BEST BURGER MADE BETTER
If you are a fan of Omakase Burger but find it too inconvenient to go to its Grandstand outlet, the new Wisma Atria outlet may be the answer.
If you haven't tried its burger, you should. It's the best burger in Singapore and it has become better. Owner Cheng Hsin Yao, who came up with the recipe for the juicy beef patty and fluffy bun, has refined the bun further to make it softer but less sweet and cloying.
Another great introduction is the Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon (photo), available only on weekends at the new outlet. It comes from hormone- and antibiotic-free pigs in the United States and has a lovely smoky flavour. It goes into the Applewood Smoked Bacon Cheeseburger ($17.90) and Ultimate Cheeseburger ($19.50).
Also new are Beef Tallow Fries ($5.95 for regular), which are fried in beef fat rendered at the restaurant and tastier than regular fries.
Where: Omakase Burger, Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Road, 01-02/03 MRT: Orchard When: 10am - 10pm daily Tel: 6737-3218
A GOOD CATCH
The daily specials at Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro are very good deals. Actually, they are not available daily, only from Monday to Thursday. Weekends, I guess, are busy enough for the seafood restaurant not to have to offer specials.
Monday is lobster day, with live Boston lobsters and Cape Town rock lobsters at $39.95 each. On Tuesday, fresh oysters are $1.50 each.
On Wednesday, go for salmon, tuna and swordfish belly sashimi from $10.95. And Thursday has the most deals, with clams or New Zealand mussels at $13.95, Cajun butter lobster at $39.95 and king crab legs at $49.95.
My favourites? The lobsters and clams.
Where: Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro, 34 & 38 Greenwood Avenue MRT: Botanic Gardens When: Noon to 10.30pm (Mon - Sat), 11am - 10.30pm (Sun) Tel: 6467-4950
COD WITH A KICK
Most restaurants update their menu regularly and some dishes leave such an impression that they stay on it thereafter.
The Wok-Fried Cod Fillet With Dried Chilli (photo, $48 for small), newly introduced at Szechuan Court, may well be one such dish. It is the best among the new dishes at the Chinese restaurant served at a recent tasting.
The fish is fried till golden brown and aromatic, but the meat is moist and smooth. And I love the spicy kick from the dried chillies and paprika powder which the pieces of cod are tossed with.
Check out, too, the Crispy Pork And Mushroom Lotus Root Cake Topped With Barbecue Sauce ($6.80 for three pieces), a new dim sum item. Slices of lotus root are stuffed with minced pork and mushroom and fried till fragrant. Drizzled with the slightly sweet sauce, they are delicious.
Where: Szechuan Court, Fairmont Singapore, 80 Bras Basah Road, Level 3 MRT: Raffles Place When: Noon - 2.30pm, 6.30 - 10.30pm daily Tel: 6431-6156
CUT'S CUSTOMISED WAGYU
It seems everything can be customised these days, including wagyu or Japanese beef.
The newly introduced Hokkaido Snow Beef at Cut comes from cows raised at a private reserve according to the restaurant's specifications on the meat's texture, marbling and taste.
The private reserve in Hokkaido, Japan, slaughters only two heads of cattle each month, and one is reserved for Cut. But if the meat turns out not to meet the requirements, the restaurant won't have any that month.
The Snow Beef has a marbling of 10 and above, and its name comes from the white flecks of fat spread throughout the meat. Meat with so much fat is best savoured in small quantities. If you are a small eater, you may want to share it.
It costs $230 for a 170g New York sirloin, $250 for a 170g filet mignon and $310 for a 230g ribeye.
My dinner, comprising a salad, a Hokkaido scallop carpaccio and a 120g New York sirloin, was just right. It left room for an excellent dessert of kaya toast "baked Alaska" ($24), a concoction of coconut sorbet and pandan gelato in a baked meringue crust, which was refreshing and tasted very much like kaya.
Where: Cut by Wolfgang Puck, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, B1-71 MRT: Bayfront When: 6 - 10pm (Sun - Thu), 6 - 11pm (Fri & Sat) Tel: 6688-8517
