Regardless of how well you know the Care Bears, one look and you’ll know that they are definitely characters that will brighten your day.
The great news for Care Bear fans is that they’ve arrived at the Japanese-French-inspired cafe, Kumoya, for a limited time only! Kumoya has been home to a few other beloved characters before this, and now it’s finally the Care Bears’ turn.
We could hear songs from the cartoon blasting from the speakers even before we saw the cafe. The cafe itself was by no means difficult to spot, with all the bright and colourful Care Bear and rainbow-themed designs.
The interior of the cafe was modelled after Care-a-lot, home of the Care Bears. Care Bear motifs were printed on the white tables, and large Care Bear cut outs decorated the walls. Every table had its own unique Care Bear plush toy, which meant that every spot in the cafe was ‘grammable.
The menu, created in collaboration with Little Miss Bento, transformed the characters into edible works of art. Every dish incorporated the cheery bears in some way or another.
We were so excited, we couldn’t decide what to get. Thus, we got the dishes that screamed “Care Bears” the loudest: Salted Egg Yolk Fries, The Seafood Chowder you’ll Love-a-lot, and Cheer-Up Chicken Katsu.
The Salted Egg Yolk Fries ($11.90) comes with adorable bear-shaped “fries”, as well as fried potato rounds. They were crispy on the outside, and creamy and savoury on the inside. The salted egg cereal crunch made the fries even more appetising.
The dish also comes with a house-made salted egg yolk dip which wasn’t too intense. That means that you’ll be able to eat a lot of the fries without getting tired of the taste.
If we were to choose only one thing to eat at this cafe, the Salted Egg Yolk Fries would be it!
The Seafood Chowder you’ll Love-a-lot ($28.90) may seem pricey, but do note that every portion ordered comes with a five-inch tall Love-a lot beanie plush toy, so it’s a pretty good deal if you’re a fan.
The seafood chowder was filled with shrimp, squid, clams, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli. It was thinner in consistency than we expected, and we felt that it could have been seasoned a little more.
Presentation-wise, the dish featured pink beetroot Japanese rice, with the face of Love-a-lot printed with edible ink on rice paper. It was almost too cute to eat.
The Cheer-Up Chicken Katsu ($21.90) came in a very large portion, with one chicken katsu burger, a salad, fries, and mushroom soup.
The burger consisted of a crispy chicken katsu patty with teriyaki sauce, and an egg cooked sunny side up. The teriyaki sauce was the perfect balance of sweet and savoury, and paired well with the runny yolk from the egg.
The salad came with cute pieces of heart-shaped carrots and star-shaped pieces of cheese, and served as a refreshing side to eat in between bites of the burger.
The mushroom soup was very creamy, and the fries were well-seasoned. On the whole, this dish was pretty worth it!
We obviously couldn’t leave without trying some of the drinks, so we opted for the Cute Cuddly Calpis and Beary Berry Tea.
The Cute Cuddly Calpis ($11.90) came with berry-flavoured Calpis, layered on top of regular Calpis. This drink was delightfully refreshing, and not too sweet even when the whipped cream was mixed in. However, the berry flavour could have been a tad bit stronger.
In addition to the whipped cream and sprinkles, the drink also came with nata de coco; the combination of textures was really interesting!
The Beary Berry Tea ($9.90) came with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and chia seeds. We thought the berry tea tasted like a sweeter version of Ribena, so unless you’re a huge Ribena fan, we’d recommend getting the Cute Cuddly Calpis instead.
For dessert, we got the beautiful Rainbow Garden Strawberry Parfait ($18.90) which came with vanilla pudding, strawberry Hokkaido soft serve, fresh fruits, meringue drops, mixed berry sauce, and chocolate cookie crumbs.
The vanilla pudding was the highlight of the dessert for us, as the creamy pudding was so smooth, fragrant, and creamy, it made us wish we had more. The combination of the chocolate cookie crumbs, Hokkaido soft serve, and tangy berry sauce was also a must-try in our books.
After a thoroughly satisfying meal, we left Kumoya with a smile on our faces, and the Care Bear jingle stuck in our heads. These adorable characters will only be available at Kumoya until the end of March 2018, so do catch these bears while you can!
Expected damage: $30 – $45 per pax
