaido milk. But on the palate, it feels like a double shot, lacking the pronounced bitterness and acidity of arabica coffee beans, instead having a mild sweetness. It's an Arabic word translated to mean 'worship' or 'obedience with submission to God'.

Ibada Ritual (SGD $6)

Ibada Ritual

With its already pronounced nutty chocolatey toasted notes, the Mocha (SGD $6) here is more rich and chocolatey sweet than elsewhere. Almost like a Hot Chocolate, except with roasted toasted coffee bean flavour. They've used Mörk Chocolate Original in this, a blend of cacao powder, 100% cacao liquor, and unrefined coconut blossom sugar. Notes of apricot, almonds, and strawberries, are rounded off with hints of toffee and lingering dark chocolate. Very fragrant.

Mocha (SGD $6)

Mocha

The Bidi Bado (Abracadabra) (SGD $7) is a Swahili style mocha, a unique blend of Ubuntu coffee beans espresso, Japanese Hokkaido milk, and Mörk Chocolate Original powder, with a rim of natural peanut butter, pink peppercorns, and toasted almonds. This has a rich, thick texture, with a slight grainy chew. Has a bold earthy nutty chocolatey sweet spice flavour, rather deep. Novel and unique taste.

Bidi Bado (Abracadabra) (SGD $7)

Bidi Bado (Abracadabra)

The Cocktail Dawa (SGD $16) features a blend of calamansi juice, orange juice, lemon juice, honey, and white rum, decorated with pomegranate seeds and orange zest. This has a fruity sweet sour zesty tangy flavour, with undercurrents of boozy strong liqueur. Fairly jarring contrast. Served with a 'dawa stick' - a hand carved wooden stirrer of Kenyan design, made from African black wood (the same wood used for musical instruments like the clarinet and oboe). I learnt that 'dawa' means 'medicine' in Swahili, and the Kenyan community consider it the ultimate folk remedy for all ailments.

Cocktail Dawa (SGD $16)

Cocktail Dawa

The Cocktail Eden (SGD $16) features a blend of organic gin, pineapple juice, and lemon juice, decorated with a basil leaf. This has a bold fruity sweet flavour, with a touch of sour notes. Quite refreshing.

Cocktail Eden (SGD $16)

Cocktail Eden

Not your usual Cocktail Gin And Tonic (SGD $16) here, they've made it into a pretty, ladylike tipple. A slender stem is filled with a blend of gin and East Imperial tonic water, decorated with strawberries, blueberries, rosemary, and edible flowers. Has delicate fruity sweet floral boozy notes. Among the best looking cocktails here.

Cocktail Gin And Tonic (SGD $16)

Cocktail Gin And Tonic

The Cocktail Calamansi & Cucumber Mojito (SGD $18) features a blend of calamansi juice, cucumber juice, mint leaves, soda water, and white rum, decorated with thyme and a cucumber ribbon. Has a grassy vegetal sweet herbal zesty flavour, makes for a good summer tipple.

Cocktail Calamansi & Cucumber Mojito (SGD $18)

Cocktail Calamansi & Cucumber Mojito

The Cocktail Green Mamba (SGD $16) features a blend of fresh cucumber juice, lemon juice, soda water, and cilantro infused vodka, decorated with a green chili and a cucumber slice. This has strong herbal vegetal bitter flavours, and didn't appeal to me.

Cocktail Green Mamba (SGD $16)

Cocktail Green Mamba

Love the Cocktail Malaika (SGD $16), which features a blend of fresh watermelon juice, fresh lemon juice, soda water, and vodka, decorated with a salt rim, a bird's eye chili, a watermelon sphere, and edible flowers. This has a refreshing fruity sweet spicy flavour. Very enticing yet thirst-quenching, with a sharp fiery bite that fades quickly.

Cocktail Malaika (SGD $16)

Cocktail Malaika

There's so much to say about our visit to Kafe Utu, and the fantastic dining experience we had. Continue reading with Part 2 of our Kafe Utu review, here.


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