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).

 

Dazzling Cafe from Taiwan (Review, Photos and Menu)

Dazzling Cafe (蜜糖吐司專賣店) @ Capitol Piazza and their Honey Butter Toast

Address: 15 Stamford Road, #01-85, Capitol Piazza

Opening hours: 12.00pm to 8.00pm daily

Introduction

Dazzling Cafe, originated from Taiwan, is actually a side business from their accessories brand Dazzling. They first open their door in Taiwan in year 2010 and had been very popular and are most well known for their interesting interior design and signature honey toast. 18 April 2015 is their soft opening at the newly opened Capitol Piazza opposite City Hall MRT. As expected, the queue is already crazy and upon leaving the cafe, all queue numbers have already been taken up, which likely means that it’s already full house till closing time.

The price of their honey toast range from $16.90 to $19.90++ and their main course price range from $18.90 to $24.90++ which is not cheap, but not exorbitant. I originally ordered a main course and two honey toasts to try but due to some service issue, which i will elaborate in later part of the post, I only get to try one of the two honey toasts. But i got a copy of Dazzling Cafe menu for you guys:

Dazzling Cafe Honey Toast Menu: Click to enlarge

Dazzling Cafe Food Menu: Click to enlarge

Dazzling Cafe Drinks Menu: Click to enlarge

Truffle Mushroom Risotto with Freshly Shaved Truffle ($24.90++)

Unlike the dish name suggest, the shaved truffle and oil taste are actually more subtle than expected, just adding the right amount of fragrance but not dominating the whole dish.

I like the garlicky cream sauce and the cheese fragrance of the risotto but i think it may be a little salty for some. The rice grain is soft on the outside and al dente on the inside, which makes the overall texture enjoyable.

Mango and Coconut Gelato Honey Toast ($18.90++)

Upon ordering the honey toast, you need to state the preference for a soft, normal or crispy toast. I tried the normal version and it’s already rather crispy so i don’t think I need to try their crispy version cus it’s probably going to be biscuit crispy.

To be honest, i think the toast bread is a little dry, but accompanying it with the coconut ice cream made up for it. Their coconut ice cream is very creamy and is overflowing with coconut fragrance. Sadly, the fresh Mango and Mango custard didn’t manage to play a major role in enhancing the bread and it’s like a different entity altogether.

I think Dazzling Cafe can be more daring with the portion of butter. Overall, i think this coconut honey toast is very pretty, definitely an instagram-like magnet but doesn’t exactly justify it’s price tag.

The Hazelnut Chocolate Honey Toast That I Never Get To Try after multiple episodes of order mismanagement

During my visit, there are multiple episodes of mismanagement of order which it took 40 minutes for my risotto to arrive and my toasts order were forgotten until I asked about it at the 80th minute of waiting.

Then, the coconut honey toast arrived shortly but i waited for another 15 minutes for the hazelnut toast before approaching the waitress again just to be told that my hazelnut toast was served wrongly to another table upon checking.

Time that i placed my order – 2.18pm.  The Hazelnut Chocolate Honey Toast order was cancelled and i was given a 20% discount.

All in all now I had waited for 95 minutes and was told that I have to wait for another 30 minutes if I still want my hazelnut toast. As much as I understand that it’s their first day of operation, i was rather upset that I need to wait for a total of 125 minutes for a piece of toast so i cancelled the most anticipated dish that I ordered.

Time i settled the bill: 3.53pm, after i was told that i need to wait for another 30 minutes for the Hazelnut Chocolate Toast

The crowd is overwhelming so i can understand when the waitress told me that each honey toast need 40 minutes of preparation but not 1 hour and 20 minutes for my coconut toast and definitely not 2 hours and 5 minutes for the hazelnut toast. Let’s hope that Dazzling Cafe can quickly sort this out as it’s a big minus to the overall dining experience, despite giving me a 20% discount, and we left the restaurant still hungry.

Conclusion

I arrived excited but left disappointed due to the series of unfortunate events. However, putting that aside, the risotto that I had excites me a little more than expected. However, judging based on the coconut mango honey toast, it fell short of my expectation and seems like i will still continue my wait for the best Shibuya Honey Toast in Singapore.

If you ask me, understanding Singaporean’s craze for pretty food and the willingness to queue, it’s probably not the best time to visit now. But I have to agree that their Honey Toast is really skillfully constructed and they score a very high point in presentation. For the food photo fanatics, Dazzling Cafe is a place not to be missed. For the rest, I suggest to wait for a couple of weeks to avoid unecessary waiting for a “not bad” meal in this cafe.