COMO Cuisine: Signature Bhutanese Favourites In Singapore At Como Dempsey 

Well-known for its line up of international cuisine, COMO Cuisine takes inspiration from each and every one of its hotels.

The restaurant is located within the tranquil Dempsey hill area, where you can unwind and enjoy your food. 

Como Cuisine’s decor exudes a botanic ambience with aesthetic hanging plants dangling from the ceiling. The furniture included simple tables and minimalistic chairs which added a chic touch. 

If you wish to enjoy the serenity of nature, you could also choose to sit at the restaurant’s al fresco dining area.

Ambience aside, the main highlight of the restaurant is, of course, the food.

COMO Cuisine prides itself on preparing each of its dishes from scratch. Chefs at the restaurant only use organic produce and the freshest in-season ingredients that are sourced locally in the most natural and sustainable way.

In order to get a better understanding of the dishes at COMO Cuisine, we managed to speak with their new Executive Chef, Chef Tshering.

Originally from Bhutan, Executive Chef Tshering Lhaden’s passion for food took her to many different places. From the landlocked Himalayan Kingdom, where she started as a Commis Chef at COMO Uma Paro, all the way to the Caribbean and the Maldives.

There, she spent almost a decade working in the kitchens of COMO Hotels and Resorts, before returning to Bhutan in 2016. After stints as Executive Sous-chef at COMO Uma Punakha and COMO Uma Paro—where she successfully launched an authentic Bhutanese menu—Chef Tshering now heads the kitchen of COMO Cuisine at Dempsey Singapore.

Cooking, for Chef Tshering, is as much of a science as it is an art. She believes that learning is a perpetual process and her biggest wish is to pass down her skills and knowledge to the younger generation. 

We began the meal with some complimentary sourdough bread paired with olive oil, served as an appetiser. The bread had a nice springy texture and an adequate amount of sourness that was very much to my liking.

However, I personally felt that the crust of the bread could be slightly crispier as it was rather tough to bite into. Overall, it was a relatively delicious dish which opened my appetite. 

This vibrant dish served up after the sourdough and olive oil pairing is the Nuts And Seeds Cracker (S$16). This dish is a customer favourite and is also one of my favourite dishes. Constructed with an array of different seeds and nuts, it’s topped with a light and creamy cashew nut cream.

For that extra crunch, cauliflower tabbouleh was added over the top with a sprinkle of pomegranate. Cauliflower tabbouleh is a Levantine vegetarian salad made mostly of finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Since Chef Tshering is Bhutanese, we decided that we should try mains that are inspired by the cuisine in Bhutan—such as the Green Bamboo Rice Bowl (S$24). 

The dish also includes a side of miso dressing that is to be tossed with the ingredients. The star of this rice bowl is the all-natural, aromatic, short-grain white rice infused with bamboo juice. It had a mild flavour that was similar slightly herbal, similar to green tea.

This dish reminded me of a poke bowl but with clear Bhutanese influences, and it came with freshly-diced salmon in the middle. Other greens that were present in the dish were seaweed, red radish and spiralised zucchini. 

The other main dish that we ordered was the Tandoor Cauliflower (S$22) with an add on of Spiced Chicken (S$6).

There was also an accompaniment of bland tahini yoghurt to pair with the burst of flavours from the spiced cauliflower. The tandoori sauce coated the entire cauliflower and had such a lovely smoky flavour and fragrance to it. 

For dessert, we tried out Chef Tshering’s all-time favourite—Pandan Crepe (S$14). Unlike regular crepes with layers to it, this crepe wraps around a lovely decadent filling of whipped cream and fresh mangoes.

The whipped cream wasn’t too sweet and complemented the tangy flavours of the mango really well. The pandan fragrance came through as soon as the plate was brought to the table and had fragrant floral notes.

There was also a creamy and luscious scoop of coconut ice cream that paired fantastically with the crepe wrap. For a bit of crunch, there were also crackers scattered alongside the ice cream. 

It was a pleasure being able to speak to Chef Tshering about her journey at COMO Cuisine. It was also a big eye-opener for me and to be able to try these wonderful Bhutanese delicacies that I can rarely find in Singapore. If you’re looking for a different culinary experience, come enjoy these scrumptious Bhutanese dishes for yourself. 

Expected Damage: S$35 per pax