At first glance, Oh My Cafe at the basement of Westgate looks like a dreamy fairytale-themed cafe. Take a look at its menu and you will realize that it is actually a Korean restaurant.
I have been eyeing this restaurant for many months now, but I can’t find anyone who is willing to come to Jurong East to try out a new restaurant. It was my childhood friend’s birthday a few weeks ago and we agreed to meet to catch-up. She wanted to eat something healthy so I brought her to Oh My Cafe.
If there is one thing that draws me to a restaurant, it is a menu with beautiful pictures.
Oh My Cafe’s menu is loaded with high-resolution pictures, blown up so you can see every minute detail. There is a photograph of every dish on the menu, so that you know exactly what you are ordering.
The photographs are so well-taken, I had to curb the urge to steal the menu and frame all the food photographs in my room. If I ever want to open a restaurant, I will make sure I get the photographer who took Oh My Cafe’s photographs.
For starters, we ordered Jamon Pharma Ham Salad [$11] which is one of the new salads on the menu. Jamon (dry-cured ham from Spain), parma ham, parmesan cheese, cubed watermelon is laid on top of a bed of mixed vegetables. Served with mango mousse dressing, it is light and so utterly delicious. The ham is not too salty, the mango mousse dressing is light and fluffy and the watermelon cubes adds to its sweetness.
Truffle Noodle with Grilled Octopus [$16] is another one of the new additions to the menu. The ramyeon is cleverly infused with truffle oil, topped with a huge grilled octopus tentacle. The octopus is soft and juicy and the accompanying grilled vegetables makes it heathier.
This is what attracted me to Oh My Cafe in the first place – Korean Temple Food. I have always thought temple food is just a bowl of plain rice with a few miserable-looking piece of boiled vegetables and maybe a bowl of plain tofu soup. Definitely not this delicate bowl of rice surrounded by small plates of vegetables that I see on the poster.
I decided to find out for myself and ordered the Korean Temple Food [$13]. I was initially a little worried that it might be a very big portion but it is actually just nice for 1 person. The bowl of mixed grain rice is topped with pickled brinjal and burdock root. There are 8 small plates of vegetables – burdock root in sesame sauce, pickled lotus root, pickled sliced cucumber, pickled sliced potato and carrot, pickled mushroom, pickled cherry and fried mushroom. I like some of them more than others, but it is perfectly delicious overall.
We all know that Korean strawberries are big and sweet, but did you know that eating strawberries can give you a lot of benefits too? Some of the 11 benefits of strawberry are anti-aging, prevents cancer and boosts immunity. Oh My Cafe has created a range of strawberry drinks called Korea Strawberry in Strawberry. Since I am a strawberry-lover myself, I decided to treat myself to their signature Oh My Special [$8.80]. Sadly, they ran out of their strawberries, so what I got in the end is actually Juice [$6.40]. This is not your run-of-the-mill strawberry juice that you get from juice stalls. This is the real stuff. It’s really more like a smoothie, I wonder how many Korean strawberries goes into the making of one cup of this. There are many pieces of real strawberries in there too. Strawberry-lovers will go gaga over this drink.
Oh My Cafe even has its own retail space at the back of the restaurant. You can find your favourite Korean snack and drinks. There are also cute socks in many designs selling at 3 for $10.
Oh My Cafe is a restaurant that I wouldn’t mind visiting time and again. There are frequent new additions to the menu. The beautifully-designed menu is a treat to the eyes and the food mixes has a good variety of both traditional Korean fare and modern fusion dishes.
Oh My Cafe
Address: 3 Gateway Drive, Westgate #B1-01, Singapore 608532
Telephone: 86509292
Opening Hours: Daily 10am – 10pm
