Food Scoops: Kinki Restaurant + Bar Reopened With Revamped Edgy Space & Splendid Singapore City View

Posted on March 23, 2021 by theRantingPanda in Food, Snippets

What’s Buzzing? Opened since 2010, Kinki Restaurant + Bar recently reopened after a revamp. For those familiar with the graffiti interior of the restaurant and bar, the sumo is now a geisha and the new look on level 2 of the dining space exudes a more sophisticated and edgy vibe.

A brief background on the location, Kinki occupies two levels at Customs House, a conserved building built in the 1960s for the Singapore Customs Police. Level 3 is the al fresco rooftop bar which boosts a splendid view of the city and the Marina Bay district.

What To Expect? Popular Japanese comfort foods reinvented into addictive new classics; and a bar list of liquids from East and West, including unique cocktails built on foundational cocktail-making techniques woven with Asian influences in surprising and unexpected ways.

Can’t go wrong with the sushi rolls here, particularly the AC/DC Dynamite (S$22), a tempura-fried mixed seafood roll capped by a slice of Japanese cucumber with fresh raw seafood and avocado.

My favourite is the Cowabunga (S$36), a combination of cream cheese, cucumber, homemade spicy mayo, and A4 Wagyu beef slices. The icing on the cake is also the tobiko and potato floss which topped the maki.

New additions to the menu are the Corn Duo (S$16) and Grilled Squid Chimichurri (S$32). The former is a mix of baby corn with corn puree and tossed with furikake bits along with sriracha mayo sauce. The latter is a charcoal-grilled squid served with a sweet and sour sauce of coriander, lime juice, green and red chilli.

Other snacks for a good start are the Cassava Nachos (S$18), and the Karaage Chicken Bao (S$20).

Other dishes which I reckon is good to share are the Unagi Claypot (S$35) and Kickass Chirashi Don (S$78) with premium ingredients like Otoro (Japanese bluefin tuna belly), kinmedai (Japanese alfonsino), hirame (Japanese flounder), salmon, shima aji (Japanese stripe jack), hotate (Hokkaido scallops), botan ebi (Japanese shrimp), tamago (local egg), ikura, Polanco Oscietra caviar.

Love the fresh flavours of the various sashimi in the chirashi don!

If you are in for buffet, head down on Saturdays where The Bottomless Brunch (S$68) happens weekly. It is an unlimited a la carte servings of sushi, sashimi, maki, hot and cold Japanese favourites, and desserts. Top it up with free flow beer, sake, prosecco or shochu for S$35.

For drinks on the bar, there’s the Geisha-Rita (S$22), a twist on classic Margarita cocktail; Gold Quencher (S$19), a Japanese take on the classic Gin and Tonic; and the likes of Gin Assam Boi (S$22), which takes inspiration from the refreshing local sugar cane drink and uses the acclaimed Kyro gin.