Brawn Steakhouse

Found out about this restaurant located at Marina Bay Link Mall via UOB's little booklet of promotions. Who would miss a promo that says free flow ribs with wine? A quick googling turned up some pretty good reviews. So Lynn and I decided to have my birthday dinner here.

The mall is actually connected to Raffles Place MRT station by a very long underpass. The alternative route is to take bus number 97 and drop off at the Marina Bay Financial Centre. We took 97, and due to some mis-estimation by eye-balling the map, got off one stop too early. Then we very stupidly went down to the underground area of the mall, even though the restaurant's address said level 1. So up we went again and eventually found the place. 

The restaurant is very nicely furbished with chandeliers, brown seats and neatly pressed tablecloths (we knew for a fact cos we saw the maitre ironing the tablecloths...). Service was impeccable, and the maitre was super attentive, and knew how everything on the menu are prepared. I was quite impressed. There were several ongoing promotions. One was $99++ for free flow ribs, wine and some sides. The other was a $68++ tenderloin and premium wine promo. We wanted meat, and both not so keen on tenderloin, so we decided to order stuff off their ala carte menu.

We ordered half dozen escargots, a 330g Wagyu Rump steak to share, pan-fried foie gras, crab cake, and potato decker. While waiting for our food to arrive, Lynn was happily snapping photos of the decor, and we were served bread. I happily took a piece, and was delighted to find that it was hot! So I started tempting Lynn who rushed through her little photography to pounce on the bread. The hot bread melted the butter immediately, and the result was a warm, buttery mouthful of happiness. Their butter was a little special too. Tastes better than the standard SCS butter, and probably saltier. We were contemplating whether to ask for another serving of bread when the server asked us "More bread for you ladies?". Needless to say, we were quick to say YES!

The escargot arrived soon after the second basket of bread. I was immediately disappointed to see - no shells! Their version didn't come with garlic butter sauce, but something more along olive oil and tomatoes. While the sauce tasted good on its own, again the flavor doesn't enter the flesh. I do think shell is necessary in the cooking process to arrive at richly flavored escargots... It lacked a little saltiness too, so we only each discovered with our last piece that a dollop of the the salty butter helps a lot. Too late, but at least we really enjoyed the last bite.

Everything else arrived at the same time. We had to hurriedly polish off the last of the bread to focus on the main stuff. =) Their foie gras was a little uneven. Lynn's first mouth and her verdict was "not melt in your mouth enough". So I tried. The liver gave way to my knife with minimum pressure, and the entire piece simply dissolve in my mouth to release all its livery goodness. So I told her "here very melt lei". So she tried my side and agreed. The soft parts are really heavenly, and I had to stop all conversations with each mouth to thoroughly savor the taste. This is the best foie gras I've ever eaten! (Ok, to be fair, I've only had it thrice.)

The steak. Well, I have to admit on first bite, it didn't compare as well to The Steakhouse's. The truth is because its less marbled, so it doesn't have as much of the fatty aroma of the Wagyu Ribeye. But in long run, we finished the meal less cloyingly than The Steakhouse. And because of this, we were more able to enjoy the Blue Cheese Sauce that we ordered along with the steak. I think a fatty ribeye will turn us off the blue cheese quite quickly, so in this case, the Wagyu Rump fits the bill nicely. Moreover with the fatty foie gras, we needed less fats in our meat! There were still those occasional bites with more fats that left us speechless, savoring the flavor of the fats in our mouths. Yes, this was a meal with a lot of speechless, blissful moments. And yes, the blue cheese sauce definitely added to those moments. Its so blue cheesy~~ we love it!

The potato decker is in fact twice-baked potato. They bake a potato, halve it, dig out the flesh and mash it with something (I can't remember what), put it back into the skin, top it with parmesan cheese, and bake it again. It was pretty good, but you do have to eat it while its hot, else the cheese will dry out and harden, and is quite a mess to deal with. I did suggest to Lynn that maybe bacon in the mash potato will be a vast improvement. =) (Agree???) The crab cake was just crab meat moulded into a patty and fried. Nothing really special here and we didn't finish it.

Because it's a dinner for my birthday, Brawn Steakhouse was sweet to give us a complimentary cake. Its a larva cake, with a thick, molten centre. We were quite full by then, so we weren't quite able to finish the cake. Moreover, I think because of their special butter, the molten part was a little too salty for a dessert. Pity, cos I do think it ruined an otherwise perfect cake. Pity we were too stuffed too, cos we saw baked alaska in their dessert list (though named differently) and really didn't have to space for it. For those who actually know what baked alaska is, you will know that not many places in Singapore serves it.

Escargots

Pan-fried foie gras

Crab cake

Potato Decker

Wagyu Rump steak cut into two to share - this is half

Close up of the MEAT!!

