IOI Central Boulevard Towers has most certainly added quite a bit of vibrancy to the local F&B scene within the Central Business District around the vicinity of Shenton Way and Marina. Whilst we had just visited the new outlet of Kwaasong Bakehouse that had recently just opened its doors there, the bigger news is probably the return of KORIO into the local F&B scene — these folks had previously shuttered their operations at Far East Square (Bao Makers had taken over the shop space that they had vacated), and had recently moved into a brand new shop unit at IOI Central Boulevard Towers along the same stretch of shop units as the outlet of Super Simple that faces out to Central Boulevard. Whilst their previous location at Far East Square was one that is positioned more towards takeaway operations, the new KORIO location at IOI Central Boulevard Towers does comprise of a dine-in space with a communal table located in the centre of the store, as well as side-facing bench-style seating facing the counters on one side of the space. The space is brightly lit and cosy; featuring an open-concept kitchen, there is a wide use of wooden furniture and fittings matched against the concrete-esquire flooring and the tiled walls that are styled akin to that of a brick wall that gives the store a bit of a European vibe. With their current relaunch being a collaborative effort with the Zouk Group, KORIO still keeps their emphasis on the various sandwiches and donuts that they have to offer; the donuts being displayed prominently at the counter which one would not miss as they come through the entrance of the space. There are a small variety of side dishes that KORIO now offers at their IOI Central Boulevard Towers location, while beverages available includes a variety of brewed coffee and iced teas — just to name a few.

Having been to KORIO way back in the day when they had first opened their doors at their Far East Square location, we have had some of their early offerings such as the Breakfast Sammy and the Grilled Cheese. There has been a little bit of a change in their menu since then, with a further switch-up of items that came along with their return to the F&B scene in line with the opening of their IOI Central Boulevard Towers location. Skimming through the menu board above the counter, the Mortadella & Pickles was one of the sandwiches that stood out to us; this was described on the menu board to come with elements such as grilled mortadella, provolone, mustard mayo, house pickles and potato roll. For the uninitiated, Mortadella refers to cured pork — one of the kinds of deli meat that features pork fat that is rather similar to bacon. We recalled KORIO’s portion size of their sandwiches to be a little bit on the larger and more generous side but the Mortadella & Pickles does feel a tad small for KORIO’s previous standards. The potato roll refers to the bread here which was soft, light and fluffy — nothing too dense which made the sandwich pretty easy to have. One thing we quite liked about the Mortadella here is how it is stacked and grilled — this provided a layered bite that gave quite fair bit of texture; all that whilst being a little smoky and also savoury. Given how the meat was already saltish on its own, we were glad that the Provolone wasn’t too heavy tasting — this made the flavours of the sandwich particularly manageable; all that whilst the crunchy pickles provided a slight zing to cut through those saltish notes to refresh the tastebuds.

We also gave their Cinnamon Apple Jam | Earl Grey Almond Butter donut a go during the same visit as well. Whilst looking deceptively like a filled donut served in a style of an Italian Bombolone, the Cinnamon Apple Jam | Earl Grey Almond Butter donut is a typical donut with a hole in the middle just like what one would expect from the usual lineup of donuts at KORIO — the fillings being simply stacked above the donut. Whilst the donut itself was absolutely light and fluffy and that the cubes of caramelised apples were soft with an aptly sweet note spiked with a hint of cinnamon (absolutely Christmas-sy; we know!), we weren’t too much of a fan of how KORIO’s packaging is where there wasn’t too much consideration made to the product. KORIO used to have packed their donuts in individual boxes when they were still located at Far East Square; they now serve them in paper bags which sees the toppings of the Cinnamon Apple Jam | Earl Grey Almond Butter donut being squashed onto the paper bag. Truth to be told, most of the toppings that was squashed onto the paper bag would be the Earl Grey Almond Butter which we never got quite a taste of from the donut itself having been smeared all over the paper bag during packing. Noticing how they also do serve up fancy concoctions of coffee, we found ourselves going for the Iced Coffee Lemon Spritzer — this turns out to be a carbonated cuppa that came with fruity body with a further zingy note from the lemon-infused sparkling water that is being added to the brewed coffee.

KORIO had been an establishment where we found that there is quite a fair bit of thought that goes behind their offerings; all that whilst there was some heartfelt effort and sincerity from the folks behind the brand to serve its patrons their very best during their days at Far East Square. The current rendition of KORIO which is brought back with the help of Zouk Group feels like it is missing that indie spark that made KORIO what it was; while the items offered are still delicious and big on flavours, we did feel a little less soul and character in the sandwiches, and small details such as the packaging of the donut felt overlooked considering the effort made by KORIO in the past. Waiting times for food can take a little long considering the crowd they are getting from the hype on social media — those whom are in a rush hoping to make a grab-and-go gourmet sandwich should probably wait for the hype to die down a little before heading to KORIO unless they are ready to wait upwards of 30mins for their food (we made our visit on their very first day of operations). We do hope that the folks behind KORIO would be able to smoothen the experience out and perhaps bring back some character to the establishment as they settle in to their new space; wouldn’t mind dropping by for some delicious sandwiches and donuts again once the insane crowd for their offerings start to dissipate a little …