The famed Wooloomooloo Steak House and their Weekend Brunch

Wooloomooloo Steakhouse and their Weekend Brunch

Address: 2 Stamford Road Level 3 Swissotel The Stamford

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 12.00 pm to 2.30pm and 6.30pm to 10.00 pm, Sat-Sun 11.30am to 2.30pm and 6.30pm to 10.00pm

Introduction

Wooloomooloo is a Hong Kong based, Australian-inspired steakhouse that is situated at level 3 of Raffles City. It has enjoyed quite a good reputation in Singapore and some even branded them as one of the best steakhouses since they opened their door for business in Singapore in Year 2012.

I visited during lunch time on a Saturday (for my birthday meal =D) and they are offering this weekend brunch menu which i find the pricing quite reasonable. At $68++, the diner can enjoy a 5-course lunch that includes a breakfast item, soup/salad, appetizer, a main course with a side, and a dessert.

Weekend Brunch Menu: Click to Enlarge

You can see their ala-carte menu from here 

Their pricing for a steakhouse is considered as mid-range, but they have Wagyu beef on their menu that cost $298.00++.

Egg Benedict & Fried Hen’s Egg (Breakfast dish)

The egg benedict is pretty decent, with a beautifully poached egg that comes with slices of lightly-smoked salmon and with a slice of muffin toasted to crisp. I particularly like their creamy hollandaise sauce.

The Fried Hen’s Egg is actually sunny side up and there’s nothing fancy about it but it’s a bit different for the stack of tomatoes cubes, avocado and crispy potato sticks. It has different layers of texture when eat together, such as the creamy (avacado), cripsy (potatoes) and juicy (tomatoes) and has a balanced taste of sweet, salty and sour. A very interesting dish.

Lobster Bisque & Classic Caesar Salad (Soup and Salad)

At first mouthful, it’s a little salty but it gets better with every mouthful. This dish don’t exactly has a creamy texture but the soup is very rich, and comes with a piece of Lobster pincer. I like the soup for having a pleasant but not overly strong seafood sweetness.

The Classic Caesar Salad is pretty much standard, except the part where there’s sliced Gruyère cheese. This cheese manages to add savouriness without overpowering the entire salad. No complain for the crispy bacon too. Ok, maybe the bacon’s a little too salty.

Wild Mushroom Risotto & Jumbo Lump Crab Cake (Appetizer)

In fact, both appetizers are among my favourites of the day. The wild mushroom risotto is quite well-portioned and the texture is something that i like very much – with a soft exterior and a moderately firm center. There’s also a robust mushroom taste and the already strong-tasting blue Stilton cheese completes this dish.

They are rather generous with the amount of crab meat used in this Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, although it’s not exactly Jumbo in size. The crab meat taste very sweet and fresh, with a little crisp on the exterior.

Beef Wellington and Tasmanian Salmon Fillet (Wooloomooloo Classic)

For those that watched Gordon Ramsay ‘s Hell Kitchen, the dish beef wellington will not be unfamiliar to you. It is a steak, coated with Pâté (Foie Gras for this case) and minced mixture of mushroom and baked in a layer of pastry. Comparing to a typical steak, in has an additional punch of fragrance from the mushrooms and savoury taste from the Foie Gras.

And of course , the steak is quite well done alone. Just look at the succulent texture!  This is my first time trying a beef wellington and i like Wooloomooloo’s pretty much. However, it’s not that I am against anything,  but I swear that the Pastry layer is made of instant roti prata that we got from the supermarket.  Interesting.

For the Tasmanian Salmon Fillet, the salmon is prepared in a Western style while the sauce has a Chinese soy sauce base. i like how the skin of the Salmon is pan fried to crisp but with zero burnt taste and the soft succulent salmon steak goes pretty good with the oriental taste.

Wooloomooloo Cheesecake and Bread and Butter Pudding (Dessert)

Both desserts are quite to my delight and both of them are not overly sweet. The cheesecake is not exactly a cake but more of a cheese cream topped on a layer of cookie base and also comes with a scoop of Yogurt Sorbet. The cheese layer is very light and balanced, which is not overly heavy after a 4-course meal.

As for the butter pudding, it didn’t have the expected egg custard taste so initially i was a little taken aback. However, the cream base made up is able to complement the butter pudding pretty well and the scoop of vanilla ice-cream made me forget about the egg custard. The portion of the pudding is just right to complete the 5-course meal.

Conclusion

Out of all the dishes that i had, the only one complain is that the side dish, Sauteed Mushroom, is too salty and i didn’t exactly finish it. As for the rest, they are all pretty good for my liking considering the price of $80 nett for a five course meal. The portion of the course are also bigger than expected and it’s definitely filling if one of the courses is a pasta.

