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.
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| Escargots |
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| Pan-fried foie gras |
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| Crab cake |
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| Potato Decker |
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| Wagyu Rump steak cut into two to share - this is half |
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| Close up of the MEAT!! |
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| Blue cheese sauce |
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| 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.
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.
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| The flaming baked alaska. Yum! |
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