Kilo at PACT

Kilo @ Pact is the restaurant Kilo opening inside a clothes store in Orchard Central. The place is fairly small and we had no reservations for lunch but they actually cleared a low table for us (that was not normally used for eating at)!so great service attitude to start with. We were there at lunch time and the set lunch deals with choice of any sushirito or bowl including free soft drink or tea as well as a dessert at 20++ SGD is a good deal.
We opted for the Beef Short Rib and the Pork Bowl. The beef short ribs was pretty decent but nothing to write home about, it felt fresh but lacked a bit of flavor. Tye pork one was however great, more flavorful and the pork was tender and soft. The desserts were nice and fresh and especially the basil panna cotta was really good. Value for money wise it is really good and the service was very good.

Kilo at PACT offers hearty refreshing meals in a modern setting for the aesthetics-​focused foodie. The lunch set ($ 20) offers a great preview of their signature items at a reasonable price, allowing guests to choose one SUSHIRITO OR BOWL + a tea of choice + dessert (Basil Panna Cotta or Lemon Pie).
What makes their lunch set impressive is that the flexibility they offer – you can choose ANY of the sushiritos/​bowls on the menu and customize to your liking (i.e.: sushi rice, brown rice, quinoa). I had the Beef Short Ribs Bowl with Quinoa, which I found to be hearty and refreshing. Sometimes when I choose the healthy option I feel like taste is compromised but it was not the case at Kilo. All the ingredients are fresh, tastefully seasoned, and substantial.
The restaurant is located at the corner of Orchard Central and has limited seating. I would definitely recommend calling ahead to make a reservation, and be aware that you maybe placed at the counter. It’s a large slab of counter shared by 10+ people so not the best setting if you’re looking for an intimate/​private conversation.
Overall great spot for healthy, well balanced meals in the Orchard area!

Had dinner here with a friend — pricey but good food! We shared two dishes — one with beef I think and the other was like a roll I think, I can’t remember but both the dishes were good. It was not very filling, but again we’re girls so we went to llao llao nearby and had dessert there afterwards to fill us up, then walked around this japanese store with random and cool japanese stuff. Got my koala rubber erasers there for my group members at school! :)

great vibe and service staff was really friendly. We weren’t really hungry so we got the grilled Brocolini, tuna tartare, duck and pomelo salad and the beef tongue tacos. Everything was on point.

I met some friends for the $ 20++ lunch set at Kilo at PACT. I have one word to describe it… PHENOMENAL! I have been to Kilo Kallang for dinner. While their dinner was good, it was a tad pricey and I left a tad hungry! The lunch at PACT was the exact opposite. I love the space at PACT. When walking by it is hard to tell if it is a clothing store or a restaurant. It is a cool little space and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The staff was quick, attentive and friendly… what more could you ask for?
Confession: I went to Kilo PACT with my running friends. We completed a long run that morning at for lack of better words, we were HANGRY! The lunch set looked perfect to cure our HANGRY issue! I had a hard time choosing my dish because they all looked great! You can select either a salad, wrap or bowl. Each comes with a drink and dessert. I chose the pork belly bowl with quinoa. I chose correctly! It was a large bowl with generous portions, It was filled with quinoa, veggies and Kilo’s yummy pork belly. One of my friends ordered the smashburger wrap. It looked delicious, but she said she would not order it again that the bowl was the way to go. For dessert we were presented with lovely lemon tarts. They were served in glasses and tasted as good as they looked. The lemon tart is by far the best dessert that I have had in Singapore. Kilo at PACT truly had it all for me. It gave us a great atmosphere, wonderful staff, incredible food all at a reasonable value. I will be back for lunch soon!

Nothing to be added: a very nice place with an interesting menu and a good concept. I only came here for lunch so far. Very friendly service too.

Unusual location — in the corner of a clothing store… kinda. Had Tuna Tartar — it was good but was missing some kind of a kick for me. Taste was too soft for me. Second dish — squid fettuccine (although they ran out of fettuccine and replaced with spaghetti) was also ok. It would’ve been better if it was served hot instead of room temperature. Overall — good experience. But could’ve been excellent with few small adjustments.
Service is very good. Nice but not overbearing like in a lot of other places.

