ticking off the restaurant list

if anything, birthday weeks are meant to be spent going out to restaurants either for the good ol' comfort food or as a reason to try out new places. since le bistrot du sommelier has been postponed for g to get better, i decided to risk it and try out 2 new restaurants this past weekend.

first up was kilo on friday night with fellow foodie lance. since i refuse to change to an iphone, lance has the pictures of the night though with the lighting, or lack of it, they never came out nice so i've trawled through the internet finding complimentary photos. since i'm a fan of loysel's toy, finding kilo wasnt a problem, and fortunately that night was nice and windy.

since it was a friday night, the place was packed and once everyone was seated, the noise level goes up due to the low ceiling.
as i've been to the original raw kitchen and enjoyed food there, i had high hopes for this place and unfortunately, the food was rather meh. lance and i basically have the same tastebuds so we ordered the ceviche which came out on a salad bed and their famous steak tartare to start.

after much apprehension, we dug in to the ceviche salad and to our surprise it was really good! but for me the high kinda stopped there. the beef tartare was disappointing, with the cognac taste wayyyy too strong for my taste and totally musked the beef taste.
for our mains, lance had the pork tenderloin with crackling while i had their take on the mentaiko pasta. the pork was decently done, not overly cooked but the crackling wasnt that great and it came with a side of purple mash which i thought was rather good. my mentaiko pasta was a little dry for my taste, it could have done with a little bit more cream. after sanshui, i'm still on the hunt for good mentaiko. though i really should just get down and make it myself.
after the meal, we took a look at the dessert menu, which wasn't too appealing, we decided that we were too full and could only try their homemade icecreams, well 3 scoops to be exact - red apple&carrot, basil, green apple. unfortunately, it was a total disappointment and after about half a scoop of each, we let the rest melt. i think i shall stick to iberry for fruity sorbet/ice cream in the future.
official verdict: i wouldn't bother going back there as reservations have to be made in advance, and i'm terrible at planning anything more than a week in advance. and truthfully, the food wasn't great sans the ceviche salad

next up is Lukes oyster bar and chop house
raveen's been raving about this place for the longest time and since we had no dinner plans, i decided to drag s there. it worked out coz g's not an oyster eater so with her qurantined at home, both of us wont feel bad gorging on them.

set in a tiny street off club street, it was s' and my first time parking the car in the automated carpark. it was quite fun i have to say. very cool. then it was off in search of our dinner.
set up by chef travis, i've always been a fan of his especially from his spruce days where i would be there nearly every other weekend for their once fabulous brunch. now looks like i have a new spot... im a stickler for great service and this place does not disappoint. i think we've even managed to terrorize a few poor unsuspecting waiters. now to make friends with them.... hmmm i give myself another 2 visits. haha
s and i could not make up our minds for the longest time! but finally settled on a dozen oysters, mixed origins, an order of crab cakes, steak with foie gras and a lobster mac and cheese side. the meal started with a serving of homemade corn bread with cream cheese and paprika. the bread was warm and crumbly and has inspired me to try making it for this year's thanksgiving haha
the oysters were fresh, succulent and were just simply lipsmackingly yummy
the crab cakes came with a side of coleslaw and covered in dijon mustard cream. i think there was not one drop of cream left on my plate.

by the time we were done with the very crabby crab cakes, s and i were ready to stop eating. but we still had the steak to get thru. i personally didnt quite enjoy the steak as much. dont get me wrong, it was good steak, just a bit too much pepper for my liking.
if i had space in my tummy, the mac and cheese would have been heavenly. large chunks of lobster in the midst of elbow macaroni swimming in cheesy creamy sauce was just yummy, the only thing i'd have to remember next time is to tell them no crackers on the top as texturally, it didnt make sense to have soft crackers in the midst of all this goodness.
verdict: i heart heart heart luke's. food's great, there's more on the menu i'd very much like to try, service was flawless - they even took the initiative to split all our orders into 2 plates! when was the last time that happened in singapore?

xp