We’ve been blessed with a boom of adorable character-themed restaurants (remember Miffy, Gudetama, and Pokémon?) in the last few years and joining the gang this year is the mischievous Crayon Shin-chan.
Yes, the young Japanese rascal (who is the star of a manga series illustrated by Yoshito Usui) has arrived at our shores with his friends and family thanks to a partnership with Kumoya.
The Crayon Shin-chan x Kumoya pop-up officially launched today (5 May) and AVENUE ONE was invited to a media preview to check out the animated world of Shinchan and his limitless antics at the café that’s located at Jalan Klapa in Bugis.
Read on to find out what we think about the cheeky yet kawaii menu that’s designed by Shirley Wong (a.k.a Little Miss Bento) together with the Kumoya kitchen crew to reflect Shin-chan’s naughty, prankster nature.
Crayon Shin-chan x Kumoya: what’s on the menu + review
While the previous Little Twin Stars and Molang menu editions at Kumoya were all about sweet, pastel hues, Kumoya has now undergone a drastic makeover to reflect Crayon Shin-chan’s loud and cheeky style. Cut-outs of the wacky Japanese character and his friends grace the walls of the café as well as tabletops in various colours.
What can you expect on the menu, you ask? One word: butts – which is pretty apt, if you ask us since Crayon Shin-chan is known for constantly dropping his shorts and mooning at anyone around him.
To start, snack on a variety of fried items such as Hand Cut Truffle Fries (S$13.90), Hand Cut Nacho Cheese Fries (S$12.90), Golden Sweet Potato Fries (S$12.90), and Karaage Chicken with Shoyu Glaze (S$14.90).
You can also munch on Teriyaki Chicken Sticks (S$13.90) as well as a bucket of Stars Hash Brown with Sweet Potato Mochi Balls (S$12.90) – the latter is the pop-up café’s special that we tried during the sneak preview.
The crunchy deep-fried hash brown stars tasted like yummy tater tots, which contrasted nicely with the semi-sweet purple and yellow sweet potato mochi balls that were soft and chewy.
Moving on to the mains, the highlight is definitely the So Mischievous Japanese Seafood Curry Rice (S$26.90) which depicts the mischievous side of Shin-chan with fluffy Japanese rice “butt”, cheddar cheese and carrot stars, fresh garden salad, and golden fried karaage seafood on the side.
Seafood lovers also have another option to consider, which is the Shiro And The Lucky Stars Ebi Burger (S$24.90) that is served in Goma mayo sauce on a fluffy white Shiro mantou.
Like a mix of sweet and savoury? Then, go for the It Ain’t Heavy. It’s My Pancakes! (S$26.90) – this plate will get you a stack of fluffy house-made pancakes alongside a generous piece of signature marinated golden fried chicken with lemon sauce, scrambled eggs, baked beans, cheddar cheese and carrot stars as well as fresh garden salad.
There’s also Chill-To-The-Max Pomodoro MeatBalls Pasta (S$23.90), which we surprisingly enjoyed. The spaghetti was well-cooked with a hint of spiciness and the beef meatballs also seemed to have been made from scratch by hand as we got bits of soft bone as we bit into them.
Our plate also had plenty of pomodoro sauce to go around, so each bite of pasta we took was covered with the yummy house-made sauce. Our only gripe was that the chef may have gone a little heavy-handed on the seasoning as the last few spoons of the dish started becoming a tad salty for our liking.
No meal is complete without desserts, and at the Crayon Shin-chan x Kumoya pop-up, you can choose from a handful of delightfully sweet creations such as the Sunny Aloha Chocolate Lava Cake (S$22.90) and Shinchan Fuji-san Chiffon Cake (S$21.90) – both of which feature Hokkaido milk soft serve, fresh tropical fruits, and fluffy cotton candy along with the cakes.
The star of the show, however, is the Relaxing Onsen Pudding Parfait (S$22.90) which is definitely worthy of an Instagram post. Besides the butt-shaped custard pudding, this dessert also features a special dry ice effect to resemble a relaxing onsen experience!
Cheeky presentation aside, we definitely think the taste of this dessert was equally matched with the theatre. The custard pudding was melt-in-your-mouth soft, as was the grey-coloured meringue “pebbles”.
But wait, there’s more! Upon digging past the blue-coloured cream, we were greeted with a surprise that was made up of a matcha sponge cake, rice puffs, matcha cream, strawberry slices, and mini mango cubes.
Although it was made for social media, Kumoya certainly nailed the taste as well with a good balance of sweet, sour, and bitter from the green tea.
Complementing your meal is a wide range of beverages that will surely put a smile on your face while you quench your thirst. There’s this Piak! Piak! Matcha Frappe and Piak! Piak! Mango Frappe (S$13.90 each) featuring the same soft custard pudding in the onsen-like dessert.
There’s also the Kamen Shinchan Hot Latte and Waniyama-San Shinchan Hot Chocolate (S$10.90 each) that feature an edible cap of the cartoon character in two different costumes.
Signature Iced Chocolate and Signature Iced Latte (S$11.90 each) are also on the menu, which scored high marks for the presentation but were rather average in terms of taste.
For something more refreshing, go for the Let’s Swim Iced Lychee Tea and Let’s Swim Iced Mango Lemonade Tea (S$12.90 each) which comes with a mini doughnut topper. Each drink is served with a limited-edition café-exclusive Crayon Shin-chan coasters – there are a total of four adorable designs for you to collect while stocks last!
Overall, we definitely think the presentation was exceptionally on point without sacrificing flavour or serving portion. You definitely need to pay the pop-up a visit if you’re a huge fan of the Japanese cartoon.
What’s more, you’ll also be able to get your hands on a range of exclusive Crayon Shin-chan merchandise to add to your collection. At the time of writing, the imported goodies are still in transit and are said to be available from 17 May onwards. In the meantime, you can bring home a box of six handmade macarons (S$22.90) to enjoy while bingeing your favourite Crayon Shin-chan episodes at home.
Where to find Crayon Shinchan x Kumoya Cafe
The Crayon Shinchan x Kumoya pop-up is available for a limited time only – you can find it at 8 Jalan Klapa, Singapore 199320.
It currently opens from 12pm to 9.30pm on Tuesdays through Sundays (closed on Mondays) – be sure to make a table booking via Chope as seats are limited. Do also note that there’s a minimum order of one food or drink item per person.
You can also follow Kumoya on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and promotions.
Images courtesy of Kumoya and AVENUE ONE.
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