I'm bacccccck!
After a long hiatus, I've decided to do a review on 2 places J and I went to for Valentine's Day. Being the extra picky eater (I say extra cos we're both picky but I'm pickier hahaha), I decided on Kilo @ Kampong Bugis for a simple, unpretentious dinner.
I didn't expect to find Kilo at such a desolated place, more so in an industry building. Approaching the dodgy building after walking more than 400m along Kampong Bugis, I told J that we might have gotten the wrong location. As we got closer, though, the sound of jazz serenaded our ears and amber lights were shining through the darkness that echoed throughout the building from post CNY hangovers.
We found it.
Located on the 2nd storey above Loysel's Toy, we were greeted a warm 'Welcome!' by the lady who then ushered us to our seats.
Described as a 'food and watering den', the alfresco setting at Kilo makes you feel much at home. Simple geometric shapes in the form of tables, chairs and paintings surround the dining area with spotless white oak tables and a few circular transparent ones sparsly set.
The menu is small. But I've always felt that a small menu would mean the quality of the food would be higher, the effort put into purchasing quality ingredients and whipping them into fantastic dishes.
We decided to go ahead with a starter: Seared scallops served on white wine mushrooms topped with sweet mushroom reduction + momotaro tomato and our 2 mains: Angel hair with cream of ebiko and the famous Day Night 12 hour pork belly with purple mash, sour cream & crackling.
I initially ordered the 2nd most popular thing here: squid ink rice but it was much to my dismay sold out:( (Btw we were there at 7pm and they open at 6pm) Made me wonder if they ran out of squid ink or lady luck just wasn't in our favour.
Seared scallops served on white wine mushrooms topped with sweet mushroom reduction + momotaro tomato
This spelt heaven on a plate. The scallops were perfectly seared, contained the right amount of juciness and sweetness. Accompanied with the white wine mushrooms + reduction, it was a burst of flavour. The sweetness of the mushrooms and scallops paired with the reduction was almost a match made in heaven. Imagine sweet + sour but in the best way possible. Needless to say we polished the plate. Yes, even the sauce.
Day Night 12 hour pork belly with purple mash, sour cream & crackling
I was pretty excited to try it out. J said he wasn't a fan of crackling but since I've never had it I decided to give it a go. Slicing the pork into smaller slices, I realised the meat wasn't as soft as I had hoped it would be. It felt as though it wasn't simmered for 12 hours. Sure the quality of the pork was good, the sour cream that accompanied the dish complemented the meal and the sauce was as usual, delectable. But somehow I felt this was quite a miss. The crackling didn't leave much of an impression either, and the purple mash was well, mash.
Angel Hair with Cream of Ebiko
Prawns!! How can one not love them? I'm not big on seafood but I do love crabs, shrimp, prawns... Alright, I admit I'm big on seafood. The angel hair was done al-dante, and the cream of ebiko was perfect. I've never had sauce done like this, it sort of left a very subtle yet impactful aftertaste, sweet yet savoury.
We had one issue though. The prawns were sadly not de-veined! J and I looked at each other for a moment before realising we were too hungry to enquire about why they didn't de-vein them and only told them after. It was quite an unpleasant surprise, but the dish was an overall success.
Kilo @ Kampong Bugis
66 Kampong Bugis
#02-01 TURE
Tel: 64673987
Mon - Sat: 18:00 - 00:00
We decided to be a little more adventurous and headed for dessert at Wimbly Lu. I've been telling J that I've been wanting to visit WL for quite some time but the location was too inconvenient but since it was V Day we gave it a go:)
Even at 9.30pm on the 13th Feb, throngs of people were walking in seeking solace in the numerous varieties of cakes, tarts and truffles that were on display. We were lucky to have been seated almost immediately, with the couple behind us having to wait for 15 mins.
Since it was V Day the next day, the entire cafe was donned in fairy lights, countless of rose coloured heart shapes flooding the walls and ceiling. It'd be a single person's nightmare to have been in there, in all honesty.
They even have a section dedicated to children! Books of all sorts plastered on the tiny shelf by the brick wall was set up to, I suppose, entertain the small children in the most traditional of ways, and how it should rightfully be done - Reading.
We didn't manage to grab the last blackout cake :( So J decided on getting the Rocky Road (I might have gotten the name wrong pardon me and my goldfish memory).
First bite and J said "It's so sweet...." downing his water thereafter. It was pretty alright in my opinion, though. Definitely not the best I've had and not something I'd order again, but quite alright if you're in need of a butter chocolatey tart kinda fix.
Root Beer Cake
But we did manage to get the Root Beer Cake! Trust me when I say that these 2 are in perfect harmony. It's like.... Nutella needs to go on toast, or how a waffle needs a good peanut butter spread. One without the other wouldn't suffice.
I somehow always feel the need to order some form of beverage when having dessert. Decided on a latte which was a simple yet nostalgic drink. Sadly I don't have the best judgement of coffee but I can say it satisfied the coffee/tea addict in me.
Wimbly Lu
15-2 Jalan Riang
Tel: 62891489
Tue - Fri: 12:00 - 22:30
Sat - Sun: 09:00 - 23:00