Blue cheese sauce

Complimentary chocolate cake

As you can see, salad is served alongside almost any dishes, so no worries about lack of fibre here. And the price is actually ok too. The sides (other than the foie gras) costs less than $10 each. The location however, is a drawback, so the restaurant was very quiet. Throughout the 2 hours we were there on a Tuesday night, there was only 2 tables other than us. Pity if they close down due to poor business, the food here is good, and the pricing reasonable. We will be back to try the free flow ribs and the baked alaska. =)

Update: We went back for the free-flow ribs promotion. At $98++, you get one-for-one (meaning for 2 pax) free flow ribs in two flavors, salad, baked potatoes, and wine. The ribs came in braised or barbecued (I think). The braised one was so tender we were surprised when we cut it. But it had a very strong 'beefy' taste that spoilt it completely. We asked to return it. The barbecued one was pretty good. We ordered a second serving of it and regretted terribly. Barely finished half of the 2nd serving. The meat was nowhere as good as their ala carte, and I'm sure had we gone for this deal the first time round, this restaurant wouldn't see us a second time. And because we ordered foie gras (still as good and blissful moments were enjoyed) and the flaming baked alaska (they call it something else in their menu - some long name containing meringue, blah blah...), we realised the total cost actually wasn't much cheaper than the ala carte way of ordering, only it comes with wine. So for patrons considering this place, forget the deal. Just go for the ala carte.

The flaming alaska wasn't as good as Shashlik's, but still enjoyable. So we enjoyed only the beginning and the end of this meal - both ala carte items.

The flaming baked alaska. Yum!

Palio (Resorts World Sentosa)

Hubby and me tried out this restaurant at Hotel Michael after a day out at the Universal Studios. We checked it out in the first place due to Lynn's previous recommendation that she saw a pizza place outside USS that looked pretty good. A quick price comparison revealed that the pizza in a pizza cafe in USS cost $42 for a whole pizza, while it costs $24 at Palio. Hm, add in the self-service versus the waitress-service, the decision was obvious.

The mains were actually priced pretty steep, but not unexpected from an Italian restaurant based in Sentosa. I was eyeing a baked cod that was priced at $38, but seeing hubby had already paid for all our expenses that day, I was unwilling to tax his wallet further. The pizza prices were decent, so I opted to share a large pizza with him instead. He chose an asparagus pizza, which I was fine with. We both decided we wanted bruschetta, and I wanted Caprese, which was fresh mozzarella with tomato and basil.

We were served Italian bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar while waiting for our food to arrive. I know I once told some colleagues that I disliked Italian bread. I take back what I said. Seems like I do love Italian bread, just not in Italy! (For some reasons, the bread I had in Italy were dry, hard things that most human beings can't tackle properly). The crusty bread went so well with the oil and vinegar, I had at least 4 slices - that's probably half the loaf! (I apologize for the funny pattern in the picture of the olive oil and vinegar - that's the reflection from the ceiling I had obviously not noticed when I took the picture.)

The first whiff I had of the bruschetta when it arrived brought a big smile on my face. It smelled so good! Upon the first bite, I felt that it was a little spicy, quite unlike any bruschetta I had previously eaten. By the time I reached my second piece, the spiciness was feeling more like tingling. I really couldn't place that zip - no idea what ingredient was causing it. Hubby struggled through a third slice and gave up. We both agreed that it was very good on the first slice, but that zip was getting weird by the third.

When I ordered the Caprese, I was picturing thickly sliced mozzarella alternatively arranged with sliced tomatoes. So I was a little surprised to see quartered tomatoes arranged with wedges of mozzarella. The cheese was so fresh and light, and complemented the tomatoes so well. You do need to cut the cheese and tomato into smaller pieces, as too big a mouthful makes it feel a little too yucky. I did that with my first mouth, and regretted it cos too much cheese and too little tomato makes the whole mouthful a little bland. But subsequent mouths I learnt to cut both smaller, and I really liked the outcome.

As you can see I forgot to take photo of the pizza until two slices were gone. This was a thin-crust woodfire pizza, just the way I like it. The flavor was ok, but I guess I would have loved a lot more asparagus than the one per slice. The size was ok too, and with all the other appetizers we ordered (and the bread I gulped down), we were both comfortably full (ok, I was stuffed due to all my bread) at the end of it.

Crusty Italian bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Bruschetta Pomodoro

Caprese - fresh mozzarella with tomato and basil

Asparagus pizza

I would recommend Palio to people visiting USS. It's definitely more worth the $$ compared to the food within the USS itself (which I have gathered from several people to be "disgusting" and "horrible"). You can exit the theme park and re-enter with an invisible stamp they'll ink on your arm. Moreover, this restaurant is surrounded by many other restaurants that looked like they will burn a huge hole on your pocket. So I think pizza is a reasonable choice here.

