Wasn’t intending to dine at The Kongsee on the day that we made our way down even though we were planning to make a visit for it soon; found ourselves winding up here only because we were stuck with a situation where the spot that we wanted to visit initially for brunch had pretty much sold out on its food offerings, and we decided to make our way here for lunch instead. Located along Gemmill Lane, The Kongsee is described to be a mod-Sin Izakaya establishment; the chef partner for The Kongsee being no other than Chef Willin Low who is behind established names such as the now-defunct Wild Rocket (our meals there are still pretty much stuck in our memory), Relish by Wild Rocket and Rocketto Izakaya. The Kongsee is Hokkien for “company” — refers to Chinese businesses and clans back in the early days, whilst “Kongsi” in Malay, which shares a similar pronunciation means “to share” where The Kongsee defines it as sharing with “good intentions to connect or bond with one another”. The entire establishment is decked in a swanky setting with a nostalgic touch — the darkly-lit environment provided a sort of underground vibe; one that is very befitting of it being a bar, while there are subtle touches such as the old sewing machine tables and tabletops with Peranakan tiles that provides that old-school look that gels well with the mod-Sin theme that the space intends to go into. Having opened since June 2022, The Kongsee had only recently launched a new lunch menu; while they do seem to focus on small and large sharing plates during dinner service, the lunch menu sees a smaller menu consisting of more substantially-sized dishes that is good to share between two small eaters, or sized well enough to feed a hungry individual. Being a mod-Sin Izakaya, the drinks available at The Kongsee largely consists of alcoholic options ranging from craft beers on tap, to beers, cocktails, spirits, wines and sake. The only non-alcoholic drink on the menu at The Kongsee would be the Lyre’s — a mocktail that is listed in the “cocktail” section of the menu.

Skimmed through the lunch menu and thought the Itek Tim was something that kinda stood out to us amongst the other items that are listed on the menu. True to Chef Willin Low’a fashion, this isn’t just your typical Itek Tim; described on the menu as “Crispy duck leg served in a slow-cooked broth of mustard greens, assam & silken tofu”, this is their mod-Sin twist to the Peranakan classic which some of us conveniently refer to as “preserved vegetable duck soup”. Rather than serving the duck leg boiled within the soup, the duck leg comes fried here — would probably say that it comes close to that of Bebek Goreng (i.e. Indonesian Crispy Duck) which we have also been craving for a while. Really liked how the golden brown exterior is so crisp and savoury; the flesh within is just a teensy bit on the drier side though was nothing too much of a bother to us; the sprinkling of pepper over the top provides a lightly spicy note that antes up the saltish notes of the fried duck as well. The mustard greens provided a slight crunch, as well as a tang that went well with the soup itself for that savoury-sourish combination of flavours; the coriander added being pretty uplifting to cut through all of that which is going on here. The tofu pretty much delivered on what the menu promises it to be — smooth and silken; disintegrates in the mouth without much effort, while the slices of tomatoes have an extra meaty bite; a burst of refreshing tang that really gives an extra contrast to the flavours of the soup. We heeded the wait staff’s tip to have the Itek Tim alongside a bowl of white rice since she was concerned that we might find that having the Itek Tim alone could be a little bit on the salty side of things; no regrets here as the bowl of rice was exactly what we needed to mop up that entire bowl of soup clean.

Having tried just a very small variety of items which The Kongsee has to offer for its lunch menu, we did find their lunch menu to differ quite a bit from their dinner offerings — whilst the dinner items served here are more poised towards dishes that would go especially well with their alcoholic beverages, the lunch items are more about being hearty and wholesome with more emphasis on local elements; that familiar hint of nostalgia with that slight mod-Sin twist that is typical of Chef Willin Low. True to their vision, The Kongsee does give a playful and inventive touch to local cuisine for that modern spin — offering their own take of classic local dishes on the menu that sets the table talking as they gather together for good company. We are most certainly impressed with what The Kongsee has to offer — have heard some good reviews on their KFC (Kongsee Fried Chicken) from the dinner menu, while the wait staff who attended to our table mostly during our meal also recommended the Iberico Pork Nasi Ulam which she has mentioned was her favourite dish; probably two items which we would most certainly be ordering if we ever make our revisit to The Kongsee again!