The RawR Kitchen is a cosy little bistro in the day serving homely comfort Italian-styled food. It is also a local micro brewery that has been recently awarded Silver in the
2016 Southeast Asia Beer Award for its Weizen (wheat beer). Another favourite of mine, Hitachino was also awarded for its Pilsner and Stout.
But where in the world is this bistro brewery located? Address states 31 Bukit Batok Crescent, The Splendour. The only places in Bukit Batok that I know of would be Bukit Batok MRT and bus interchange, Little Guilin and Keming Primary School.
The Splendour is actually an industrial area, so unless you're staying or working nearby, then likely this will be the first time getting to know its name. A quick search on Google, and you'll see that the landmark to The Splendour would be Unity Center. It was not difficult to get to Bukit Batok Crescent but locating The Splendour was a tad tricky for first timers. Once you turn in to The Splendour, go down and turn left and you'll see a Japanese restaurant called
Kotoshi Ryori. RawR is located at level 2 above Kotoshi Ryori.
Bus #189 from Clementi MRT station towards Bukit Batok would bring you to Bukit Batok Crescent Midview Building bus stop. From there, it is walkable to The Splendour. The RawR Kitchen (#02-01) is accessible via the lift at the right side of Kotoshi.
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| entrance |
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| cosy bistro |
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| drink beer, fresh brewed craft |
But what is craft beer? The loose definition of craft beer; beer made in a traditional or non-mechanized way by a small, independant brewery. Simply put, craft beers are beer not brewed by 'mega-brewery' or the big boys. Then, what is a
microbrewery? A small independant breweries that produces less than 1,800,000 liters (or 15,000 beer barrels) annually.
Ok, 'nuff talk. Getting thirsty and hungry! Let's see what RawR has to offer.The prices of craft beer here are all day Happy Hour pricing. Nothing more than $11++.
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| coffee, or ontap? |
Not to worry if you're a teetotaller, there's still coffee. But, for the drinkers, there's enough choices to warrant repeat visits. Or, just get their craft beer buffet on weekends. For $35 nett, you'll get to drink as much as you want, as many flavours (up to 11 taps, depending on availability) within 2 hours time limit. But a word of caution, and yes,
if you drink then don't drive.
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| light sampler (left to right) cider, wheat beer and root beer |
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| brown sampler (left to right) brown ale, english bitter and pilsner |
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| dark sampler (right to left) IPA, dunkel, stout |
Was privileged to be able to sample 9 types of beer ontap, but it was hard to focus once you've found your favourite.
Let's see what kind of beer that I've drunk and liked. There's Kölsch (RedDot), White Ale (Hitachino Nest), Tokyo Blonde (Far Yeast), Chimay Rouge (Trappist), Asahi, Sapporo, Kronenbourg Blanc, Satan Gold and ciders. Usually Belgian and Japanese stuffs.
Guess which is my favourite from RawR?
The
Root Beer. Yeah, where the
beer is finally restored back to its origin. Did you know that the tradition of brewing root beer was thought to have evolved from small beer, where fermented drinks with low alcohol content were thought to be healthier as water contamination was rampant then.
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| RawR Root Beer ABV 3% |
I think it wasn't a good idea to drink the award-winning Wheat Beer after the Root Beer. Nevertheless, the Wheat Beer has a light golden colour, fresh yeasty taste and overall balanced flavour.
The other drink that I thought was quite interesting, was the Dunkel with its pronounced roastiness. The Stout was very coffee-like, smooth and at times hinging on a bit of saltiness especially when drunk after food.
Yes, the drinks are all laid out on the table but what about the food at RawR? With all the drinks, am ready for something hearty and hearty is what RawR does well.
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| Carbonara Spaghetti @$13++ |
A generous plate of noodles cooked with lots of bacon, onions, garlic, then added with small dose of cream and topped with a raw egg sprinkled with lots of black pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Hmm, the prawns...not too sure why there are prawns in the carbonara but I'll eat it with thanks.
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| pretty, isn't it? |
The carbonara is just the cure for the hungries. Slurp up the noodles easily, and each bite surely has some bacon bits and onions in it. Yummy.
But, the best is yet to come.
The Bolognese Spaghetti was really photogenic even in its simple form. Pasta, meat sauce and grated cheese. However, the meat sauce was really a labour of love. Cooked and stirred over 6 hours before we, as diners, finally got to eat it. And this effort, was conveyed through the taste. My first mouthful was so good that I kept wanting more of that. Was also thinking if they have nachos chips to scoop up those minced meat...wonder if they'd ever do a spicy version of this...
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| Bolognese Spaghetti @$11++ |
You might have known by now that RawR serves up some mean
Molten Wings. Dangerously high in spice level that its printed red on the menu. Would I be eating some? No, thank you. Lucky us, we got the Salted Egg Yolk Wings instead.
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| Salted Egg Yolk Wings @$7++ (3 wings) |
These sets of wings were so juicy, so tasty! The size of the wings were reasonable. The salted egg yolk sauce wasn't overpowering and one could still taste the marinade of the wings. Very good to go with the beers.
Hop on down on weekends (Fri, Sat and Sun), and you could drink like a fish with their Craft Beer Buffet priced at $35 nett per pax for 2 hours. How many glasses of beers have you tried drinking in two hours? And on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, do keep a lookout for the deep fried pork belly that's not available on weekdays.
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| the pull of craft beers ontap |
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| craft beer buffet |
Overall, RawR Kitchen is a good place to visit for locally fresh brewed craft beers and hearty, good food.
Root beer will taste the same, but yet, never be the same again thereafter.
Thank you RawR Kitchen for hosting the dinner, and
Hence for the invite.
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