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All aboard! Welcome to Platform 1094 (not to be confused with Platform 9¾ of course). A bistro and bar where you can come dressed in your best robes, waving a magical wand and no one’s gonna judge you.
Located along 1094 Serangoon Road, Platform 1094 serves modern western food with a local twist. Opened by the folks behind Fresh Fruits Lab, this is their second outlet and we heard there are plans to open another cafe in the East as well.
The interior of Platform 1094 takes on a warm shade of brown with wooden floors and tiled walls, with sturdy furniture reminiscent of a particular popular (and unfortunately fictional) wizarding school.
As we settled into the seats, we were presented with menus detailing creative sounding dishes that we couldn’t wait to dig into. As for the drinks menu, it’s categorised into Coffee, Japan imported Lupicia® Tea, Potions (Smoothies), Poison (Cocktails) and Bottled Beer.
To spice things up a bit, we had the Goblet of Fire ($15). Order this and you are in for a magical moment.
The Goblet of Fire came as a big cup of Blue Curacao Liquer and lime juice. The staff then torched a spoonful of Bacardi 151 rum before pouring it into the blue mixture.
With cinnamon powder sprinkled for effect, the flames will catch onto the trails of flammable powder in the air, and you’ll get a flaming Goblet of Fire that any wizarding headmaster would be proud of.
The Goblet of Fire was quite a simple cocktail with a hint of bitterness from the curacao, slightly aromatic and balanced with the addition of sour lime juice. The accompanying theatrics is what really made this drink a winner.
Another signature is the Sleeping Draught ($12), served in a rosy pink glass. Elegantly presented, it comprises of a mixture of rum, ginger ale, banana schnapps, cherry, pineapple and orange juice. It had a lot more body and tropical flavours as compared to the Goblet of Fire.
One of the ‘Magically Delicious’ dishes on the menu is the Pesto Mayo Pork Ribs ($22) – a slab of poached pork ribs topped with pesto mayo. The accompanying brown butter-cream sauce was drizzled on the huge plate, with a generous portion of vegetables such as corn, beetroot and broccoli.
The pork ribs were quite tasty on their own, even without the aromatic sauces. The meat was tender but not the fall-off-the-bone kind. At a price tag of $22, it was quite affordable.
The Crab Meat Aglio E Olio ($17) was our favourite dish, featuring spaghetti with shredded crab meat, smoked salmon and tobiko tossed in a butter beurne monte sauce. Mix all the ingredients evenly together and you’ll get a nice tiny crunch of the tobiko in between bites, along with shredded crab meat for texture.
This dessert came almost too beautiful to be eaten.
The alcohol-infused Bloodberry ($18) is an intricate dessert that even comes with a chocolate wand! Two chocolate shells filled with Hoegaarden Rosee mousse (with berry foam) and yoghurt parfait (with honey caviar) respectively, came served on a bed of chocolate soil, macaron sticks and fruits.
Overall, the mousse and parfait were light on the palate, and the dessert was not too sweet. Definitely Instagram-worthy too!
Keen to try some Black Magic ($16)? Here we have a medley of black sesame panna cotta, squid ink profiteroles, crispy charcoal bread, black tuile, blackberries and a chocolate wand. A very interesting concept that you won’t find anywhere else in Singapore.
I mean, how many places actually serve a totally black dessert right? Taste wise, the panna cotta was dense with a gooey jam filling, while the charcoal bread added some crunch to the overall texture.
Platform 1094 is a really fun place to be at. While the mains were pretty interesting, the pride and joy of the restaurant seems to lie in the desserts. I guess the amount of effort that goes into each dish and plating sort of justifies the price, but it’s still a bit steep considering the portion size.
With the sudden emergence of so many themed cafes in Singapore, perhaps it’s finally time to satisfy all the muggles out there.
Expected Damage: $20 onwards
