The fusion-of-flavours movement is gaining traction among restaurants and cafés in Singapore. Many have attempted with marrying Japanese and Italian cuisine; while some have succeeded tremendously, others have gone awry with their attempts. But Mo’mor Izakaya seemed undaunted by the unsuccessful attempts by others, and has come up with a new brunch menu with a Japanese-European twist.
In case you’re wondering – I did – Izakaya (Japanese: [izakaja], ee-zah-la-yah) is a type of informal Japanese gastropub. Indeed, Mo’mor Izakaya serves tapas food and an extensive range of alcohol, including Japanese whiskies. But this gastropub transforms into a contemporary café in the day to satisfy the taste buds of brunch aficionados.
Scrambled Egg & Home Smoked Salmon
We began our feast with their signature Scrambled Egg & Home Smoked Salmon (S$22.90). Let’s be honest – this breakfast dish is commonly available in many brunch places, and so where’s the wow factor, I mentally asked myself. But a mouthful of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs was sufficient to dispel my apprehension towards the dish. For one, the texture of salmon was on point. I loved how the chef infused the Japanese concept of sashimi into this. Unlike most of the smoked salmon I’ve had, the smoked salmon on this dish was not too salty.
You’d be surprised at the amount of effort put in to perfect the taste of this salmon: cured in-house in a medley of salt, sugar, spices and herbs for the first 24 hours, it is then vacuum-packed for the next 24 hours before being served. The croissant that accompanied the smoked salmon was fragrant and crispy. Top it off with fluffy and moist scrambled egg and we’re good to go.
Since Mo’mor’s scrambled eggs didn’t disappoint, we decided to put their poached eggs to test as well. The Slow Cooked Poached Egg & Jamon Serrano Ham (S$23.90) features pasteurised organic eggs that are cooked at exactly 61.9 degree Celsius for 1 hour and 35 minutes. Each poached egg sits on slices of Jamon Serrano ham, sautéed wilted spinach and mentaiko muffin. Yes, you’ve read that right – mentaiko. With the intention of infusing Japanese elements into an ordinary European brunch dish, the chef cleverly played with the idea of adding marinated roe and Pollock to bread, an idea that most of us would never have thought of. Although the taste of the muffin wasn’t all that extraordinary, I was more than satisfied with the poached egg and thinly-sliced flavourful ham.
Slow cooked poached egg and Jamon Serrano ham
Next up, we had the Mo’mor French Toast (S$17.90), a must-try item on this brunch menu. Importing the idea of deconstructed dish from Japanese cuisines, this plate consists of multiple delights beautifully assembled together. The French toast is baked with buttermilk, cinnamon milk and topped with cornflakes to achieve an extremely crunchy exterior and tastes almost like biscuit. It comes with two generous scoops of Matcha ice cream and Azuki bean paste. If you’re a fan of all things sweet, this dish would be perfect for you.
Mo’mor French Toast
We ended the meal on a sweet note with the Buttermilk Waffles (S$17.90) – a hearty dessert with multiple pieces of waffles accompanied by a scoop of peanut butter ice cream and pan-seared bananas. While the serving size makes it value for money, it wasn’t deeply satisfying taste-wise. Sadly, the waffles turned soggy shortly after it was served. If there was one thing that I look out for in my waffles, it would be the external crisp and internal fluffiness. A pity those elements were not really long-lasting in these waffles.
Buttermilk Waffles
While the Butter Milk Waffles could have fared better, my overall brunch experience at Mo’mor deserves a thumbs-up. This Japanese-European fusion menu turned out to be way better than I expected. Perhaps, it’s high-time to ditch the passé forms of food fusion and try Mo’mor’s novel attempt.
Mo’mor Izakaya
56 Tanglin Road
B1-01 Tanglin Post Office
Singapore 247964
Tel: +65 6463 8080
