Indigo Blue Kitchen
1 Scotts Road
#03-10 Shaw Centre
https://www.indigobluekitchen.com.sg/
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| Ngoh Hiang (SGD $14) |
Exquisite Peranakan Dishes
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $35 per person.
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Established in May 2019, Indigo Blue Kitchen is the Peranakan concept of the Les Amis Group. The cozy, home styled Indigo Blue Kitchen offers classic Baby-Nyonya dishes, curated from traditional family recipes, presented in modern contemporary style with a touch of the brand's signature flair. A tribute to founder Desmond Lim's grandparents, Indigo Blue Kitchen allows diners to rediscover the flavours from his family's history.
Ambience at Indigo Blue Kitchen has a quiet contemporary elegance. Designed to resemble a cozy dining room, the low but wide dining tables surrounded by comfortable cushioned chairs allow for communal dining. Warm lights illuminate the place from low hanging decorative lamps. The furnishing has a modern look, with pops of colour that lend a breath of character, complementing the vibrant artwork on the walls.
Service at Indigo Blue Kitchen has a casual professionalism to it, befitting their brand. Staff accord each diner personalised attention, from greeting to goodbye. They display good product knowledge on the menu, being able to describe dishes. I like that they proactively offer to clear finished plates throughout the meal. While not at the level of fine dining, they are more than capable of creating a good casual dining experience.
Food at Indigo Blue Kitchen is focused on Peranakan cuisine, drawing on traditional, time-tested recipes from the founder's family. Dishes are well executed, but in comparison to other places, the amount of spice and herbs used here is toned down, resulting in milder crowd-pleasing flavours that will appeal to most. Portions are sized for sharing. Prices are upper mid-range, budget about SGD $35 per person for a meal here.
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| Indigo Blue Kitchen Exterior |
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| Indigo Blue Kitchen Interior |
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| Seating |
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| Us |
A fragrant bowl of Jasmine White Rice (SGD $2) is the perfect staple to accompany a meal, though it's rather expensive here.
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| Jasmine White Rice (SGD $2) |
The Ngoh Hiang (SGD $14) is meaty and juicy, with addictive sweet savoury salty flavour. These deep-fried meat rolls are made with minced pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, and spring onions, wrapped in a 5-spice beancurd skin. Paired with a sticky sweet sauce and a sharp spicy chili. Worth ordering!
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| Ngoh Hiang (SGD $14) |
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| Ngoh Hiang |
Flavoured with the house secret spice mix, the Otah-Otah (SGD $14) has a soft moist chew. With bold savoury spicy notes, you can taste the flavours of the Spanish mackerel fish, spices, and chili. It's steamed then grilled, resulting in a fragrant smoky aroma. Good!
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| Otah-Otah (SGD $14) |
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| Otah-Otah |
The Chap Chye (SGD $18) is so good, among our favourites of our visit. This vegetable stew features prawns, pork belly, cabbage, beancurd sheets, shiitake mushrooms, lily buds, cellophane mung bean noodles, and black fungus / cloud ear fungus, all braised till soft in a fermented shrimp and soybean gravy. Has lovely vegetal earthy sweet salty savoury meaty flavours, that is both rich yet comforting. A soulful dish that causes you to crave more. Highly recommended!
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| Chap Chye (SGD $18) |
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| Chap Chye |
Fairly decent Sambal Long Beans (SGD $12) here. Tossed in a dried shrimp and sambal belachan paste, what I like is the soft crunch retained by the long beans, a sign that it's cooked just right. With deep vegetal sweet savoury spicy flavours, this pairs well with other dishes. Worth ordering!
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| Sambal Long Beans (SGD $12) |
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| Sambal Long Beans |
The Duroc Pork Rib Pongteh (SGD $24) was decent enough, but ultimately forgettable as a dish. Maybe it didn't quite appeal to me. I recall the pork ribs having tender meat that comes off easily from the bone, but the earthy savoury spicy flavours of the fermented soybean gravy was underwhelming. What stood out here was the shiitake mushrooms, which burst with a bold juicy texture and deep earthy flavour. Could be improved.
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| Duroc Pork Rib Pongteh (SGD $24) |
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| Duroc Pork Rib Pongteh |
The Chicken Berempah (SGD $18) was so good, we finished it and called for another order. Easily our favourite dish here, the piping hot chunks of fried chicken have tender juicy meat, and the spice mix coating (which includes curry leaves and ginger) lend an addictive savoury spice flavour. Yummy. Highly recommended!
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| Chicken Berempah (SGD $18) |
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| Chicken Berempah |
The Chicken Buah Keluak (SGD $26) is among the better renditions I've had, with robust and deep earthy nutty savoury flavours. The chicken meat is tender and moist, coming easily off the bones, and has picked up the flavours from the spiced tamarind gravy. The earthy herbal nutty flavours of the buah keluak / pangium edule seeds are intense and fragrant, with a chunky grainy paste, rather like an Asian truffle if you will. Good!
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| Chicken Buah Keluak (SGD $26) |
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| Chicken Buah Keluak |
The Beef Rendang (SGD $24) features cuts of tender Australian beef brisket and beef shin, in a rich aromatic house rendang spice paste. With bold meaty savoury spicy flavours and a light chew, this is actually pretty good. However, the portion is rather small for the price, I wish they gave more.
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| Beef Rendang (SGD $24) |
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| Beef Rendang |
The Chendol (SGD $9) features a mix of grainy crushed ice, slippery home made pandan / screwpine leaf infused jelly noodles, soft kidney beans, thick gula melaka / palm sugar, smooth fresh coconut milk, and bouncy attap seeds / nipa palm seeds. The most pronounced among the milky earthy sweet floral fruity flavours here, is actually the gula melaka / palm sugar, which makes this dessert so delicious. Highly recommended!
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| Chendol (SGD $9) |
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| Chendol |
The Apom With 2 Pengats (SGD $16) is designed to be visually appealing. The 6 pieces of warm apom / rice puffs are freshly made, and half are then infused with butterfly pea flower essence, giving it a vibrant hue. With a chewy spongy texture and light grainy sweet flavour, the apom / rice puffs are great for mopping up the thick and creamy pengats. There are 2 pengats here, both with bright fruity sweet flavour. There's tender caramelised banana in a sticky caramel sauce, and creamy D24 durian paste in a rich gula melaka / palm sugar and coconut milk gravy. Good!
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| Apom With 2 Pengats (SGD $16) |
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| Apom With 2 Pengats |
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CONVERSATION