ROKU GIN

GINSPIRATION AT KOI

REYNOLD POERNOMO ROSE TO FAME AFTER HIS EXPERIENCE ON MASTERCHEF, SO IT WAS A NO BRAINER FOR REYNOLD AND HIS BROTHERS RONALD AND ARNOLD TO FOLLOW THEIR DREAM AND OPEN KOI DESSERT BAR. WITH A LOVE FOR CREATING BEAUTIFUL, DELICIOUS AND TASTY DESSERTS, THE BROTHERS ALSO ENJOY COLLABORATING WITH BRANDS TO PUSH THEIR CREATIVE BOUNDARIES. TEAMING UP WITH ROKU GIN, THE BROTHERS AND THEIR TEAM CREATED TWO ROKU GIN COCKTAILS PAIRED WITH TWO DESSERTS.

HOW DID KOI COME ABOUT AND WHERE DID YOUR LOVE FOR DESSERTS COME FROM?

Reynold: My love for desserts started when I watched Zumbo on MasterChef. From here, I read a lot of cookbooks from Michelin starred chefs and saw how desserts could be so much more than just a baked cake. KOI started with my mum wanting to showcase her cakes and me wanting to do plated desserts, so we would collaborate a lot when it comes to flavour pairings, techniques and presentation.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T BEEN TO KOI, WHAT CAN THEY EXPECT ON THEIR FIRST VISIT?

Reynold: We have an upstairs and downstairs area. Downstairs is more on the casual setting and features our colourful cakes. It's designed to sit down with family and friends and enjoy cake and coffee. Whereas, upstairs, we feature more of a dessert degustation where the desserts are much more interactive, playful and intricate within an intimate dining setting.

KOI STARTED AS A DESSERT BAR BUT NOW ALSO HAS A GREAT DINING MENU. WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO EXPAND INTO DINING?

Reynold: We've always had a dining menu, but now there is more focus on this area, and we try to change it as often as possible. I have this creative urge, where I want to show more than just desserts. It completes the whole experience upstairs for night time.

YOU'RE WORKING WITH ROKU GIN, HOW DID THE COLLABORATION COME ABOUT, AND WHY IS ROKU SUCH A GREAT FIT WITH KOI?

Reynold: We connected with ROKU Gin through media and decided to collaborate, featuring five dishes with paired cocktails, two of which are with ROKU Gin. It was the perfect fit. The flavour profiles of our desserts with ROKU Gin works so well together.

THERE ARE TWO ROKU GIN COCKTAILS ON THE DEGUSTATION MENU. WHAT ARE THE COCKTAILS PAIRED WITH, AND WHY DO THESE FLAVOUR PROFILES WORK WELL TOGETHER?

Ronald: The first dessert is Essence (green apple, yoghurt, grape, lime, chervil, Midori and sorrel). This dessert is paired with our ROKU Sencha cocktail (ROKU Gin infused with Japanese green tea). This paired really well with Essence in a way that it creates a mouthful feeling with freshness from the apple and grape. All this freshness is enhanced by the Sencha in the cocktail and created a clean finish and a slight bitterness.

The second is Mosaic (geranium, beetroot, berries, blood peach and blood plum). This dessert is paired with ROKU Momo cocktail (ROKU Gin with white peach and citrus). The Mosaic dessert is very floral, fruity and earthy with a richness feel on the palate. To retain that rich and fruity feel we used white peach as the main ingredient in ROKU Momo and balanced with citrus, which creates a lingering peachy and rich after taste.

SHARE WITH US THE PROCESS OF CREATING THE FOOD AND COCKTAIL PAIRING. WHERE DID YOU DRAW INSPIRATION FROM?

Ronald: We looked at the six elements in ROKU Gin and then looked at what ingredients go well with those elements. For example, Sencha and apple complement each other.

In terms of the creation process, we did both at the same time and adjusted the dessert and cocktail to ensure it highlights the flavour profile that we wanted to achieve.

AS YOU MAY HAVE SEEN, BARTENDERS ARE BECOMING EVEN MORE CREATIVE THESE DAYS, DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE CULINARY WORLD TO MAKE THE MOST AMAZING DRINKS. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR BARTENDERS WHO ARE DEVELOPING IN THIS SPACE (FOOD PAIRING OR CRAFTSMANSHIP RELATED)?

Ronald: Do lots of trials and R&D. It is worthwhile to spend some time in the kitchen to learn from the chefs and their techniques used.

IT HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE TO SEE KOI EXPAND FROM REVOLUTIONARY DESSERTS TO DINING AND NOW TO COCKTAIL PAIRING. CAN YOU SHARE WITH US WHAT'S NEXT ON THE AGENDA FOR KOI?

Ronald: For KOI we are working on other collaborations. We love to collaborate with other brands (not just food). It pushes our creativity hat to a whole new level.

ROKU Sencha

ROKU Momo

ROKU SENCHA

GLASSWARE: Stemless wine glass

GARNISH: Matcha rim and dried orange slice and mint spring

INGREDIENTS:

30ml ROKU Gin (infused with sencha) 30ml Yuzushu 25ml Matcha syrup Top with tonic

METHOD: Mix all ingredients (except tonic) into a shaker with ice, then shake. Double strain into stemless wine glass, top up with tonic and garnish with dried orange and mint spring

ROKU MOMO

GLASSWARE: Wine glass

GARNISH: Citrus slices (orange and lemon)

INGREDIENTS:

30ml ROKU Gin 25ml White peach puree 20ml Fresh lemon juice 15ml Peach liquor 1 x Tbs. Orange jam Top with tonic

METHOD: Mix all ingredients (except tonic) into a shaker with ice, then shake. Double strain into wine glass, top up with tonic