Kilo by Pact

Kilo by pact is a pretty unique store - which has Japanese, Vietnamese, and western touches. When I found out that it was run by the same people who opened the now defunct Raw Kitchen Bar (which I really liked), I was really eager to try it. Just that there was one hitch. The original outlet is near Kallang River and has no aircon. I definitely will not be able to enjoy my meal with the heat and humidity in Singapore, plus Kallang is a distance away for me, so I never made it there.

I was glad that they opened another outlet at Orchard Central (which is still as deserted as ever). The food is above average, prices  reasonable and service was pretty good. Perhaps the only thing to nit pick about was that the chairs weren't that comfortable (no backs to lean on!). 

Baby Eggplant ($12++)

I had the baby eggplant starter which tasted much better than it looked. Soft eggplant braised in donburi sauce with creamy mascarpone cheese and tempura flakes. The mascarpone cheese adds a nice creamy touch to the salty dish. I'll definitely order this if I'm back at Kilo again.

Ahi Mango Tuna Poke ($16++)

 This was one of my favourite dishes from Raw Kitchen Bar - I'm so glad that they kept it on the menu cos it's light and refreshing, with chunks of tuna (raw) mixed with crunchy Japanese cucumbers, sweet mango, and slivers of onion. To eat, just scoop onto the fried wanton skins. Poke (pronounced as poh-ke) is actually a Hawaiian dish. I could eat the whole thing by myself. I really like tuna and this has to be one of my favourite dishes from Kilo.

The price is pretty steep because there's quite a bit of tuna - I was absolutely craving for this dish a few days later  and decided to make my own but the ingredients are really ex! The tuna costs about $20 from Cold storage sashimi section, and the mango anoter $6. Of course there's more tuna but I think that the amount of tuna in this dish pretty much justifies the price.

12h Pork Belly Rice Bowl ($17++)

 I thought their meat bowls were awesome - it came in beef short rib (which the general consensus was that it was really yummy and tender) and melt in the mouth 12hour pork belly (which was my main). These bowls are nothing like the meat bowls from Yoshinoya. Comes with fragrant sticky Niigata rice, sweet corn, tomatoes, sugar peas and wasabi sprouts.

I really liked that they took the trouble to incorporate different coloured veggies in it. The wasabi sprouts were pretty interesting (it's my first time having them) and had a mild peppery wasabi taste, but none of that unpleasant sinus/nose burning feeling. (Btw, did you know that the 'wasabi' that most restaurants use is actually horseradish powder with green food colouring? the real wasabi has a much milder taste and needs to be grated - the more upmarket Japanese restaurants use real wasabi which is of a lighter colour and milder taste). The sugar peas  were sweet and crunchy, and the cherry tomatoes were coated with a slightly sourish dressing.

Beef Short Ribs Rice Bowl ($17++)

Beef short ribs - pink and tender pieces of beef that everyone else liked 

Salmon Avocado Sushiro ($15++)

One of the dishes that Kilo is famous for and has really good review online is their sushiros - which come in 3 different flavours - the one we tried was the salmon avocado, but there's also prawn tempura and for the more adventurous, taco rice (which is an interesting combination of minced tomato beef, cheddar, sour cream).

The sushiros are probably what I'll go for if I want a mid afternoon snack/tea - it's packed full of vegetables (crunchy carros, cucumbers) and some avocado for that creamy taste, and nice fresh salmon chunks. Paired with the flax chips it's a satisfying meal for one and a nice appetizer if you want to share amongst a few friends.

Grilled Salmon

I didn't try this but this is how one of the mains looked like - it's a good sized portion too.

We didn't try desserts but they have basil ice cream, which I will make a point to try in the future. I just realized that I have too many dishes that I like - must make it a point to bring more people if I come here next time cos then we'll be able to share (on sharing plates) and can try more dishes^v^

Kilo by Pact
#02-16/17/19 Orcahrd Central
181 Orchard Road
Tel 68847560

*closed mondays*Tues to Sunday 11am to 10pm

Btw, the place is really hard to find cos there's no signboard but it's near the escalator from the outside which is directly opposite KPO.