Food meant for sharing, and served on communal plates seem to be an impending trend among “haute” restaurants, including the 1 year old Kuvo Restaurant and Bar on Orchard Road, with its new revamped menu focusing almost entirely on shared bites and cocktail pairings from its quirky resident mixologist, Yutaka Nakashima.
What this mean is that alcoholic drinks will take on an equally significant footing at the new Kuvo. The menu had also been given a dressed down, the food made more casual, and an extensive drinks menu (with Bespoke cocktails of course). A corner was also carved out for a live-band, which rolls out popular English and Chinese ballads.
The starters of Brandy Flambeed Beef Cube ($22), Grilled Octopus ($16), Sous-vide Calamari Ajilo ($XX) and Atlantic Cod Meuniere ($20) were good, safe bets that any diners would not find fault with. But they also failed to make an impression. 
The exclusive to Kuvo only, Antica Fratta Brut Prosecco ($17) did illustrate Kuvo’s ambition to reclaim its place at Singapore’s competitive bar scene by offering not only the premium but also the privileged spirits confined to them. The Prosecco was fruity, zesty and definitely the best drink to start the meal.
An unexpected favourite of mine was the combination of the Kuvo Coffee Hot Wings ($14) with the Brewski Yen ($21). Neither a fan of fried chicken nor a beer-philiac, and definitely not putting them together. So I do appreciate this milder version that Kuvo’s team had created. Still fried chicken with beer in essence, but it was a reinterpretation of a favourite bar food, and the end product took on a classier outlook with bits of cheekiness. Strangely, the wings did not taste like coffee, but resembled a caramelised marmite coated Har-Cheong-Kai I had at some of my favourite Zi-Char stalls. The addictive blue cheese dip that came along was a brilliant finishing touch, while the chilled Brewski Yen, which was refreshing with an added tang of Suze, lemon and ginger ale each gave a bite of wonderful aftertaste. So much character excluding from this pair; I cannot imagine ordering one without the other the next time I visit.
I thought the Wagyu & Camembert Sliders ($17) was the least impressive dish of the night. It did not taste bad but I thought it did not appear good alongside other well-thought out dishes; both the bread and the beef patty were relatively dry, the Camembert cheese did little to elevate the taste of the sliders and the accompanying portobello and cheese rolls, and truffle cream matched with traditional Asian deep fried shrimp wanton and wasabi mayonnaise were a mishmash of passé trendy foods from the East and the West.
The English Scotch Egg was most fascinating- hot battered crust encasing a juicy wagyu veal meatball with a soft-boiled egg and runny egg yolk. A victim of its own success, it also meant that this has to be eaten right away upon serving as the meat juice would turn the crispy crust soggy in no time. Not withstanding this, the melted edam cheese and red wine onion au jus blended in perfectly with the juice coming from the minced meat patty. To up the ante for any Scotch Egg and Maguro lovers, Kuvo’s English Scotch Egg also came in an tuna option. A specially concocted Captain B.R. ($21) of Earl Grey infused Rum, fresh lemon and soda water was available as a pairing with the Scotch Eggs.
Sharing plates at the new Kuvo is definitely a great attempt in bringing people closer together. While I do miss the food at the Old Kuvo, the new Kuvo brought about a more intimate experience, and especially with so much spirits, letting them run so high.
KUVO
321 Orchard Road #02-01 Orchard Shopping Centre Singapore 238866
Tel: +65 9277 3315/ 6733 8272
Operating Hours: Sun to Thurs & PH 12:00pm to 1:00am (Sun to Thurs & PH)
12:00pm to 2:00am (Fri, Sat, Eve of PH)
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The above article is written by Guest Writer @ramenking2016. You can find him on instagram where he shares his love for food and travel.
