After making its appearance in the popular Korean TV drama series, “Descendents of the Sun (D.O.T.S)“, the popular Korean cafe chain – dal.komm COFFEE has finally arrived at our shores, with it’s first flagship outlet opening at The Centrepoint on 3 December 2016.
With over 160 outlets across South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, the coffee chain hopes to be the hangout spot for music lovers, as it plays a key (*pun intended) role in this lifestyle cafe concept.
Using music to enhance the cafe experience for it’s consumers, dal.komm COFFEE hopes to work with local record labels to hold ‘Veranda Live’ events – allowing artistes to promote their music, and conduct meet-and-greet sessions with their fans.
Spotting a rather industrial vibe with the use of warm lighting, the cafe feels rather inviting and sets the tone for relaxing time ahead. I must say that the music theme of the cafe really shines through with the placement of speakers, gallery frames and musical-themed ornaments.
An interesting thing to note is that all the furniture in the cafe is custom-made for dal.komm COFFEE with even the feature wall being built with imported bricks that have been salvaged from old houses in Korea.
The 120 seater cafe which occupies 3,000 square feet of space will not just be filled with tables and chairs but includes a semi-circled area in the middle section of the cafe that will be cleared for ‘Open Mic’ events.
Fans of the Descendants of the Sun series will definitely recognise the brand’s two iconic plushies. Feel free to take a photo with them so that you can immortalize your love for Big Boss or Wolf in this special moment.
In order to ensure that service standards at all dal.komm COFFEE outlets are consistent, trainers have been flown in from Korea to train the local service crew here.
With plans to open another 20 stores in Singapore over the next eight years, the flagship store also contains a dedicated facility where all staff will undergo rigorous training before dispatched to the other outlets.
dal.komm COFFEE’s aims to make their coffee just the way you like it, with four exclusively sourced Arabica bean blends that have been roasted in Korea for you to choose from. You can be ensured that each coffee drink you order is tailored to your preferred taste.
Currently only the K1, K2 and K3 blends are available, with the K4 Dutch coffee blend expected to be launched at a later date.
Wanting to try the various blends in various coffee drinks, we opted for the K2 Espresso ($4.50) which is one of the lightest roast using a blend of beans from Brazil and Costa Rica. I like that it was not too acidic with pleasant citrus notes and a mild sweetness.
If you like a blend with a fuller body, richer and stronger tasting notes go for the K3 which is a blend made with beans from Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia and Tanzania, which we had as a Caffe Latte (Hot – $6/$7 or Cold – $6.50/$7.50)
For those who hate it when their ice coffee gets more diluted as the ice melts, not to worry. dal.komm COFFEE serves a interesting chilled coffee drink called the Cube ($8.50).
K1 espresso – a blend made from Brazil and Costa Rican beans is frozen into blocks and suspended in temperature-controlled milk. You’re guarenteed a smooth creamy mix of milk and coffee that gets more intense as you let the ice melt.
Apart from coffee, dal.komm COFFEE offers a variety of other options like this cup of Mojito Black Vitali-Tea (Hot – $8, Cold – $8.50). The tea was sweet and citrusy with refreshing notes from the lemongrass and mint. The black tea bags are specially sourced and blended by dal.komm COFFEE for the Vitali-Tea collection.
Do try out the other flavours from the Vitali-Tea collection such as the Apple Lemon with fresh fruit chunks and Red Elderberry that contains a sweet mix of berries.
A special mention to their Sweet Potato Latte (Hot – $7, Cold – $7.50) which is made with a sweet potato powder using real sweet potatoes that have been steamed, mashed and dehydrated. Each whiff releases a fragrant aroma and when combined with the smooth, creamy and intense flavours of each sip. Simply irresistible!
If you ever need to hit your daily Vitamin C quota make sure you get the Honey Grapefruit – Left (Hot – $8.50, Cold – $8.90). Each cup is topped with half a fresh grapefruit that is cut into chunks for convenient eating. How thoughtful!
Drizzled with honey that is harvested by dal.komm COFFEE, each sip is refreshing mix of sweetness and tanginess. I love how you don’t get that taste of artificial sugers in the drink as only pure ingredients like grapefruit juice extract and fresh honey is used.
For fans who love their milk-based drinks, you definitely need to order the Strawberry Cube – Right ($8.50). Imagine frozen fresh crushed strawberries being mixed into the iced milk.
Stir the drink to allow the strawberries to release their pleasant sweetness and fragrance. A perfect drink to combat the Singapore weather!
I’ve had a couple of Bingsu’s in Singapore, but CHERRY TOMATO bingsu (Regular – $10.90, Large – $15.90) is a first for me! Just look at the glisttening glow of the cherry tomatoes as they sit atop of the shaved ice that has been drizzled with a sweetened milk sauce.
Plum powder is also layered in the middle section for that added zing to each bite. The halved cherry tomatoes were super fresh and biting into each piece just releases a refreshing juicy sweetness that paired so well with the other ingredients.
What’s a cafe without a selection of savouries and pastries to choose from right? We got to try the classic Korean Injeolmi Toast Red Bean ($8.50) which features pieces of chewy rice cakes mixed with red bean paste and coated with a nutty soybean powder. Honey is also drizzled on the toast for natural added sweetness.
The red bean and soybean powder helped to add flavour to the otherwise bland rice cake. I enjoyed the chewy textures in this toast but just wished for slightly more red bean in this one.
One of the must order pastries when you come to dal.komm COFFEE is the Cruffin Matcha ($11.50), with a glazed croissant-isque exterior and a muffin like interior, each order is crowned with matcha curd, whipped cream and honey.
I quite enjoyed the textures of the Cruffin which was not too heavy for a pastry. Just wished for a more intense matcha flavour which I feel is overpowered by the sweetness from the whipped cream, honey and the glaze.
To help cast the spotlight on individual artiste or band, customers will receive a Music Card with a QR code that can be scanned to access and stream a music video of the singer’s current top hit. Not only will it feature Korean music artistes but up and coming local musicians as well.
To listen to the hit song on the card, simply download the “circusAR” app from the Google Playstore or iTunes store.
The reverse side of the music card is a loyalty card, where you can get a stamp with every $10 spent in a single receipt. Collect the stamps to redeem a free drink.
Want to bring home a piece of dal.komm COFFEE with you? The brand’s iconic plushies from the show and other merchandise such as mugs and tumblrs are available for purchase as well.
Bring home the plushies with a minimum spend of $20 on food and beverages, Nekkun (Small – $29.90, Large – $89.90) and Wolf (Small – $29.90, Large – $89.90). Alternatively, bring two small sized plushies home for $49.90 and two large sized ones for $169.90. Limited stocks are available so grab them while they last!
Do look forward as dal.komm COFFEE will be introducing the brand’s proprietary tea and coffee blends for purchase as well in the future.
While the prices of the drinks here are slighty pricey, I would say that the cafe ambiance kind of makes up for it. Given how dal.komm COFFEE is featured in Descendents of the Sun and in the upcoming Korean drama series, Goblin.
Expect to see fans of the shows paying money to have a first hand experience at this music-themed cafe. Starbucks better be on the lookout, because some competition is heading your way!
Expected damage: $10- $20
