Archive

@Raffles Place

The Market Grill @Telok Ayer (Singapore)

March 13, 2014
@CBD, @Chinatown, @Raffles Place, @Singapore, @Tanjong Pagar, Steak, Western/International/American
Leave a comment

Groundhog Steak.

imageYaya I know, Market Grill AGAIN!? But I couldn’t help it; I had told my friend so much about my last two visits here that she really wanted to try it and I just couldn’t come up with any good reason why not to. And I can’t even remember what exactly my dish was called, just that it was on the special’s board that night. The beef was fantastic though, a l’entrećote cut, broiled to a perfect medium rare with a nice char, bloody and juicy and topped with a thick truffle infused lentil gravy. I absolutely enjoyed the meat and the gravy was pretty interesting but somehow the strong fancy truffle flavors didn’t really work for me with the rather rustic lentils. Nevertheless a good dish overall.

The Market Grill
208 Teok Ayer Street
Singapore 068642
Tel: +65 6221 3323
http://themarketgrill.com.sg/

Advertisement

Platypus Lobster Shack @China Square (Singapore)

March 5, 2014
#Seafood, @CBD, @Chinatown, @Raffles Place, @Singapore, Boston Lobster, Lobster Roll, Sandwiches, Western/International/American
Leave a comment

Lobster rolls baby.

imageAfter skating around the city a little bit we – not completely unintentionally – found ourselves hungry in the China Square area. I had read about that branch of Platypus here which is a lunch deli during the day and transforms into a lobster roll joint at night. Apparently double concept restaurants seem to be the thing these days.

There was quite a selection of different kinds of lobster rolls on their menu but as this was my first visit here, I stuck to The Traditional, not to let other and stronger ingredients overpower the seafood. The friendly dude, who waited on us brought out some delicious looking plates just a few minutes after we had ordered and the lobster roll was simply brilliant to say the least. The brioche bun was perfectly toasted so it got a little crisp on the edges and turned out to be the ideal vessel for all that deliciousness inside. It was loaded with a generous portion of big chunks from sweet and fresh lobster meat covered with a light and slightly fruity dressing with just a hint of garlic. If to change anything, I would maybe be taking it a bit easier on the butter for the bun to keep things nice and light but that’s just my preference. To add more substance, it all came accompanied by some fresh organic greens and some crisps, sprinkled with that oddly popular truffle oil. Latter was a dash too strong for me half way through so I didn’t entirely finish it.

This roll was rad, delicious and considering the quality of the food and the location of the place also totally reasonable priced at 25 bucks altogether with the sides and even a cold bottle of Sol to go with it; now that’s a “Happy Meal” right there. Next up, The Hickory Smoked.

Platypus Lobster Shack (after 6 p.m.)
3 Pickering Street
#01-31 Nankin Row (China Square)
Singapore 048660
Tel: +65 6438 7961
http://www.platypuskitchen.com/platypus-lobster-shack.html

Market Grill @Telok Ayer Street (Singapore)

January 16, 2014
#Seafood, @Chinatown, @Raffles Place, @Singapore, @Tanjong Pagar, Boston Lobster, Soup, Western/International/American
Leave a comment

Last call Boston.

imageI said I was coming back here, I just didn’t know it was going to be so soon but when I told the boys where I saw some amazing looking crustaceans, a plan was made rather quickly.

This 500 grammer looked stunning, neatly arranged and cracked at the right spots for easier access. The flesh was so fresh it effortless loosened from the shell, sweet and just right, neither dry nor too raw. I actually preferred claw over tail because of its’ extra nice soft texture and dipped into that garlic lemon butter it came very close to perfect, if it would have just been a little warmer.

imageBefore the main act we also tried some of their starters. I had a ‘French Onion Soup‘ by myself as the others were stuck in traffic for quite a while and I was just starving. It was strong, rich beef stock, full of red wine flavour with a hot cheesy crouton floating in it that left me with a memorable mouth burn. When the others finally arrived we ordered the ‘Bone Marrow‘ as well, which was another win, well done, decadent buttery with some sea salt, capers and parsley. Just great. I like this place more and more, so see you there soon.

The Market Grill
208 Teok Ayer Street
Singapore 068642
Tel: +65 6221 3323
http://themarketgrill.com.sg/

The Market Grill @Telok Ayer Street (Singapore)

January 4, 2014
#Meat, @Chinatown, @Raffles Place, @Singapore, @Tanjong Pagar, Steak, Western/International/American
Leave a comment

Meat me up, Scotty!

imageA friend organized a get together at ‘Market Grill’ on Telok Ayer tonight and as I had heard a lot about this place I was a bit excited to finally try it out.

I had done my research and since pretty much all mains cost about the same here (S$40-50) my mind was set on ‘Boston Lobster‘. When the waiter was taking our order though almost everyone ordered a burger of some sort, so all over sudden I felt more like beef and spontaneously changed my order to the ‘Bavette‘. This turned out not being a bad choice at all as it was grilled-medium rare on spot, with a nice char that gave it an even more rustic texture and flavor. The juices stayed inside the meat, where they belong and together with the heavy glazed onions and the quite sharpish pepper sauce this became a fantastic combination of flavors that did almost let me forget their over-average pricing.

‘Market Grill’ is a nice bistro style restaurant, similar to ‘L’Entrecote‘, with great food and overly kind waiters that patiently helped me re-arrange the table-chair-ratio for about three times. Despite the slightly high price tag it’s a very popular and busy place, so if you are a bigger group it would be a good idea to come by early as they don’t take reservations and the space for groups bigger than four is very limited. Anyhow, I will return here soon to finally get my hands on that delicious looking lobster. Can’t wait.

The Market Grill
208 Teok Ayer Street
Singapore 068642
Tel: +65 6221 3323
http://themarketgrill.com.sg/

Viet Express @China Square Central (Singapore)

November 10, 2013
#Noodles, @CBD, @Chinatown, @Raffles Place, @Singapore, Pho, Vietnamese
Leave a comment

A great friend recommend.

imageFriends invited us to join them for Vietnamese dinner tonight at ‘Viet Express’ at China Square and even though I was a bit worried about that unpromising name I was confident that our friends would’t bring us to something boring. It actually didn’t look like an “Express” kinda place more simple and a bit frumpy but the food here was really a surprise. I ordered my all time favourite,  ‘Pho Bo‘ with sliced raw meat. First slurp and it had me, this was the best pho I have had in Singapore to date, nicely infused with cinnamon and with this light beefy sour taste. It got even better after I threw the side greens and a good dash of the chilli and oyster sauce into it. The sharp onions and some fresh chilli made it nicely spicy, the beef was lean and tender, alone the noodles were nothing surprising. Service related I wouldn’t know what to write about really as besides serving the food we ordered pretty much nothing else happened but some things are just secondary after a delicious meal. Thanks A. and D., this one comes on the list.

Viet Express
3 Pickering Street
#01-34 China Square Central (Nankin Row)
Singapore 048423
Tel: +65 6536 9114