Food Lovers Only - FLO
[Media Invite]
The Jurong region is rapidly transforming itself into a second CBD. Jurong East’s attractions include established housing estates, comprehensive amenities, diverse recreational options and proximity to commercial and industrial employment areas. New malls, new hospitals, new bus interchange, new hotels, new Science Centre (coming soon) and many more. It is so vibrant and happening that you wouldn’t mind living and working there.
And if you are already living or working (or both) there, good news to you! I was invited recently to an eatery in IMM Building for food tasting. I have not been to IMM for many years and didn’t realize it has transformed itself too!
Up on the 2nd floor of IMM Building (west wing), very near to Charles and Keith boutique, is FLO – Food Lovers Only. As the name implies, this place is for you and me, the Food Lovers. FLO is a halal café that has a capacity of 36, and is open daily from 11am to 10pm. It does not include service charge or GST (say ‘yay’!).
Established in 2016 by the Manuka Group, FLO is the newest casual dining café at IMM that features a melting pot of cuisines. Having opened its New-Zealander cuisine Café Manuka in 2014, the Manuka Group took some inspiration from its first café while adding various Asian influences into its second venture, FLO’s menu.
Besides the food, another highlight of this café is the chef. Chef Kim Jin Myeong is a bubbly 18 year old Korean who comes up with fresh and innovative recipes at FLO. The fresh-faced Seoul Tourism High School graduate has been cooking since she was 14 years old. Besides cooking Korean dishes and creating Koreanfusion dishes, Jin Myeong also has a soft spot for cooking Western food, her personal favourite cuisine.
FLO features all-day breakfast favorites like FLO’s Rosti Special and the classic New Zealand style pancakes, Pikelet Stack.
We tried the FLO’s Rosti Special and are all praise to this dish. The potatoes are freshly grated and pan-fried upon your ordering, thus explains the 20 minutes wait. The Rosti is very fragrant and crispy, yet not too oily. You can have your eggs done sunny-side up or scrambled. The marinated pulled chicken slices go well with the rocket salad seasoned with salt and olive oil. This dish is a mush have if you love potatoes.
We managed to catch Chef Kim in-action cooking the Rosti.
Another dish that we tried was Chef Kim’s creation – Korean Inspired Marinated Chicken served with Korean-style fried anchovies and Kimchi fried brown rice.
I find the marinated chicken mild, not over-powering, the Kimchi fried brown rice is not spicy too. Overall, I think a child can manage this dish without much difficulty. The Korean-style fired anchovies is da-boom. I wiped up all the anchovies.
Her other creation is Korean Beef Bulgogi Sandwich ($15), but we didn’t get to try that.
Another hot favourites in their menu are Tom Yam Prawn Pasta and d’Orange Pasta. We tried the d’Orange Pasta because it is something unique which you couldn’t find elsewhere easily. It didn’t disappoint us. The tangy orange blended in nicely with the pasta, surprisingly! We had thought that it might be a sweet dish rather than a savoury one. The balance of both sweetness and saltiness was in equilibrium. Both my friend and I like this dish pretty much.
Besides its Korean-inspired dishes, FLO also features western dishes such as its Flank Steak and Chicken Egg Waffle. We didn’t try them not because they are not appetising, but because we had limited stomach space for more food. And we needed to save some stomach space for FLO’s curate collection of specialty cakes that include Rainbow Cakes, Durian Pandan Cake and Ondeh Ondeh Cake.
We tried the Ondeh Ondeh Cake because anything coconut rocks me. But I find the Ondeh Ondeh Cake not quite up to my expectation. The fragrant of coconut wasn’t strong enough and the gula melaka was a tad overwhelming. But, it is subjective, because I prefer stronger coconut fragrant and less sweet stuff. I have friends who went to FLO, tried their Ondeh Ondeh Cake, and like it.
For the essential touch to the café, FLO has quite a good range of desserts like this Bountiful Choco-Brownie. Those with sweet tooth might like to try this. The intensity of the chocolate in the brownie is just right, the waffle is crispy and goes well with the vanilla ice-cream. It is especially great to share with friends.
FLO is also a kid-friendly café that eases the minds of parents during their busy shopping trips. They have a kids’ set menu at just $8 and toys, books and colouring tools to make sure their energy is well-spent while parents can have a break at the café! FLO is also available for rent for private events, and delivers for free in the west area for orders $150 and above (order one day in advance). It is great for office party!
So if you live, work, shop or just happened to be in Jurong East, do pop by FLO for a meal or tea. It should delight you.
The Jurong region is rapidly transforming itself into a second CBD. Jurong East’s attractions include established housing estates, comprehensive amenities, diverse recreational options and proximity to commercial and industrial employment areas. New malls, new hospitals, new bus interchange, new hotels, new Science Centre (coming soon) and many more. It is so vibrant and happening that you wouldn’t mind living and working there.
And if you are already living or working (or both) there, good news to you! I was invited recently to an eatery in IMM Building for food tasting. I have not been to IMM for many years and didn’t realize it has transformed itself too!
