Kafe Utu

We, the younger sis and I, have been wanting to try Kafe Utu, an African restaurant for a while. Actually I have been looking for an Ethiopian restaurant here, but this is the closest I can get. Although they don't sell injera, the Ethiopian flatbread, their African cuisine and the atmosphere of the restaurant have garnered rave reviews.

We took a scenic walk around the CBD before getting to the restaurant, passing Fort Canning, and Chinatown. When we arrived, the place was already full, so we got in the e-queue and went out to explore the area nearby. Half an hour later, we were notified that our seats were ready.

We sat at the counter and had a view of the barista working the coffee station with the coffee machine and grinder, filter coffee and other drinks. After our barista course, we have a better appreciation for what baristas do.

We ordered Nigerian Fiery Peppered Pork Stew (black Angus pork belly, charred peppers, smoked fish and habanero served with mango salsa and coconut rice; $33), Shamba Salad with peri peri chicken (fresh herbs, Spanish red onion, pomegranate, quinoa, house chapati; $27), and Fried Plantain (ripe plantain and Liberian dried spices served with mango chilli marmalade; $17). For drinks, I got the Bidibado “Abracadabra” (Ubuntu espresso, 70% dark chocolate and creamy Hokkaido milk, cup rim drab with organic peanut butter, roasted almonds and pink peppercorns; $7), sis got Ibada (Four ristretto shots extracted directly into chilled Hokkaido milk; $6).

I'm sure glad we finally got here. The food was excellent and the service was awesome. The pork stew reminded us of Chinese pork belly stew, but it was not oily or greasy, and the pork is not fatty. The pork pieces practically melt in your mouth. The coconut rice was different from our local nasi lemak rice. It was moist and there was grated coconut on top. The texture was more like a dessert rice, but it paired well with the pork, as did the mango salsa.

The shamba salad with peri peri chicken was another great dish. The chicken was on skewers, like yakitori. The salad was crisp and refreshing. I don't normally choose quinoa but this was okay. The one thing lacking in this dish was the chapati. It was slightly undercooked.

Again, I was deceived by the write-up of the fried plantains. They were much better than the ones we had at Lime although they were not deep-fried. The spices gave the plantains some kick and the mango marmalade was a great touch.

The drinks were interesting. My Bidibado had peanut butter, roasted almonds and pink peppercorns on the rim of the cup. I'd ordered it as I was intrigued by the presence of peppercorn. I know chilli goes well with chocolate, so I was wondering how the peppercorn goes with the coffee. It was not as strange as it sounded but the coffee itself was overpowered by the chocolate.

Overall, I give this 4.5 Aunty Karens. The food and service were great. I would come back to try their other offerings, except maybe not too soon as still need to get over the prices.