Birthday Celebration at CUT, by Wolfgang Puck

It was Andre's (Dawn's brother) 22nd Birthday and the family decided to head to a restaurant with his favorite cuisine - a Steakhouse! And when it comes to steak, CUT by Wolfgang Puck is one of the obvious to-go-to choices in Singapore. For those who have no idea who this legendary chef is, here's a little background:

Wolfgang Puck is an Austrian celebrity chef and restauranteur who has more than 13 fine dining restaurant names under his belt. Amongst all these, the Steakhouse CUT is one of the most famous names can be found in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, London and of course... Singapore. Some of his accolades include the two Michelin Stars and James Beard Foundation award for his Spago Beverly Hills in 2008 & 2009 and an Emmy Award in 2002. For fans of the popular reality show Hell's Kitchen, you probably can remember him as one of the guest judge for the Final 2 Challenge. 

Entering CUT

Personally, I have only been to one other fine-dining Steakhouse - Morton's. So obviously, I have only one other point of comparison. BTW, please forgive me for the lousy quality photos, I forgot to bring my camera on that day and had to rely on my iPhone (NOT iPhone 5).

Drinks To Start

First, let's take a look at the decor. The layout of the entire place is pretty simple - just like how a fine dining restaurant should look like. The lighting is dim, the tables are placed in a neat fashion (though it was a little cramp) and the decor is minimalistic yet exquisite. This place no doubt has the right ambience for a fine dining experience.

Simple Decor Does The Trick

Next is Service. No matter the place or the food, as long as the service is not up to mark, it can severely mar the fine dining experience of the patrons. For CUT, the service staff is still quite inexperienced and there's still room for improvement. This is not to say that the service was bad - the staff was friendly, helpful and prompt. However, they could do more with in depth knowledge of the food/wine and could take more initiative in attending the patrons' needs (before they ask). Basically they were good, but not excellent.

Love The Wine Collection

Now to the main highlight - the Food. Given that we were afraid of over-ordering, we settled for two appetizers and two sides, together with our individual (Dawn and her parents shared a steak) steak.

The appetizers were Hokkaido Scallop “Carpaccio,” Shaved Myoga, Wasabi-Kosho Ponzu and the American Blue Crab and Shrimp “Louis,” Spicy Tomato-Horseradish. 

Mac & Cheese and Sautéed Broccolini came as sides. 

Dawn and her parents shared the Wagyu Rib Eye (For 2), Andre ordered the Australian Angus Bone in Ribeye Steak and, Priscilla and I ordered the USDA PRIME Ribeye each.

Hokkaido Scallop “Carpaccio,” Shaved Myoga, Wasabi-Kosho Ponzu

The Hokkaido Scallop was to die for. The pieces of raw scallops were fresh and sliced perfectly. On top of that, the spicy Wasabi-Kosho Ponzu sauce goes perfectly with the scallops (though they were perfectly fine without any sauce) as the tangy ponzu taste brings the best out of the scallops. Lovely!

American Blue Crab and Shrimp “Louis,” Spicy Tomato-Horseradish

After the fabulous scallops, this dish paled in comparison. But that doesn't mean its a bad dish. They were generous with the Blue Crab meat, the sauce blended well with the meat and the dish was tasty overall. It probably won't blow your mind away but still a good start to the meal.

USDA PRIME Ribeye with Mac & Cheese

Here's the highlight of the day - USDA PRIME Ribeye with our sides of Pasta & Broccolini. First, I would like to point out why Ribeye is my favorite cut of steak. Compared to most cuts, the ribeye is one of the fattest portion of the cow. The key feature of this cut is the marbling of that fats and the juiciness of the meat. Because of its fat-to-meat ratio and the nature of the cut, the meat is really tender and often have it's "juiciness" locked inside the meat, which basically "flows" out the moment you cut and eat it. This cut of meat is usually best serve medium-rare or medium - cooked enough for the fats to marble but not too much in order to maintain its juice. 

My Medium-Rare Steak

So obviously, to judge this steak, one has to look at two factors (besides the temperature of the meat) - the juice and marbled fats. I would say CUT scores full marks in both factors. The fatty portions marbled so well that it simply melted in my mouth. The meat was juicy and tender, much to my liking. The steak here were all grilled on hardwood and charcoal before finishing in the oven and this gave it a nice "woody charred" taste which makes the steak even more flavorful. I ended up finishing my steak without even touching the mustard sauce that they provided.