Soup Restaurant (Jurong Point)

Many would have at least seen, if not tried, this chain restaurant in several malls around the island. I'll be first to admit that my failed Mandarin had somehow managed to allow me to read its name the first time as 三长两短 (well, you know what they say about filling in the blanks when you can't read it...). This restaurant is known for its herbal soups, as well as its Samsui Ginger Chicken.

Mom suggested here for my birthday dinner since its near home, and my brother will have an easier time bringing his 1 month old along. We ordered a set for 5, as well as additional vegetarian stuff for my hubby. The soup was chicken herbal soup. The broth was thickly flavored with ginseng roots and other chinese herbs, but was a little to the sweet side - and my brother hates sweet soups. The chicken pieces in the soup was overboiled and were tough and dry, so I didn't bother too much with them. The Samsui Ginger Chicken was satisfying as usual - tender steamed chicken served with ginger in sesame oil, crisp lettuce and cucumber. The rest of the food were forgotten by my camera. The Uncle Lapan fish is quite unique, you don't find this fish in too many places. Its a fatty fish that is so tender and melts in your mouth. Beware to non freshwater fish lovers, the 'muddy' taste may be a little too much for you. The stir fried vegetables are quite average I guess, and the ginger onion venison was way too salty.

The vegetarian options here are quite limited, and my poor hubby was stuck with a braised tofu dish and plain stir-fried kang kong. I don't think he enjoyed himself very much.

They have much fancier (and herbier) soups in their ala carte menu, which I remember from previous visits to be good, strong soups. For the non-herb lovers, their soup-of-the-day are usually pork rib with some vegetables such as winter melon or old cucumber, so should be mild enough on your palate. The Samsui Chicken is a must try.

Savor Rye La Mian Xiao Long Bao Restaurant

This is my very often dinner solution when dinner is on my own. Situated along Kampong Bahru road just a stone throw away from the Outram NEL station, this restaurant serves up dim sum and noodle dishes, as well as a whole lot of other ala carte dishes I have yet to try. Been here several times, and I love it simply because its not crowded. I have tried their sour and spicy noodles, cold sesame noodles, Szechuan "dan dan" noodles, black pepper beef noodles and wanton noodle soup. Dim sum I have tried include their xiao long bao, carrot cake, 水交 and sweet potato dumplings.

The four pictures below are my favorites here. Although I admit their xiao long bao is not as good as those in Din Tai Fung or Crystal Jade, the fact that I get my cravings settled for half the cost and no queue makes it a winner. Meaty and juicy (or should I say soupy?), it does satisfy those xiao long bao cravings quite nicely. Their panfried carrot cake are soft, with generous amounts of shredded radish you can see. The sour and spicy noodle is more sour than spicy, and is really appetizing. The black pepper beef noodle is VERY peppery. I loved the peppery kick. the cold sesame noodles was a little weird to me - think cold noodles and vegetables drenched in cold sesame paste. I very much prefer my sesame paste sweet and on my toast. The dan dan noodles was non-authentic, according to a Szechuan friend of mine - it was quite bland. The wanton noodles soup was pretty good, but I always have other cravings when I'm there. Lol. The 水交 and sweet potato dumplings are quite nice too (for that price).

小龙包

Carrot cake

Sour and spicy noodle

Black pepper beef noodles

I can have a meal with noodles, xiao long bao and a drink all for $11 and zero waiting time at the door. If you order their wanton noodle soup, its only $3.50. Quite a steal if you're asking me, considering the fact that these are 拉面, which the other restaurants are selling at close to $10 per bowl. Oh, and did I mention there's no GST or service charges? =) And they also do delivery at no extra costs to the nearby areas.

Unfortunately, they have closed down. I'm not sure if they shifted elsewhere or closed for good. I miss their noodles!

黑社会， Bosses

Few of my friends commented that this place serves good dim sum, and my dad says that they have the best char siew pau he ever ate.. So I told him, "Bring me there!"

The place is nicely decorated in posh black, it's quite crowded on a Saturday and we were lucky to have a seat without much waiting. We then picked a few items off the menu, dim sum here are quite pricey, compared to those others i been to.. so i thought "They better be good" . Once seated, we were served Fried Fish Skin as appetizer. It's nice!! Slightly saltish, very crispy and not oily at all.. One of the best i ever had. Frog porridge was served next, rather decent, with fresh pieces of frog meat in it. Following will be Chicken feet, not the best i had but decent as well. Char siew pau is very nice, I am not a lover of char siew pau but those here are nicely done, smaller in size and the skin is soft and fluffy. It's so nice that i forgot to make pictures of it, as usual.