Heard about this place awhile back before actually trying it out. Thanks to those who recommended. Was asked to find a place to eat to celebrate my visa issuance and remembered about this place.
I should have reserved seats when it opened but I forgot about it till 5.30pm and called in to reserve seats for 5 at 7pm. The person who answered my call was friendly and she told me that she accepts last minute reservation and took down the time, my name and my phone number.
Arrived at Kilo at PACT at around 7.05pm. Told the server about my reservation and I was given a seat which I didn’t really like so I requested for another seating near to the big window and he agreed to make some changes to my seating arrangements and ushered us to the seat I chose.
While looking at the menu, two of the pasta dishes popped out. But decided to go ahead with the Squid Ink Fettuccine. Then I tried Yuzu Tai Roll appears more appetizing that the Salmon sushi so my friends and I decided to order that. And lastly, I was asked to choose the last dish and ended up with Bbq Pork Riblets and Parmesan Wedges.
Squid Ink Fettuccine was delicious. The Fettuccine was chewy and easy to bite into smaller pieces. There were also calamari in this dish as well as a few pieces of prawns. The calamari was a little salty but it worked well with the Fettuccine. For the prawns, the shells were removed for easy consumption. There is also a hint of chili padi to add on to its flavorings.
Yuzu Tai Roll. Wow. First bite, a rush of flavors linger in the tastebuds. From fruity taste to a little salty taste. «Truffled Tai Yuzu roll, filled with fresh jumbo lump crab meat, tempura flakes, topped with red snapper and our truffle yuzu sauce.» — Source from its’ website on Fb which was updated a few hours before dining in. No wonder I tasted truffle oil on it as well. This is one of the recommended dishes here!
Last of all, Bbq pork riblets and parmesan wedges. The pork rib was tender and the bbq sauce helped in terms of keeping the rib moist and tastier. The parmesan wedges came in a smaller portion (less than 10 piece) but it was good as it has a light texture to it which matches if combined with the pork ribs.
Service was pretty good as the servers keep refilling our cups of ice water. Even the ice water has a lemony zest inside. Overall, in terms of food, I am very satisfied. But in terms of pricing, it is definitely on the pricier end. Great choice to dine in :)

I like the food, right from appetiser to dessert.
I had the tuna tartar which is delicious and refreshing at the same time. My main course is indeed hearty. A good size portion of angel hair pasta with prawns and ebiko paste, just the way I wanted it to be — creamy. Dessert is the lava cake which is a good end to the meal.
It is nice to find great restaurants in Orchard Central, I must say. I will come back to try the cocktail as I did not get a chance to.
My only dislike is I requested for a table inside, but they said it was reserved for 4 people. I had to take the long communal table facing the corridor or alley. It is a nice long table, if you were to share with your friends. I took that table instead since there was no one else there. However, when I was leaving, they did give away the table I requested for 2 person seating.

Despite my strong opposition to seating with no backs, this is one of the few places with barstool only seating that I go back to on multiple occasions. The reason is the food is pretty damn good.
On this occasion we had four dishes: the spicy tuna & salmon sashimi bowl, the tuna & avocado tartare, the pork belly rice bowl and the avocado & salmon sushi roll.
Only one was a dud: the sushi roll. It tasted bland and the rice was not well put together. Either it was the wrong rice or it was rolled in the wrong way. It was a very unpleasant dish.
But the other three were major hits and it was hard to choose a favourite. I would easily eat any of them again and again. The pork belly was probably my number one, delicious, moist, fall apart on your fork type pork. And it wasn’t too fatty which I appreciated.
The two raw fish-​based dishes were equally delicious. This is obviously fusion so don’t come expecting your grandfather’s sashimi. But both were well-​flavoured, not to the point of destroying the texture and taste of the fish but enough to make them interesting.
This place gets my recommendation.

one of the places that i will recommend my friend if they are in orchard n need something not usual food chain/​food court with a nice ambience. just that orchard central is not my fave shopping center as the parking is so weird and make me headache each time i wanna park there.
i tried their quinoa salad and spicy tuna which are amazing. and it makes me wanna go orchard central again just for this.
and they have a great services too !
kudos to KILO!

So i missed out on the brunch with the Unilocal SG Brunch Club thus made an effort to go there with some friends over the long holiday weekend.
We ordered the sushi wrap thingy with salmon and avocado, the pork rice bowl and the duck. Overall the portion of each dish was comfortable to share. (There were four of us). The pork and duck were both moist and tender. Well seasoned and flavourful.
To round up our meal, we had their chocolate molten cake that was smooth, rich and extremely to die for. It could have been a little warmer, but it was still good.
We also got to try their Basil ice cream. Upon served, one can smell the strong scent of the basil. When eaten, it has an interesting lightly sweet creamy taste that’s slightly bizarre. Not a flavour that I can indulge endlessly cos it can get a little overpowering but it’s a pretty refreshing taste.
As the place is not huge, do call to make reservations before heading down to ensure you get a table.

