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Kota 88 @ Siglap

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Kota 88 @ Siglap

Kota 88 @ Siglap

Why have we never been to Kota 88 @ Siglap? It’s been here a good few months now. Maybe it’s because it sits next to what was Blooies that was not a favourite of ours. What was Blooies is now a fish restaurant so perhaps that is another reason? But tonight we went and now we all regret not having gone before. This place absolutely cracking, as in seriously good food and atmosphere. Believe me, guys this place gets mobbed. It was rammed last night. Huge family tables, as we did with 8 of us. This is family food fun and a new one on the Kennett family list of must go back for more. Oh yeah, and it’s 5 minutes walk from home. Big advantage.

What is Kota 88? Well, according to the menu it is a word derived from the Indonesian word for city. But also in Indonesian slang, it is used to describe Chinatown in Jakarta. Maybe a city in the city? And Chinatown was the closest in the city to the seaport where all the trading took place. I am liking this. This is hybrid food in the making. Peranakan mixture-esque. But they call it Masakan Tionghoa Indonesia, Chinese Indonesian Cuisine. This is a mix of Chinese dishes with local Indonesian culinary styling. Kota 88 get their inspiration from that heritage of Chinese immigrants in Jakarta.

Now I will say it might be worth booking. We didn’t and were lucky to grab a table for 8. After about 20 minutes it was jammed with every table being taken. Give them a tinkle and a visit. Let’s be having it @ 907 East Coast Road here comes Kota 88 @ Siglap. Bell them on: +65 6242 2645 

Kota 88 @ Siglap
I just don’t get it. We have walked past this many time, why have we never entered. I am blown away as we walk in. Decort looks so cool, again very Peranakan museum type thing. Even the crockery is historic. Bugger have we missed out for a few months since they opened. Not any more!!!
Kota 88 @ Siglap
I got Ollie to go and take some snaps of the kitchen and the jump. A very attentive Head Chef was standing on duty there, almost not moving the whole service we were there. And what did he espy on the jump? Yep, this is going to be GOOD. When you sauces like this ready to go you just know it is going to be good. Proudly displayed.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Here he is. Now that is one big kitchen. Hustle and bustle down the back to the right. I think the grill station is there. Loads of activity happening. We are eagerly awaiting the outcomes of our chosen dishes now. We can’t wait.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Up first comes Jimboy and Jhea’s seafood fried Kewtiau. Well, I have to say it looks damned fine. Seafood was really good and so very fresh it seems, and we have a 50/50 split on the noodles. Good is in favour of the female contingent.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Amy, Jude and I get sharing on the signature BBQ roast combo. Finally, ChillaxBBQ has some competition. The roast pork was juicy, sweet, and smoky. Seriously just bonkers good roast pork. The char sio was also an off the charts option. Honey sweet porky goodness. Oh wow, so so good. Chunky on the $$$ @ $32 but wow it was bloody good…
Kota 88 @ Siglap
10 sticks of pork satay up next. 5 sweet and 5 savouries. Mary said she felt like she was in The Philippines at Payag Restaurant. Juicy BBQ style, not the dry type you get down at Lagoon Hawker for example.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Ayam Goreng Nanking for the sharing plate for Amy, Jude and I is following fast. Like a flattened chicken fillet, breaded and fried and served with a fruity sauce, almost like Japanese Bulldog sauce. Beer food and a half this. Soooo good.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Ollie goes large for a special fried Kwetiau. And is verdict was that it was a really light version of the traditional Singaporean style. Not so much sauce and fat. It was a hybrid of dry and soup noodle, which he really liked. A great deal of variety in the meats within from beef, pork, chicken, fish cake and the like. All in all delicious and lovely.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
BeBe brings on our first congee dish for the evening, soon to be fast followed up by my Mary. So congee dish #1 is chicken silk congee. I will pass comment to wifey’s view of her congee as apparently, they both thought the same.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Here comes the second congee dish for wifey. This is Century egg congee. And the verdict was that she really liked the texture as it was not watery but sticky, the seasoning was perfect and she needed to add no extra seasoning. Mary said to me to think of another word for delicious and that is it. So I assume something like sublime. In basic summary, yes she loved this.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Here’s the final savoury option from today’s delicious dinner. Ayam Lapis Ham. Some rolled chicken with smoky ham, in some form of batter and then deep fried. This is a cracker. It comes with a chilli dipping sauce. Just brilliant. Succulent chicken with lovely flavour pops all over the place. Yes, indeed I liked this one.
Kota 88 @ Siglap
And then finally let’s get stuck into some ice Kerchang, or as they call it Es Campur. Bandung evaporated milk, and the usual surprise of jellies and jack fruit beneath. Very nice, super refreshing!
Kota 88 @ Siglap
Ollie pushed it out with this version. Yep shaved ice, evaporated milk, milo and half an avocado pear. OMG. I had a couple of bites of this, and I tell you it works so well together. How I don’t know, but it really works.

So that was that. Our first experience of Kota 88 @ Siglap was superb. Again I really cannot work out why we have not been before, but I made a bunch of excuses for that above. Excuses that are now inexcusable funnily enough. It was a fantastic dinner with family Kennett. A testing audience too with a mixed cultural bag of English, Japanese and Philippines. And they came out strong with regards to the feedback on the food. We’ll be back that is for certain. You should go. Get there and you will – ENJOY!!!

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Brian Kennett

Father of 3. All my kids are mixed, with English-Japanese, and English-Filipino - a recipe in the making there. I have been cooking since a small lad, as guided by my Nan and my Mum - gradually that morphed through exposure to Thai cooking from a lovely lady called Da in Margate. I used to hang out in her restaurant and watch the techniques. So the 1+1= greater than 2 occurred - Mum/Nan/Da - off I went in to the world of Asian cuisine. Moving to Asia in early 2000's clearly has brought that on somewhat - we travel continually, and eat locally and therefore have exposure to more and more new things. I have lived my dream and written a cook book whilst here, an amazing experience and all for a good cause too as I raised a lot of money for charity. My blog is now hopefully turning in to book number 2. Watch this space. I hope you enjoy my passion.

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