It must have cost quite a few pretty pennies for the renovations at Kafe UTU (12 Jiak Chuan Road, tel : +65 6996 3937). The interior was smart and contained elements that bespoke an ethnic chic sophistry. Artful like the greyscale portraits that lined the wall across the bar showcasing facets of beauty. Unfortunately, we had been watching Jordan Peele's Us earlier in the day so those portraits looked kinda sinister.
Food's African inspired; my not so spidey senses tells me so. Or perhaps it was the web that did. By admission of the host, the recipes used have been tailored for the people of this region.
The starter that caught our attention was the lamb's hearts. Sliced thin and cooked pink, it was very much enhanced by their delicious chimichuri and those fragrant pink peppercorns together with beet puree. Very nice combination.
Goat curry was also delicious. The spices and the heat was invigorating. The flavour felt a bit more refined than the one from Lime House just a stone's throw away. If I had to pick a preferred one, I wouldn't because both were nice in their own ways.
This was their Liberian peanut chicken stew. As the name might have conveyed, it was nutty. The smoked fish that was used in it came through, imparting its flavour. Also spicy and creamy with less heat than the goat curry. We basically scraped both bowls clean of almost every drop.
As someone who enjoys traipsing the culinary landscape in Little India, I thought the flavours here were different in little ways yet similar in many. At least that was true of what we ate. Not as exotic as I hoped for.
Their basmati coconut rice deserved mention. It's good stuff. Better than what many locals pass off as nasi lemak. Beats Crave hands down. The only other that was possibly was good was the basmati nasi lemak from the defunct Island Cafe.
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