a really good — and creative — fusionish japanese meal at this hideaway of a café at the terrible-​to-​navigate orchard central.
this café shares its space with a boutique — and is rather gorgeously decked out in concrete and wood; but unlike other establishments with hipsterdom ambitions, the food here was flavorful and interesting, with mostly better-​than-​good execution. reasonably priced, good portions and great cooking — this place reminds me a little of the market grill (for which I had lots of praise).
we ate too much (photos and more analysis on the ol’ blog) but the salmon sushi + crispy chicken skin was a great favourite. fried chicken skin wrapped in rice and topped with salmon sashimi, this was a good play on textures, and the savoriness of the chicken skin was something to behold.
that salmon was plenty tasty and smooth, but eating this made me a feel a little like I was on the cusp of a heart attack. I think I was the only one thus affected — we had second orders.
the dish of baby eggplant was hands-​down the best dish at the table, and one of the most memorable ever. fantastic textures from the crisp tempura flakes, soft eggplant and oh-​so-​creamy mascarpone — and the flavors. dear lord, it was like a umami bomb.
the beef short rib was also done expertly, the deep jus melding everything on the plate. a little fatty (I’m a sirloin/​tenderloin kind of girl) — but great flavors.
the more disappointing dishes were the shakshuka, the sushiro (rice too dense) and the ahi mango poke.
and of course, we had dessert — though the selection here is both small and uninspiring. the raw’s lava cake wasn’t great — the chocolate flavor was pretty mild, and the cake had a weird texture — a a denseness and lack of elasticity. the basil ice cream is worth ordering though — very moreish.
the banana bites came off the brunch menu, utterly delish. soft and creamy and satisfying, this disappeared so quickly that some people never really got at it (sorry!).
so — it was an experience. the menu is atypical, the flavors mostly worked out — and there were frequent bright sparks in the meal. worth coming to, especially since interesting gems such as this are far and few in our dining scene.
I’ve got a mass of photos on the blog — so go see those!

The food here is creative and intelligently put together. I like how each dish has an interesting combination of ingredients with an Asian flavour. The dishes are both familiar and new at the same time. Fun to eat and tasty to boot.
The miso eggplant is quite good. The texture of the eggplant goes quite nicely with the crunch of fried tempura flakes although the donburi sauce was a bit too salty for my taste. Love the spicy pomelo duck salad, which is refreshing with a nice zing of heat from the spicy mayo.
The must try is definitely the avocado wasabi tuna tartare and flour chips. The chips are really addictive and thankfully, aren’t oily.
The squid ink pasta was interesting and appetizing, with a lovely egg yolk sitting atop fettucini and topped with prawns. However, the pasta could have been cooked a little less, as I would have preferred a more al dente texture with some bite.
I also tried the basil ice cream, which had an interesting, light flavour and was a perfect end to a good meal.
You probably won’t get full from sharing the small plates here (unless you order a main for yourself) but the dining experience is interesting and I like that the dishes don’t leave you feeling heavy — even after a scoop of ice cream!

I really did like the food. but why let me make a reservation for brunch at 1130, when your brunch menu won’t be served till 1230? Confusement ensues.
Okay, that aside, I was in the lovely company of Unilocalers, so I knew time would pass pretty fast. thankfully we were also able to order some sharing plates, so that was a good start.
Nik T ordered some chicken skin sushiros, which I can only explain as their take on a sushi/​burrito hybrid? Any way you see it, chicken skin in sushi rice, topped with salmon — that’s a tasty combo, and that disappeared really quickly. We also got some quails eggs, and salmon rolls, but those disappeared before I could get my hands on them, so I guess they were good? someone got the eggplants too, and I thought they were tasty, but undercooked for me — I do like my eggplant soft, and these little dudes were a bit firm still, and a bit raw tasting.
I also ordered the portobello benedict off the brunch menu, and I thought that was pretty inspired! No meat in this dish, and under that hollandaise-​covered poached egg (lovely golden creamy yolk, btw) was a caramelised onion jam that really sang to me. Deliciously. when you hear that dish comes with salt-​and-​pepa fries, it might cause you to forgo all else. I know I would — I’m SUCH a sucker for fries.
Some of our ladies laid into dessert early on as well, and carried on through the meal, so I was privy to some molten lava cake, and basil ice cream, but the banana bites (which were quite celebrated) were wiped clean before my fork was lifted. Shame on me for not paying attention.
‘Twas a pretty fun afternoon, and more so if you’re with a bunch of noisy friends who all enjoy a bit of banter with food. Make sure you book the annex, and come at about noon, so you don’t have to wait so long for the brunch menu to be served.

