Finally a decent hangout place that’s unconventional enough to be cool at the north of Singapore! Yay. Raw Kitchen Bar is hidden within the defunct firestation in Upper Bukit Timah. Mr.Ong and I drove and we missed the turn into the carpark for the “Spectra” building! We were quite blur. Gotta make a U-turn ahead. Argh.
Yeah so if you are coming from Chua Chu Kang, look out for the entrance on your right hand side. It’s at the junction where the turn into Bukit Batok is on your left.
So what’s so raw about Raw Kitchen Bar? hmm. From what we ordered, it had to be either raw tuna or raw salmon. The rest are all fairly cooked! Heh. okie it has to be the deco. The restaurant gives off a comfy and homely vibe with its chic yet minimalistic interior.
When you stepped into the ‘house’ you’re greeted with a neat living room! You’ll find your way instinctively around the place. It’s very inviting.
I love the ‘raw’ cement flooring and warm, dim lighting!
The deco is very eclectic with a mix of randomness. The chairs, tables and dining utensils are all of different shapes and sizes. But all the elements blends in really well with the environment.
I ? the super low hanging lamps and the arkward thin and scrawny tree right in the middle of the room.
Looks comfy right? But we decided to sit outside! yes, the backyard of the ‘house’! Were enticed by the garden and moonish lanterns! It’s like Mid-Autumn Festival meets kitsch. haha
Anyway the ambience was great. No over-crowding. A plus point of dining at a residential hinterland, out of the city, away from the madding crowd.
Mr.Ong sat on a green camping chair which was rather amusing. But he didn’t felt unfortunate nor did he changed his chair. It must had been quite comfy for him then. An extremely hungry engineer, he fidgets in his seat like a restless child.
Let’s move on. lol
For starters, we decided to share! Evelyn made a really good choice. She ordered Ahi mango poke with japanese cucumbers and a sesame dressing with fried wanton chips ($16).
It looks kinda Mexican doesn’t it? I loved how the savoury crunchy chips brings out the freshness of the raw tuna cubes, cucumber and mango filling. The dressing just nice and the taste of sweet tangy mango was pleasant.
We also got the Seafood Ceviche ($17). Raw salmon, tuna and squid! This dish is a gastronomical delight. The zesty sauce is very appetizing. I particularly like the tuna cubes.
Starters were scrumdiddlyumptious!
For mains, we had 2 fish and 2 meat. Lets start with the fishes.
Evelyn’s nori-wrapped salmon with wasabi mash wasn’t very spectacular. The fish was served with wasabi mash and sauteed portabellos. Hmm. Had a bite of the salmon and it wasn’t very spectacular. The fish lacks flavour but the wasabi marsh was pretty awesome. The wasabi flavour was agreeable and not too overwelming.
My seabass main ($19) was mildly garlicky and nutty. The sauce tasted lemonish and was quite appetising. but I wasn’t blown away by this dish. I think the fish fillets were not moist enough. Perhaps there were pan-fried a little too long.
GY’s marsala lamb ($24) looks mouth-watering. The meat was tender and comes with pumpkin marsh. The lamb tasted 10/10 from the little nibble I had. On the palate, there’s a strong taste of rosemary. Not sure where the marsala is but I will definately order this for myself the next visit.
Mr.Ong ordered caramelized balsamic vinegar duck ($23). It has a pleasant taste of sweet and sour in contrast.
The waitress was helpful with dessert and wine recommendation. The Innocent Bystander’s Muscato ($22) was delightful. It is pale pink in colour! It has a slight sparkling fizz and we can taste a slight hint of strawberries.
If you noticed, serving was just ok. It is smaller than Bistro One Zero Three but this leaves us enough space for our desserts!
We had Chocolate lava cake and fried cheese cake. The lava cake was so-so only. The chocolate inside was warm enough but the ice cream wasn’t frozen enough. I’m not a fan of gooey ice cream. On the other hand, the fried cheese cake did fairly better but I think that the cheese were overshadowed by the strawberry and marmalade sauce.
I must say that the service was excellent. They served iced water and it was refilled quickly. Ooh and since it’s al fresco dining, the restaurant actually prepared mosquito coil for us! You can also request for insect repellant for free.
Basically, we enjoyed Raw Kitchen Bar’s fusion cuision. Fusion cuisine is always interesting. You never really know what to expect and it’s fun to wonder what influences were fused in the dish.
The bill came up to $182.88 inclusive of 10% service charge and 7% gst. About $46/pax which was quite reasonable. However since it is located at a residential hinterland, the price may be a little high. Although the food is pretty much decent, I would recommend meat instead of fish.
On your visit, do get the ahi mango starter and a bottle of muscato.
Raw Kitchen Bar
276 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Tel: : 6467 3987
Open hours: 5:30pm to 12 midnight
(Closed Mondays)
YES MRS ONG. Great food and atmosphere. I guess you missed out on the retro-ified,stoned sink in the toilet??
PS: The chairs allows me to do sit-ups..
haha darling! you silly billy.