PUBLISHED October 10th, 2012 08:30 am | UPDATED July 22nd, 2024 03:28 pm
Occasionally, things pop up in a mall which cut through the crap and turn heads. And my oh my has that happened recently with the opening of PACT. PACT is the mega meeting of the awesome folks at restaurant outfit Kilo, the trendsetters at menswear boutique K.I.N. and hair salon PACT + LIM, and a space dedicated to all things tasteful and good. To say that this place has it going on, is a bit of an understatement.
Let’s start with the food, because out of all the elements that make up PACT, we have to say that the culinary flair from the good folks at Kilo totally rocked our boat in this new collaboration.
Their blending of Italian, Japanese and Vietnamese food is absolutely mouthwatering. Whilst the menu is by no means large, the selection is perfect and very diverse. Being only three of us, we ordered a nice cross-section from the menu with a few recommendations from founder and Executive Chef Javier….
Starting with the Prawn Summer Rolls ($8) – four fat rice paper rolls rammed with rocket, carrot, avocado and mint, then topped with some ground peanuts…and some freshly-made sweet chilli sauce on the side. This dish definitely sets the scene for the rest: super fresh ingredients, simple, balanced and oh-so delicious.
The Pomelo Duck Salad ($15) – I mean, let’s face it….Smoked Duck. Pomelo. Rocket. Mint… Where can you go wrong? Served on a bed of rocket salad with a light, spicy mayo, this fusion combination is anything but confusing. It tastes just as you’d hope it would.
One dish that really took me by surprise was the Baby Eggplant Doburi ($12). These semi deep-fried baby eggplants were immense! Serving it up with tempura flakes and mascarpone cheese is not something I would ever dream of doing…but boy was I pleased someone else did…
Fom the ‘raw’ selection, we opted for the recommended Spicy Tuna ($12) served with mint leaves, spinach, chill flakes and shoyu sauce. Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely a good’un, but one for the spice-lovers…
For something milder, try the Salmon and Avocado Maki ($15)….Holy moly….This is gold! Fresh salmon, soft, ripe avocado stuffed with some crunchy veg. The Niigata rice is perfectly cooked, holding together so well…and then disappears down your throat even better. No need for ginger, no need for soy sauce. The texture is just beautiful. Bizarrely, it also comes with some crunchy soy flax seed nachos, a nice little addition…
For those with a sweet tooth..or if you are a choco-fiend…TRY THE LAVA CAKE!! ($9). It’s just gorgeous…and for a very interesting and rather delicious combo, try with a scoop of basil gelato. Yes, basil! Eaten together with the oozing chocolate cake…heavenly…
OK now that’s the food over with, time to have a nosey around the other offerings…..
At the moment, the K.I.N. side is only a flavour of things to come as they wait for an influx of all sorts of goodies to fill up the space. For the boys, think a carefully curated selection from cult labels like FWK Engineered Garments, Stephen Schneider and Moscot to leave you looking good and very geek chic, Apolis to make sure you look the part when on the go, and Imperial Barber Products to have you scrubbing up well.
Girls if you need to pick up a statement piece, check out the range from By Invite Only and Annie Chen and while you’re at it, stimulate your senses with the divine smelling Scents of the Land.
We caught PACT within the first couple of weeks of opening. Only those in the know…well…know. So that means that for now, it’s pretty easy to get a seat at Kilo at PACT within the small but perfectly formed spaced but later…well….you might just be begging for one once everyone discovers this gem!
Word on the street has it, that as well as lots more awesome stuff in store and the barber space kicking into action, there will be an industrial-chic sake bar thrown into the mix. Dangerous? Yeah but who the hell cares! We wait with baited breath. Our new favourite place in Orchard? Without a doubt.
Kilo at PACT is located at at 181 Orchard Road, Orchard Central, #02-16/17/18/19 Singapore.