I have to say, I wasn’t quite a fan of what I did try at Kilo at PACT.
The Baby Eggplants were an interesting dish, but somehow it just didn’t come together. I loved the contrast in flavours of the mascarpone and soya, but somehow it just felt like I was eating eggplant with two separate dips. The components just didn’t… blend.
The salmon-​chicken skin rolls were interesting, but the salmon wasn’t that amazing, and after a while the novelty wore of. I like chicken skin, but the rice around it and the salmon felt pretty superfluous after a while.
I also tried the Shakshouka (and by the way guys, the brunch menu only «activates» at 1230pm so don’t bother going early), which was… tomato-​ey. A bit watery, the vegetable pieces were in very large chunks, and it was a poor egg to «stew» ratio. It wasn’t bad mind you. Just so tiringly average.
The highlight of my meal was maybe the grilled beef of some sort that a friend ordered. It was melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious, and well seasoned. It wasn’t really enough to save –my– dining experience though, so I’m going to have to just give it 2 stars.
If I ever go back, and order ‘smarter’ maybe, picking what I suspect is better, then maybe it’ll be a 3 star review. But based on my one visit? Urgh.

For the sake of the throngs of Unilocalers, that will be descending upon kilo this Sat, an updated review seems timely.
I have since been back a couple more times and am please to report that free water is now served.
Opening timings may vary, it’s 11am on the website but kitchen opens anytime between 11.30am-12pm.
For the healthy, the seared tuna salad is a refreshingly good option.
For the unhealthy, the salmon sushi with crispy chicken skin
is to die for!
Pasta selection good for kids is the ebiko, capellini in light cream, smelt roe and tiger prawns.
For the adult palate, the squid ink fettuccini provides a nice chilli padi kick as well as a raw quail’s egg!
For the meat lovers, go for the beef short ribs steak!
$ 39 but meaty yet melt in your mouth texture with well caramelized sweet peppers and a quietly sinless quinoa salad, rendering the sauce and herb butter totally unnecessary.
The 12 hour pork belly in purple mash is the other notable carnivores delight!
Sushiros however, did not quite make the impact in terms of taste as it did in terms of size.
An additional star has been awarded, as food wise, kilo has proven it is no featherweight!

Yummy food, except for the long wait times. (which I experienced at Kilo at Kampong Bugis too)
Mom and I split bacon wrapped blue cheese figs ($ 18) — 6 deliciously plump fig halves with blue cheese, walnuts (toasted), bacon (which was not super streaky/​fatty! amazingly!) — sweet and salty flavours complemented each other very well.
I do still reminisce about the juicy sweeter figs that I used to devour in California but it seems that the ones found here (or from India) aren’t quite the same, so, oh well.
Then, it was almost another half hour before our main course got served and it seems like other people who arrived AFTER us got served first. I’m like. really? Anyway, the beef short rib bowl arrived ($ 17) and as I’d seen on some other food blog, was really quite fatty. Again, not a fan of fatty meat and I’m pretty sure not all beef ribs are that fatty. The bone was taken out, so that was nice, but would definitely have preferred a leaner cut of meat. Some slices of beef were almost 70% fat. O. o Nice pepper seasoning though! Also came with fresh corn (added a touch of sweetness and crunch), sugar peas, radish, and some sesame dressing which was delicious. Also, props for the Jap rice, that rice was REALLY gd. Haven’t had such gd sushi rice in quite a few jap restaurants, even. So that part was pretty impressive.
I guess it took too long that we were deterred from dessert, sadly. Perhaps next time!

For a full reviews and pics, visit my blog!
Tucked away in a hidden corner in the quiet Orchard Central mall is Kilo at PACT, a bistro-​restaurant that serves Japanese-​Vietnamese bites that would appeal to the healthy palate. Other than eating in the raw concrete space, take the time to experience the full retail and hair/​beauty services with K.I.N and PACT +LIM. A one stop shop for a day of chilling out in town in style and peace.
Let’s start off with what i like. The Japanese food here is pretty decent. Don’t go there expecting a full range of Japanese meals, there are only a couple of donburi, rice bowls and sushi rolls. Ladies would love it here because of the clean tasting ingredients, mostly raw-​ish. The portions are also friendlier to the waistline though i can never finish more than half a sushiro. The dishes aren’t traditionally Japanese but quality Japanese ingredients are used.
The Beef Short Ribs Bowl ($ 18) is one of my favorites. Think juicy and tender grilled beef short ribs on top of a myriad of colored raw veg like sweet corn, radish, sugar peas and wasabi sprouts. Every bite is fresh and refreshing and even if you don’t like carbs, i bet you’d finish the nice sticky Japanese rice. The overall taste is very light, nothing like the typical beef bowl that is drenched in gravy.
I also love the Sushiros and my choice would be the Salmon Avocado Sushiro ($ 15). Chunky fresh buttery salmon wrapped with a generous serving of creamy avocado, Japanese cucumber and shredded carrot, prawns and Tamago. The Niigata rice that the roll is crafted from is also of the right acidity and also i love the additional crunch from the side of soy flax seed chips that is served with the huge roll. Healthy alternative to chips that satisfy the junk food craving!

From the Vietnamese section, the items that i’ve tried failed to impress. Read more on my blog.
Free water was served and GST included in price.