COCONUTS HOT SPOT – No, there won’t be any masked fighters flinging ninja stars at you or challenging you to a sword fight at Ninja Bowl. Instead, this new 46-seater is casual and chic, retaining a similar industrial-style décor to its predecessor, Department of Caffeine. But don’t expect the usual boring line-up of eggs benny and waffles here – it’s all about the titular Ninja Bowls.
Eight options feature on the menu, all of them hearty and affordable. First off, pick your base: go carb-free if you’re watching your diet, or toss in some garden greens for an additional $2; white quinoa will set you back $3, while $2 gets you orzo pasta with honey, multigrain mustard, miso and chilli, or ninja rice, a mix of vinegar-y Japanese pearl rice and brown rice with seaweed flakes.
Meat lovers can take a swing at Noka ($14), a combination of braised beef cheek, roasted pinenuts, baby corn and an onsen egg. The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, complemented by a homemade soy sauce. Or try the Kabuki ($14) for juicy pieces of deboned chicken thigh splashed with miso, soy sauce, garlic and honey, and topped with pickled beets, snow peas, an onsen egg and fried shallots.
If you can’t live without your daily dose of Japanese chashu, the Buta ($14) is what you want. Think fat slices of cured pork belly, blow-torched for a smoky char, nestled next to pickled apples, roasted pumpkin and topped with an onsen egg.
For a refreshing pick-me-up, we recommend the healthy Polynesian-inspired Yasai ($16), filled with chunks of salmon poke drenched in soy and ponzu sauce, mixed sultanas and an onsen egg. Since the restaurant’s got all bases covered, other options include scallops and mussels, pan-seared tuna tataki and grilled unagi. At this point, it’s really up to your personal preferences, ‘cause you can’t go wrong with any of the menu items.
All-day brunch items are also on offer, ‘cause they know we Singaporeans love our café brunches. But hold up, this isn’t your typical brunch menu – its got more of a Japanese slant to it. The Tokyo Superfood ($19), for example, features a scoop of white quinoa topped with hunks of tuna tataki, crunchy cauliflower, shimeiji mushrooms, sweet corn and a sunny side up.
For those who simply can’t wrap their head around the idea that brunch doesn’t have to be about French toast and pancakes, here’s a sweet alternative: The Fancy French ($16). A thick piece of brioche slathered with fig jam, honey and hazelnut butter, then surrounded by a colourful mix of plums, green grapes, figs and edible flowers, this dish is the one most likely to invade your Instagram feed.
Ninja Bowl’s barely a month old, but we’re already impressed with the one-bowl meals. And aside from the occasional indulgent treat (like bacon tempura and tempura cauliflower), we don’t even have to worry too much about counting calories here – they’ve sure made healthy eating a whole lot easier on us.
Ninja Bowl is at 15 Duxton Rd, 6222-8055. Mon-Fri 9.30am-7.30pm, Sat & Sun 9am-6pm. Dinner service will start at the end of May.
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