Market Grill
Address (Google Map): 208 Telok Ayer Street Singapore 068642
Opening hours: Mon – Sat 11.30am to 2.30pm, 6pm to 10pm, Closed on Sun
Introduction
Market grill is a relatively new western grill bar situated along the stretch of shop house along Telok Ayer road that is nearer to Amoy Food Centre. Their menu is extensive considering the floor area of the restaurant. Probably due to the small seating capacity, they do not take in reservation.
Market Grill is rather well known for their steaks and burgers. For their lower range steak, the choice of cut is interesting that they decided to go with the less well known cut such as the bavette. Bavette is a cut somewhere at the stomach of the cow and it’s a french term for flank steak. A flank actually quite commonly used in the Chinese cuisine for “stir-fried beef”.
They also offer another cut known as the Wagyu Rump. A beef rump is very different to American and British. To the British, beef rump is actually referring to the Sirloin cut while the American refers rump to the round of the cow, that is the cut at the lower back, near to the hind legs of the cow. I read online that some people said that it’s really tender so i have to guess that it’s a British rump. Care to share if you have better knowledge of Market Grill’ rump.
Their menu: Click to enlarge
200 Days Grain-fed Black Angus Prime Rib
I ordered their 200 days grain-fed Black Angus Prime Rib that cost $150 at 1.10kg. If you read the finer print, this dish is actually good for sharing for up to three pax (which i did). A 45 minutes waiting time is required for the preparation of this dish.
The medium steak is served sliced for easy sharing and comes with a portion of thick red wine sauce and a portion of sarladise potato. To put it simply, sarladise means cooking it in fats (normally duck) and seasoned with garlic. The simple potato side dish is delightful as it absorbs the oil and it’s naturally flavoured by the fats and a tinge of garlic.
For their steak, it’s a 10 out of 10 for it’s appearance. The appearance itself explains why 45 minutes of waiting time is required. The steak is properly sliced to the appropriate thickness so that it’s chunky but yet not overly thick. The exterior is grilled to slightly charred that adds on a grilled fragrance with a simple and yet well-balanced marinate of salt and pepper.
The juicy and tender center
The medium steak is tender in the juicy center. Certain areas of the steak consist of small chunks of fatty beef. Although it’s not exactly melt in your mouth, it’s definitely not rubbery and the fats break down with little effort from the jaw. For more flavours, drizzle the thick red wine sauce over the sliced steak. For me, the steak itself is good enough.
Drizzle with Red Wine Sauce
Charcuterie Connoissuer Board
The outlook of this starter dish looks really sad, with a few piece of paper thin meat and slices of bread. However I will say that this starter is quite interesting but probably not something that Singaporeans will salivate over.
The Pate Forestier, which is a chicken liver paste flavoured with garlic and mushroom. It taste very much like foie gras paste and it goes very well with the toasted sourdough bread. This is my favourite among all.
Front to back: Pate Forestier, Duck Rilette, Rosette Superieure Saucisson, Chorizo Iberico, Veal Lyoner, Sourdough Bread
Duck Rilette is like the shredded version of duck confit, salted and cooked in fats. The Veal Lyoner (Lyon Sausage) taste very much like our cold cut ham. Nothing fantastic. The rosette superieure saucisson is a kind of thick, dry cured sausage that originates in France and there is a rather strong smell that is not exactly pleasant. Definitely not my favourite.
I guess I am not very used to such kinds of flavour, but it’s really an eye opener. All these come at a price of $28.
Onion Matchsticks
The onion matchsticks is actually onion rings. Sliced onions were coated in a thin batter and fried to crisp. It’s a little oily but really great to go with beer.
By the way, have you hear of a saying that matchstick can help to prevent tearing while cutting onion? Bite a piece of matching stick with the head facing out and it will absorb the chemical that caused tearing. Probably it won’t work though.
Conclusion
After reading this article from City Normads, claiming Market Grill to be the top 10 place for steak in Singapore, i decided to pay a visit. I’d researched on this place and the reviews are just so-so for the cheaper cut of steaks so i decided to try the premium range.
It turns out to be a good decision after all.
The non-overcrowding dimly listed restaurant/bar seems like a great place to chill out with friends after work while enjoying a reasonably-priced meal (they do not charge 10% of service charge).
I didn’t have the chance to try their signature burgers so probably I’ll be back for those. For those who had their burgers, do feel free to share your experience with us.
The supposed signature Cod Fish Burger. My friend said that it’s quite flavorful but a little salty.
Chin Chai Jiak 