During my visit on a Saturday afternoon, the place is rather quiet, without the usual hustle and bustle of a crowded restaurant. It has a very inviting ambiance, with a spacious dining area with ample natural light coming in from the full-height glass window.

I very much enjoyed my meal here and i do recommend this place if you are finding a place to celebrate a special occasion with your loved ones (in the afternoon).

 

Au Chocolat – Excellent Truffle Fries and Duck Confit

Au Chocolat

Address: 2 Bayfront Avenue, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands L1-03

Operating Hours: Bistro 11.00 am to 12.00am (Daily) Last Order at 11.30pm
Operating Hours: Confiserie 11.00am to 12.00am (Daily)

Introduction

Au Chocolat (pronounced as “o sho koh lah”) is situated at MBS level one at the side that is very near to the Helix Bridge. It spans itself over two units, the Confiserie sells pastries, ice-cream and desserts while the Bistro, is a seated restaurant that serves main course. The price range of their dishes is considered as higher than an ordinary restaurant but probably one of the most affordable in MBS.

Their menu (with price) can be found here

Duck Confit – S$27.00++

What exactly is a duck confit?

Duck confit is a dish that is prepared by rubbing salt, pepper and other spices, wrapped and kept refrigerated for up to three days and this is known as the salt-curing process. The longer you place it in the fridge, the saltier it will become and the more it will absorb the herb and spices. The duck is then rinsed and poached slowly in the oven for generally from four to ten hours.

One of their must-try. Many agreed that this is one of the best duck confit (pronounced as “con-fee”) that they had in Singapore. For myself, I love their crackling skin and i think the taste has a little resemblance to KFC chicken original recipe. The waitress actually gave me a heads up that this dish will be salty and jsut to ensure that I’m OK with it.

I am rather satisfied that the duck remained tender despite the crispy exterior. It also comes with a mash potato side in chocolate sauce. I think not everyone can handle a orange chocolate sauce to go with a salty dish. Judge it for yourself. It’s pretty brilliant Imo. This dish also comes with slices of white wine poached pear. The only complain is for it’s small portion but it’s a no choice cus a duck can only grow so big as well as for their thigh. How about considering a duck confit two piece meal?

Ultimate Benedict – S$22.00++

Ahhhhh… Sweet mother of mercy. Just looking at the dish made me heavier by two kg! This dish is made up of roasted ribeye steak, crispy bacon strips, shredded chicken in cheese sauce (I think), sautéed spinach, two pancakes and two egg benny with their dark chocolate infused hollandaise sauce. It is a pity that the chocolate hollandaise sauce lacks a punch and in fact it taste rather bland. Among all the items, i like the shredded chicken best. As for the rest of the ingredients like the beef steak, bacon and pancake, they taste ordinary and tasted like what they should rightfully taste.

Will I order this again? Maybe not in recent visit. Did I regret ordering this? Not exactly. It’s actually a decent dish but just that having this ultimate benedict together with the truffle fries should had depleted all my available calories for the entire day. Those who are into calorie tracking are already sweating for me. It’s not something to feast on on a regularly basis.

Truffle fries – S$15.00++

Some of us would have already heard of this “best truffle fries” from Au Chocolate. I was wondering what is so great about this truffle fries that everyone is shouting out for and the price is not even cheap. And I realised why.

At $15.00, the portion is reasonably large and it’s good to be shared among four people. It’s sizzled with white truffle oil and seasoned with truffle sea salt and comes with a BBQ sauce and mayonnaise dip. I like Au Chocolat choice of a thick straight-cut instead of a thin one. As such, this fries were fried to a perfect crispness without losing it’s taste. I think it is not too exaggerating to say the this is the best fries that I had eaten. It is even able to retain it’s crispness even when it’s cold. The fries are really addictive and we finished the whole thing unknowingly. Bye bye to all my available calories.

Conclusion

Overall i am quite satisfied with Au Chocolat. I did not try their dessert as i intend to pop by Lady M Confection that is just across the Helix Bridge. This meal cost me not more than S$80.00 which i think it’s reasonable for it’s quality and location. In my opinion, the Truffle Fries lived up to it’s online reputation as well as it’s Duck Confit.

Didn’t have the intention to try their dessert on that day, so feel free to share if you had tried a very good dessert from Au Chocolat and think that it’s worth the try. I think i read quite a lot on their Choc-A-Bloc Tower Cake and the portion is really big! From the way i see it, it’s good to visit this place in a small group, like a group of four, so that we can get to share more dishes without stuffing yourself to death from the side dishes and desserts.

By the way, why not take a night stroll at our Singapore’s famous Helix Bridge after the hearty meal at MBS Au Chocolat?