The Kongsee

I ain’t gonna lie, I forgot most of the cocktails we had at @thekongsee.sg. However, I do remember that you MUST order a cocktail or four from The Kongsee’s extensive elixir offerings. Which cocktail is which is a little hazy to me, but I definitely remember being impressed by an Ol’ Fashioned TCM ($23++), which is probably the bottom left glass in the first picture. ⠀
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Malt whisky is married to aromatic Mandarin bitters, and the bitter notes are balanced out with the sweetness of red dates & dark chocolate. It smells like a really nice traditional Chinese medicine hall, and this silky smooth concoction does taste a little like medicine. However it’s the most delicious medicine you’ll ever have, and probably the most effective too.⠀
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Other crackin’ cocktails include the fabulously floral Once and Flor-al ($23++), which is a gin sour that’s been jazzed up by the inclusion of elderflower & lavender. The Pandan Punk ($23++ too) has the aromatics of pandan married to the sweetness of rum, and punctuated by a dash of citrus. The cocktails at The Kongsee do tend to be on the sweeter end of the spectrum, and would probably be more suited to the ladies. Still, alcohol is alcohol, and I’ll drink it with gusto.
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Till we meet again, thank you so much for the generous hospitality @thekongsee.sg & @kevin._.ngan, and thanks for inviting me along @wobblethebui!⠀

@thekongsee.sg may not have the most extensive dessert selection, but it is one of the most tightly curated ones in a Singaporean restaurant. There are only three dessert items available, but all three are quite tremendous.⠀
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Next up was the Churro Waffle with Kaya Ice Cream ($12++ as well), which was a fittingly decadent finale for a luxurious meal. The Kaya Ice Cream, which is made in house if I recall correctly, was inundated with the fragrance of pandan & gula melaka, and has a strong sweetness that carried over perfectly to the churro. The Kongsee had made an effort to ensure that the oil used to deep fry the churros is clean as possible, resulting in an airy, fluffy churro that sports a crusty exterior devoid of any offensive odours from the oil. The churro was purpose built to soak up the fast melting kaya ice cream, and it did that effortlessly. There was never a worry about the ice cream melting or the churro going cold, because every element was so exemplary that we polished everything off in record timing.⠀
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Thanks for having us, @thekongsee.sg & @kevin._.ngan, and thanks for letting me be a plus one @wobblethebui!

@thekongsee.sg may not have the most extensive dessert selection, but it is one of the most tightly curated ones in a Singaporean restaurant. There are only three dessert items available, but all three are quite tremendous.⠀
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First up is the Coconut Sugar Crème Brûlée ($12++), which sees the classic French dessert given the Mod-Sin glow-up with coconut sugar replacing the regular sugar. The result is the prominent flavours or toasted coconut which enhance the depth of flavours and aromas in the dessert. The custard is ravishingly rich, silky smooth and suitably sweet, and we had a cracking good time smashing the thin, crunchy layer of crystalline caramel topping the creamy custard.⠀
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Thanks for having us, @thekongsee.sg & @kevin._.ngan, and thanks for letting me be a plus one @wobblethebui!

If you ask me, the essence of Mod-Sin cuisine seems to be taking Singaporean classics and elevating them by either refining the recipe or increasing the quality of ingredients used. In the case of @thekongsee.sg Black Angus Ramly Burger ($26++), both are applicable. It’s only available at lunch for now, but I do wish it would be up on the dinner menu too. After all, a good, greasy Ramly burger is what you need to pad your stomach on a good night with lots of booze.⠀
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Like I mentioned before, The Kongsee’s Chef Partner @willcookwilleat has upgraded the standard pasar malam (night market) Ramly by swapping out just about everything for vastly improved versions. First and most importantly, the usual tiny frozen mystery meat patty is subbed off for a dummy thicc Black Angus beef patty. The standard, slightly stale mass produced burger bun is ditched in favour of supremely soft brioche buns that also add a little sweetness to the maelstrom of flavours. The deliriously juicy & meaty Black Angus patty is superbly salted, and it’s the main source of savouriness in this behemoth burger. ⠀
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It’s gently wrapped in an omelette envelope that’s absolutely smothered by chili mayonnaise made in house, and some black pepper sauce. The only minor gripe I had with this otherwise brilliant Black Angus Ramly burger was that it could’ve done with more black pepper sauce for a more concentrated peppery kick, but everything else was excellent otherwise. In short, Chef Willin took every principle that makes a tasty burger and applied it to a Ramly burger, and this pricey but ponderous & phenomenal burger is damn near perfect.⠀
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Thanks for hosting us, @thekongsee.sg & @kevin._.ngan, and thank you @wobblethebui for letting me tag along!

Friday, Friday, gotta get fried chicken on Friday, lookin’ forward to the weekend-oh sorry, I simply had to sing the praises of Kongsee’s Fried Chicken ($32++). What appears to be half of an abnormally colossal chicken is coated in a fabulous prawn paste batter and deep fried to absolute golden perfection, and served with sriracha mayonnaise on the side.⠀
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Despite being one of the simplest sounding dishes on the menu at The Kongsee, it was arguably the best. Each part of bird, from the breasts to the thighs, was deep fried to perfection. The breast cut was astonishingly moist & supple despite being the breast, and the the wing was unusually large. The entire bird had been fully permeated with the delicious, savoury aromatics of the prawn paste marinade. As addicting as the chicken is, the sriracha mayo just propels it to an awesome new level. Subtly spicy, ridiculously rich and charmingly creamy, this stellar sriracha mayonnaise would be excellent with absolutely anything.
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The result was an insanely delicious chicken, loaded with the umami of the prawn paste and coated with a terrifically thin and crunchy batter. And that is the reason why the Kongsee Fried Chicken (KFC) is absolutely amazing: the supple, juicy chicken is juxtaposed against the crunch of the batter, and every last morsel is full flavoured with the savouriness of the prawn paste. The Kongsee’s KFC is the yin & yang of food: crispy yet juicy, flavourful yet restrained, savoury yet not surfeiting. A masterful masterclass in deep fried chicken, if you ask me.⠀
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Many thanks for (over)feeding us, @thekongsee.sg & @kevin._.ngan, and thank you for hooking me up @wobblethebui!

Laksa is a common hawker food staple that’s economical and simple, yet delicious & warms the cockles of your heart. However, if you let @thekongsee.sg Chef Partner @willcookwilleat make laksa, you get a pimped up bowl of spicy goodness in the form of The Kongsee’s Roxy Crab Laksa ($12++ for this bowl at dinner, $20++ for a big bowl at lunch).
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Chef Willin Low’s secret recipe laksa broth is insanely indulgent. The spice from the sambal chili in the laksa paste balanced out by the richness coming from the coconut milk in the broth. Speaking of the broth, the broth itself is remarkably robust, and it might just have started out as a really good crab or seafood stock before all the spices & coconut milk was added to it. Of course, the sapid stock base just makes the luscious laksa broth all the more enjoyable, and we were so entranced by the laksa we actually ordered two more bowls.⠀
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Not only did the laksa broth get upgraded, the ingredients also got a glow up. Well, one of them did, with the cockles being replaced by fresh, slightly sweet & briny wild caught crab meat. The thick noodles & the slices of fishcake within were perfectly cooked and nicely bouncy, and the taupok (beancurd puffs) were the perfect sponge, soaking up that gorgeous laksa broth.⠀
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The Roxy Crab Laksa rocked my world, and I wouldn’t hesitate to fork out another twenty bucks for another brilliant bowl of lush laksa. Thank you so much for the warm hospitality @thekongsee.sg & @kevin._.ngan, and thanks to @wobblethebui for the jio!