Forget counting calories at Kilo Kitchen in Bali, you’ll want to sample the full menu

Getting to Kilo Kitchen in Pererenan, Bali, can be a bit of a trek if travelling by car, but hop onto the back of a Gojek and you’ll soon be marveling at the the lush gardens and vibrant rice fields on either side of the road as your bike speeds along.

Stepping into Kilo Kitchen’s second Bali establishment, which is situated in the heart of Pererenan, you’ll first notice the street art that hangs off the left main wall, kind of hinting at the street-smart hawkers’ menu tasting experience to come. At the other end of the restaurant, the décor is more pared back, and together these two styles of design represent the classic-meets-street aesthetic of Kilo Kitchen’s menu.

This is the second Kilo Kitchen to open in Bali – the first still enjoying rave reviews, situated in touristy Seminyak.

Kilo Kitchen presents Asian fusion at its finest, thanks to a combination of traditional and contemporary cooking methods and stunning presentation.

Take the Truffled Tai Yuzu Roll to start with – a modern take on traditional sushi roll injected with zesty truffle yuzu dressing. It’s lip-smackingly delicious. As is Kilo’s Steak Tartare, which sees tenderloin finely chopped and mixed with jicama (kind of like a yam bean – but from Mexico) and gochujang (a chili paste from Korea). The tenderness of the beef soaks up the juices of the dressing and paste beautifully. Double lip-smackingly delicious.

Steak Tartare (at top) and Truffled Tai Yuzu Roll, the latter a Kilo Kitchen staple.

Kilo Kitchen is another Bali eatery where share-dining is highly recommended – that way you get to sample many of the dishes on offer, and swap conversational reviews with one another.

One dish that got approval all-round among our table of five was the Black and White Prawn Ravioli in which king prawns are doused in a sake-infused butter sauce. It’s Japanese-meets-Italian and something that all seafood lovers ought to try.

Ravioli gets the Asian fusion and foam treatment.

Other dishes well-worthy of sharing are the Jerk Lamb Shank with a jerk sauce as good as you’d find in a Jamaican restaurant, served with a quinoa and cucumber salad, and grilled pita bread, and the Corn Furikake – a simple but delectable dish of baby corn drizzled with furikake dressing (for the uninitiated, the dressing includes toasted sesame seed oil, dried nori, and a variety of dried herbs). Indeed, I could have kept eating this stuff as though it were popcorn.

Corn Furikake: a simple but delectable dish.

The richness of the dishes on the Kilo Kitchen menu are best enjoyed with a cocktail or two. Select your bevvy from a lengthy list that includes a ‘A Sure Thing’ cocktail (homemade vanilla-infused vocka, cucumber, mint and lime), an ‘Orale Way’ (tequila, chipotle, tamarind and agabe nectar), or the daringly titled OJ Simpson (homemade orange-infused rum, lemon, cream and orange bitters).

The next time you’re in Bali, be sure to hope on the back of a bike and make your way to this great oasis amid the vivid greenery of Pererenan. With entrees starting at around AUD12 and mains from around AUD20, it’s fine dining on a budget.

Antonino Tati

Kilo Kitchen is situated at No. 170 Jl. Pantai Pererenan Pererenan, Canggu, Bali.