Monkeys Corner Cocktail Bar opens
So now, coming from the people who brought us Koi and Koi Dessert Kitchen Ryde comes a new concept.
It’s a small bar, called Monkey’s Corner.
It’s brought to by the Poernomo brothers (Reynold, Ronald and Arnold).
And it’s very different from the Koi Bars including the Koi Dessert Kitchen which serves as a commercial production facility as well operating as a cooking school and cafe, with eat-in and takeaway options.
Arnold said the decision to branch out into something very different was a matter of timing.
“We've talked about this idea since we opened Koi, then we got this offer right next to Koi and it was a good, small space,” Arnold told Broadsheet.
The place will be located next to Koi which means it shares the same outside space.
But the important thing, says Arnold, is that the Monkey’s Corner bar will operate independently. The aim is to create a space with its own unique identity.
“We only have a small kitchen but [it] will be entirely different from the desserts [at Koi],” Arnold told Broadsheet.
And it will be small. “It's really small, only 20 seats – 10 inside and 10 outside,” Arnold told Broadsheet.
Right now, the brothers are looking for chefs.
What they have in mind at the moment is a menu based on steaming, wok-frying and seafood.
Still, Arnold isn’t giving much away, apart from saying there will be a sweetcorn dish with gochujang and butter, and a beef dish with aged soy sauce.
“I would say it’s broadly Asian. No mains, all small stuff,” Arnold told Broadsheet.
As for the bar itself, it will be cocktail-focused and will offer a varied sake selection and a few Japanese beers.
“We’re collaborating with Quynh [Van Nguyen], who’s currently at Fred’s on the cocktails. We’ll have eight; they’ll be simple, like the food. I want it to be fun but not childish,” Arnold told Broadsheet.
by Leon Gettler, August 15th 2017
