COL's Beef Tartare on Endives

Checked out Chef Colin Buchan's COL on Keong Saik Road. I didn't feel like popping in to a hotel bar. I'll always pick something more casual. The restaurant is sited in a shophouse, so be prepared for poor acoustics leading to a noisy bistro type of ambience. Its lighting is kept dim and dark, and very dark at the tables except by candlelight. HAHAHAH. The air-conditioning is fine and the ceiling fans keep it sufficiently ventilated. 

COL offers decent vibes and a fun-enough menu. We stuck to conservative choices that we know a London bistro worth its salt will do well. Their portions for each sharing plate is perfectly controlled, even if there're only two diners at the table. The food isn't overwhelmingly heavy in that way unless you order a ton of things. 

I didn't even bother finishing my G&T; gave a half glass to the man who had happily finished his Vesper martini. I'm not just that keen on alcohol nowadays because the digestive tract says so. The man went straight for the chickpea hummus with pickled beetroot, golden raisins, dukkah and olive oil. It came with a few pieces of crispy bread with a lot of holes. MUAHHAHAHA. We wondered if it was soaked in milk too, like how you do croutons before frying them up. 

I had to have the taramasalata on grilled bread sprinkled with sansho pepper, preserved lemons and chives. I love taramasalata, and I'm always curious about how each kitchen does theirs. This one was absolutely delicious. The aged beef tartare with gherkins, shallots, and candied pecans was awesomely flavored. The brilliant touch is in the choice of red Belgian endives — raw endive pouches of beef tartare were so so tasty. 

Had mains of a beautifully grilled Iberico pork loin with lardo, carrots, crushed apples, cider jus and mustard oil. I didn't bother with the sauce. Just the crushed apples and a touch of mustard worked so well for the tastebuds. I wished they had given more carrots. Ooof. Had a roasted cauliflower on a bed of Sakiyo miso, green sauce and garlic pangrattato. 

Didn't go overboard on the food. We wanted the burger and the hand rolled tagliatelle with Scottish mussels, but that was no more space for anything. Next time. We'd definitely return to COL for another good and casual meal. Made it to dessert because I wanted it. It's a rare that I enjoy dessert, but this, I do, tangy — citrus curd, rye biscuit, marscarpone, meringue and kaffir lime. It was soooo good. I skipped the meringue that came in two sticks. Hahaha.