Bistecca - Tuscan Steak House, Singapore

Bistecca, Tuscan Steak House, Singapore.

25 Mohamed Sultan Road 
Singapore 238969

http://www.bistecca.com.sg (Reservations can be done online)
Dress code from what I can see: smart casual

I like steaks. I've lived in the UK for a long time and really appreciate the high quality steaks the country produces. I heard about this restaurant from several blogs and from a friend. The menu looks fairly simple (which I think is a good sign for a steakhouse as steaks should be done simply, lightly seasoned to bring out the flavours of the meat) The restaurant has 2 sittings for dinner, 6-8pm and 8.30pm to 10.30pm. I made the reservations online, and it was confirmed by an email which gently suggested that we vacated the place by 8.30pm.

My friends and I decided to skip the starts and go straight to the main course (why distract my stomach?). We ordered the 1kg Costata  (Wagyu F1 bone-in rib eye, MBS 6+ ) on the recommendation of the waiter. Ribeye cuts are marbled with fat, usually full of flavour and its an easier steak to cook as its less likely to be tough. We ordered it to be done Medium as I like my steaks to not bleed too much. but yet not too tough. 


The costata arrived after 30 mins, cooked over a wood fired grill (you can see the cooking in the open kitchen), with an appropriate chargrilled crust. see pic below. It was pre sliced and it was more rare to medium rare than medium. It was a disappointing start. We clearly ordered medium, and the chef obviously knew it was medium rare (as he sliced it!), and still served it. Not a good sign for quality in the kitchen. The steak was also under seasoned and we had to add more salt and pepper to it. I understand that its a big chunk of meat and difficult to cook as its quite thick, but for a restaurant that routinely serves steaks that are 1-2 kg, that is just not forgivable. The wagyu itself was juicy and tender, but I've had much better for a cheaper price. The grilling just did not enhance the flavour of the meat. I really think I could do a better job with a grill pan at home. On the positive side, the steak was well rested though, as there was very little meat juice on the plate and was served warm, rather than hot. It came with some grilled red onions a sprig of chive, which was pretty good, and the only fibre I had for that night! 8P

On a side note, I've found a great recipe for tuscan-style steaks from the Culinary Institute of America http://enthusiasts.ciachef.edu/grilled-steak-tuscan-style/. It works very very well.

The Costata

The chips (ok, you guys call it fries) was interesting. it was a thick cut british style chip and it was actually pretty good. It was just crispy enough on the outside, and filled with soft fluffy potato. Exactly the way I like it.

Tuscan Fries

The front of house was slick and professional. Despite being late, they got me to my table quickly and welcomed me warmly. Our waiter was excellent and service was pretty good. He was attentive and constantly refilled our drinks and water. However, overall, the food experience was disappointing. I really expected the steaks to be better considering that we were paying over $170 (or $85 per person) just for the steak alone and the speciality of the restaurant. I've noted some very good online reviews on Bistecca, but most appear to be sponsored or invited.

If you are wondering where is the best steak I have ever had in the world, it is in an argentinian restaurant in London called Gaucho (£35 for a ribeye). If you are wondering where is the best value steak house I've ever been to so far, it was in a columbian restaurant in London (£12 for a delicious hugh ribeye steak). I'm still convinced it a front for something more sinister. More on that another time.

The Singapore Bak Kut Teh Wars - Ng Ah Soh Vs. Founders

Bak Kut Teh (or pork rib tea to my English friends)  has always held a special place in my heart. It reminds me of old Singapore, my childhood in hot sweaty coffee shops slurping up the peppery soup and eating the chunky pork ribs. Since my return to Singapore, I have explored various bak kut teh restaurants in Singapore. In this review, we actually went to both restaurants in the same night, to avoid any recall bias!

We went to the original Ng Ah Soh at Rangoon Road first and then to Founders after. We had a nice variety of dishes in both restaurants as you can see in the pic. The Soup in Ng Ah Soh was peppery and a little more herby than Founders but was missing the meatiness of a prolong simmer with pork. The pork was a little softer than Founders. I'm not exactly sure why, perhaps its the breed or type of ribs used. Overall, we felt that the soup was better in Founders. The fried You Tiao was quite disappointing in both restaurants, being quite stale and flavourless.

Service was much better in Founders than in Ng Ah Soh. The soup was topped up frequently and staff was just more polite and friendly in Founders.

Ng Ah Soh Bak Kut Teh

Founders Bah Kut Teh

The Winner? Founders!

The verdict was unanimously Founders between the 4 of us. It was a nice combination of pepper, herbs and flavour that made it an excellent soup. My only complaint was the pork was a little tougher compared to Ng Ah Soh. Overall, you will have a fantastic culinary experience in either restaurant, but Founders was just a little better!

https://www.facebook.com/founderbakkuttehrangoon
http://ngahsio.com 

Dancing Crab at The Grandstand (Turf City)

Dancing Crab - Louisiana Seafood Restaurant, Singapore

200 Turf Club Road, The Grandstand #01-20/21, Singapore 287994

Tel: 64663303

Interesting boil in bag American Southern canjun and creole seafood. I have never had this style food before so I was really keen to try it. I've only seen this concept while watching Man Vs. Food in the UK! It's $80 for the seafood combo we had (see photos below). The bag was packed with a Sri Lankan crab (weight probably around 900g), some big prawns (300g worth according to the menu), mussels, some root veg and sausages. It tasted absolutely fab with the medium spicy sauce. No cutlery was provided as the food was "finger licking good"! The seafood did require hand picking and shelling and it did add to the experience. I did have to ask for a spoon though as I risk burning my fingers when the hot food was just delivered. If you are sharing, a spoon will also be required to avoid dipping your (possibly dirty) fingers into the sauce looking for tasty seafood morsels. The food was very good, and we finished everything! I also highly recommend the corn bread to soak up the chilli goodness in the bag.

The food was 8 out of 10, but the service was not very good (5 out of 10)  despite the restaurant not being very crowded. The food was dumped on the table and the waiter just walked off. I understood the concept so it wasn't a problem, but the elderly couple next to us were really confused on what to do after the food got delivered. I asked for a fork later to dig out some of the crab from its shell and the waiter gave me a disdainful look and said "you should use your fingers in this restaurant" Thanks. But I've got no interest in cutting myself on a shell.

Despite the service, Overall, I would go again! I suspect that there would be more competition from restaurants in this format in the future but at the moment, this is probably one of the best for canjun seafood cooking in Singapore.

The Menu

The cook in bag goodness!

Yum! We finished everything!