P.S. I took a bite of Dawn's Wagyu Steak. The taste and texture was so much better than the USDA PRIME. The Wagyu is simply in a league of its own.

Oooooooohhh Lala

Comparing the steak here with the ones at Morton's, I would give the edge to CUT. The steak at Morton's is bigger in size (considering size to price ratio) but in terms of flavor, CUT beat Morton's hands down. The charred outer layer gives it a much tasty flavor which puts one over the other. The quality of beef is obviously the same and, for service and decor, both restaurants would probably go neck to neck.

Menu For Us

After the excellent main course, we ordered a few desserts to share. The restaurant was also kind enough to give us a complimentary plate of ice cream for the Birthday Boy. The dessert themselves were also remarkable and we cleared the plates in quicktime despite being stuffed by the main course. 

Their Special Seasonal Pineapple with Rum Dessert

Valrhona Chocolate Souffle, Crème Fraiche Cream, Hazelnut Praline, Nutella Ice Cream    

Warm Pear Crumble, Cinnamon Oat Streusel, Ginger Ice Cream

Overall, it was a fantastic gastronomical experience for us. The ambience was nice, the service was good and the food is out of this world (though the price is equally 'out of this world'). I would admit that it is really very pricey even given such quality of food. However, places like this still isn't a commonplace in Singapore and is certainly an experience worth trying at least once. An experience (note: it's not just a meal, it's an experience) here will definitely bring a fresh perspective on food & dining, and worth the occasion splurge. I am certainly looking forward to my next gastronomical experience!

Thank you Uncle Deryl and Aunty Joyce for this fabulous experience. And Happy Birthday Andre!

Johore Bahru: KSL & Legoland Trip

Recently there has been quite a bit of hype about the newly-opened Legoland Malaysia in Johore Bahru. I have received tons of emails for Deals and packages for this new packages and it took a while to pick the right one. Finally, we managed to pick the one that allowed us to go over the Hari Raya weekend, which included one night stay at the KSL Resort for us to also enjoy a relaxing day at Johor Bahru.

Let me start with our little gastronomic adventure near KSL (trust me, it's as good as Legoland) before jumping into the theme park.

Soon Soon Bak Kut Teh

Restoran Soon Soon Heng Bak Kut Teh

Located right across KSL (Exit at the bottom floor through the Hong Kong Cafe), this Bak Kut Teh stall is one of the most visited in JB (A poll to 10 other friends, almost all went there before). When we went in at around 2 p.m., the place was very crowded and we had to wait quite a bit before getting our tables. However, the turnover rate here is usually very fast, so don't be turn off by the crowd - it is worth the wait.

Peak Period Throughout e Afternoon

The table-waiting and ordering can be quite chaotic and intimidating for first timers (there isn't a menu or similar), but once you know how everything works, it will become very simple. While waiting for your tables, head on to the 'kitchen' (the front of the shop) and make your orders.

The Kitchen Area

The way JB BKT is being served is slightly different from the Singapore version. Instead of individual bowls, the JB version puts everything (including your Meats, Innards and Vegetable) into a single Claypot. So its important to tell the server what you want or do not want in your pot. On top of that, communal style is favored, so rather than an individual bowl for each person, everyone shares from the same pot. Other dishes like Pigs Trotter and Salted Vegetables can be ordered separately.

One Claypot For All

We ordered the standard BKT soup (2 pots for 6 people) with Pig Innards (Intestines, Liver & Stomach), extra Golden Mushroom and of coz... the pork meat. In addition, we tried the Pork Trotters and ordered generous portions of Salted Vegetables (aka "Kiam Chai").

Sizzling Hot Bak Kut Teh

Let's start with the main attraction - The BKT soup. Once again, let me highlight the difference between the typical Singapore soup and the JB soup. The Singapore soup is usually Peppery  whereas the JB's soup is more herbal. The meat in Singapore usually comes in big chunks (probably 2 - 4 pieces per bowl) but the ones in JB is smaller and more "bite-size". And the most obvious - one is served in a claypot with everything inside and the other is served in different bowls.

Read on to find out more about the BKT and other dishes