As for the Xiao Long Bao here, I think they seem to have added some celery to the meat fillings and it don't really appeal to my tastebuds, I still prefer those meaty and juicy ones at Din Tai Feng and Crystal Jade.

Siew mai, Prawn dumplings are disappointing. The prawns on the siew mais seem to be overtreated with tapioca flour and turns out sticky and the crunchy texture feels too artificial. The meat portion is still fresh and up to standard. As for prawn dumplings, the skin seem too be too thick and the prawn fillings are just mediocre. I can't help but compare them to those I always have at Mayim.

Last item, Scallops on Fried Yam is not bad, scallops are pretty fresh and yam are nicely fried and arrived piping hot.

Conclusion, this place is overpriced for the standard of food they have, even though there are a few items they made better than average chinese restuarants. The rest of it are just normal, so normal that i exhausted my vocubulary to describe "normal" while writing this entry. End of the day it's the fried fish skin that saves the day.

The Menu

Fried Fish Skin

Frog Porridge

Chicken feet

Xiao Long Bao

Siew Mai

Prawn Dumplings

Scallop on Fried Yam

Billy Bombers (Bugis)

I was pottering around Bugis Junction after my appointment with my hairstylist, looking for a place to have my dinner before my ride arrives. Seemed like a bad plan on a Friday night - all the eateries are full! This extends even to those small counter-type places with small seating capacity at the basement of the shopping mall. So despite my immense craving for noodle soup, I ended up at Billy Bombers. Quite a sad place actually, considering that there were plenty of seats even though all other restaurants around it were filled and had long lines in front of them.

After pondering for a long time over the menu, I settled for all my 4 weakness at the same time. Beef stew served with bread, and chunky fries with melted cheese. Plus a lemonade float. On first look the bread was boring. Plain hot dog bun, not even buttered. Further exploration revealed it was lightly toasted that brought out the flavor of the sesame seeds. But still not earth-shattering and I didn't finish it. The stew was richly flavored, but some of the beef pieces were tough, even though the carrots were very tender. Must be poor parts of the cow. The fries were cheesy enough, but wasn't the crispy type I was wishing for. Very thick-cut and fluffy in the centre. Still nice, but I was just hankering for crispy fries so these didn't hit the spot. Obviously these orders were way too much for a single person dinner, so I managed to struggle through the stew, gave up on the bread, and asked to take away half the fries for my hubby.

Grandma Mae's beef stew

Bread for the stew

Cheese fries

I must say the fries are visually attractive. I feel like eating them now just looking at the photo. Can sort of understand why the restaurant was empty compared to the rest. The food just wasn't appealing enough. If I ever come back, it's because I'm stuck in the same scenario of being too crowded everywhere else.

Mariners' Corner

This little known gem hides in Maritime House at Cantonement, just 5 minutes walk away from Outram Park MRT. I was introduced to this restaurant by my FYP (Final Year Project) supervisor, who treated me to lunch here upon completion of my project. It's a Hainanese-run steak and seafood restaurant, with decor not unlike what Jack's Place used to be. Think a little dim, checked table covers, colorful placemats and small candle.

Been here a few times because their steaks are decent, and affordable. You can get a good-sized steak for for dinner at less than $20, and just a small top-up gets you a soup of the day, a limited but adequate eat-all-you-can salad bar, coffee/tea and dessert. The lunch set menu range from about $9.00 to $20.00, with soup of the day, coffee/tea and dessert. They are quite well-known for their snail sausages. The escargots are pretty good too, basked in garlic butter sauce. Surprisingly better than the ones at Les Bouchons. Lynn and me concluded that the shell is necessary for yumminess.

This time round we went for lunch, and ordered the escargots, a grilled dory fish with mango salsa, and a beef combo set. The soup of the day was cream of broccoli. We both have pretty low threshold for salt, but both found the soup too bland and in need of extra shaking of the salt shaker. Their dory was soft and flaky, but the mango salsa was way too garlicky and was condemned to a corner of the plate untouched. The combo had steak, chicken and salmon. This time round the steak was full of tendon, plus we knew about a necessary discount and ordered medium rare to get a medium steak. We got it off the hotplate in a hurry to prevent further cooking. The chicken was average. Salmon was good - soft and flaky. Stuff here usually arrive drenched in sauce so do ask for it on the side if you want to control the amount of sauce you eat. You can leave the vegetables and onions on the hot plate longer for soft, sweet grilled veggies.

Escargots

Dory fish with mango salsa sauce

Beef combo set

All these for less than $45. But I left the restaurant smelling of grilled food thanks to the hot plate. I suggest to go for dinner instead of lunch so that you can head home and hit the showers.