Up on the 2nd floor of IMM Building (west wing), very near to Charles and Keith boutique, is FLO – Food Lovers Only. As the name implies, this place is for you and me, the Food Lovers. FLO is a halal café that has a capacity of 36, and is open daily from 11am to 10pm. It does not include service charge or GST (say ‘yay’!).
Established in 2016 by the Manuka Group, FLO is the newest casual dining café at IMM that features a melting pot of cuisines. Having opened its New-Zealander cuisine Café Manuka in 2014, the Manuka Group took some inspiration from its first café while adding various Asian influences into its second venture, FLO’s menu.
Besides the food, another highlight of this café is the chef. Chef Kim Jin Myeong is a bubbly 18 year old Korean who comes up with fresh and innovative recipes at FLO. The fresh-faced Seoul Tourism High School graduate has been cooking since she was 14 years old. Besides cooking Korean dishes and creating Koreanfusion dishes, Jin Myeong also has a soft spot for cooking Western food, her personal favourite cuisine.
FLO features all-day breakfast favorites like FLO’s Rosti Special and the classic New Zealand style pancakes, Pikelet Stack.
Pikelet Stack $12
We tried the FLO’s Rosti Special and are all praise to this dish. The potatoes are freshly grated and pan-fried upon your ordering, thus explains the 20 minutes wait. The Rosti is very fragrant and crispy, yet not too oily. You can have your eggs done sunny-side up or scrambled. The marinated pulled chicken slices go well with the rocket salad seasoned with salt and olive oil. This dish is a mush have if you love potatoes.
FLO's Rosti Special $15
We managed to catch Chef Kim in-action cooking the Rosti.
Step 1 to 6 - bottom left clockwise
Another dish that we tried was Chef Kim’s creation – Korean Inspired Marinated Chicken served with Korean-style fried anchovies and Kimchi fried brown rice.
Korean Inspired Marinated Chicken $16
I find the marinated chicken mild, not over-powering, the Kimchi fried brown rice is not spicy too. Overall, I think a child can manage this dish without much difficulty. The Korean-style fired anchovies is da-boom. I wiped up all the anchovies.
Her other creation is Korean Beef Bulgogi Sandwich ($15), but we didn’t get to try that.
Another hot favourites in their menu are Tom Yam Prawn Pasta and d’Orange Pasta. We tried the d’Orange Pasta because it is something unique which you couldn’t find elsewhere easily. It didn’t disappoint us. The tangy orange blended in nicely with the pasta, surprisingly! We had thought that it might be a sweet dish rather than a savoury one. The balance of both sweetness and saltiness was in equilibrium. Both my friend and I like this dish pretty much.
d’Orange Pasta $14
Tom Yam Prawn Pasta $15
Besides its Korean-inspired dishes, FLO also features western dishes such as its Flank Steak and Chicken Egg Waffle. We didn’t try them not because they are not appetising, but because we had limited stomach space for more food. And we needed to save some stomach space for FLO’s curate collection of specialty cakes that include Rainbow Cakes, Durian Pandan Cake and Ondeh Ondeh Cake.
Flank Steak $18
Chicken Egg Waffle $17
High-Tea or High-Coffee Time, can?
For the essential touch to the café, FLO has quite a good range of desserts like this Bountiful Choco-Brownie. Those with sweet tooth might like to try this. The intensity of the chocolate in the brownie is just right, the waffle is crispy and goes well with the vanilla ice-cream. It is especially great to share with friends.
Bountiful Choco-Brownie $14.50
Besides the options above, FLO also provides lighter starters like their Soup of the Day ($7.50), Tomato Mozzarella Salad and Wild Rocket Mushroom Salad ($10). Other savoury picks also include the Sausage Trio Platter ($13) and Savoury Crepes (single $8, double $14) with a choice of 3 fillings (turkey ham/ cheddar cheese/ mozzarella/ egg/ mushroom/ turkey bacon/ spinach). Not forgetting the yummy caffeine free Iced Butterscotch Roasted Almond Latte and frizzy drinks ($5.50)
Tomato Mozzarella Salad $12
Passion Fruit Mint Frizzy Drink $5.50
Iced Butterscotch Roasted Almond Latte $7
FLO is also a kid-friendly café that eases the minds of parents during their busy shopping trips. They have a kids’ set menu at just $8 and toys, books and colouring tools to make sure their energy is well-spent while parents can have a break at the café! FLO is also available for rent for private events, and delivers for free in the west area for orders $150 and above (order one day in advance). It is great for office party!
So if you live, work, shop or just happened to be in Jurong East, do pop by FLO for a meal or tea. It should delight you.
FLO
2 Jurong East Street 21
IMM #02-15A
Singapore 609601
11am to 10pm daily
6896 1396
I am in the middle of preparing a birthday party for my son and I just got a lot of ideas from here. We are celebrating in one of the event space San Francisco has. It’s going to be a small party with only close friends. I am really looking forward to this one.
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