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Tag Archives: charcoal grill

Burnt Ends, Singapore (One Michelin Star, 2018)

25 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by denisegan in Restaurant review

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Tags

beef, burnt ends, caviar, charcoal grill, crab, date night, Michelin, michelin dining, Michelin star, pork, restaurant review, singapore, singapore restaurant review, special occasion, steak

How timely that I’m writing this as we learn that Burnt Ends has just received its first Michelin Star! I’ve gone twice so far. A couple of hits and a couple of misses. I’m usually seated at the counter; most of us are. In an open concept kitchen this usually is a treat. If you’re seated near the furnace end however, it could end up getting a tad too hot. In return, you get to see one of the chefs gingerly eking some bread and cheese or pulled pork into the fiery black furnace. And rapidly pulling back as if scalded. There was one poor young fellow who kept burning himself accidentally on the volcanic hot surface. In the middle there’s the prep area and behind them you’ll see shovels of red hot coal cooking up meat and seafood in various degrees. The name “Burnt ends” is apt indeed.

Once you’re seated, you’re given the menu and your friendly waiter will proceed to explain it to you. The service has been good both times so far.

Smoked quail egg topped with caviar. I’m not a fan of anything smoked, so I wouldn’t order this again. Caviar is good though. The smokiness overpowered the caviar so there wasn’t any point to this combination as neither did the other any good. At SGD 18, this was a thumbs down for me, a small bite and not a very good one.

Beef marmalade and house pickles. The cloyingly sweet beef rib “marmalade” is cleverly balanced with a slightly fresh zing of pickles. Slathered on top of a square of sourdough bread, this little appetizer packs a punch of flavour.

I prefer this over the Burnt Ends Sanger, I find the latter remarkably underwhelming, but if you like pork, give it a whirl as that is one of their signature dishes. They’re both tasty and carefully executed for sure, I’m just left wondering if I could get something similar to the Burnt Ends Sanger at some other burger place that serves sliders and the sort.

The Belly Chop, served with an apple and raspberry concoction. There’s sufficient flavour on the belly chop with enough singe and sear to its exterior. While it is soft, there is still some bite to the meat. I’m wondering if they could take it a step further and make the fat absolutely melt in the mouth. It has been done with char siew, perhaps it could be replicated here. Good pairing with the apple and raspberry nonetheless. Classic with a tiny twist.

This crab leg was not on the menu and we had to ask for it specifically. I’m not usually a fan of crab but this shut all my prejudices up so that I sat silent, picking at all remnants of the sweet flesh from the expertly broken shells. I’m absolutely certain that a big part of its charm was the unctuous drenching of the crab in garlic butter and caper sauce, topped with a smattering of chopped fresh parsley. Our ever-friendly waited suggested sourdough bread to mop up that beautiful sauce. I gladly accepted and a couple of minutes later, was happily tearing up a warm, floury loaf of first-class, quality sourdough bread and sopping up all that lovely sauce with it. Scrumptious.

And then the Blackmore’s striploin, which was better than some of the cheaper cuts that we tried previously. This had a far better marbling that was evident in the tenderness of the final cooked steak. Beautifully fatty, you will need to break this up with bites of the pleasantly tangy watercress salad that it came with. The salad is no garnish that’s for sure! I’d order it as is and still enjoy every bite. Simplicity at its finest.

Pricey it is, but the right dishes shine through and give heft to the brand. However, I think that they should step up their game since they now hold a one star. I believe they can go much further than this.

Address: 20 Teck Lim Road, Singapore 088391

Phone: +65 6224 3933

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Kazu Sumiyaki at Cuppage Plaza (Charcoal grill)

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by denisegan in Dinner, Japanese, Restaurant review

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Tags

charcoal grill, cuppage plaza, foie gras, grill, japanese, kazu, lamb chop, pork balls, restaurant review, restaurants, singapore, skewers, sumiyaki, yakitori

IMG_2487

This is one of my favourite charcoal grill restaurants. Mainly because of its foie gras skewers and its pork and apple skewers. I’d make the trip there just for those! The restaurant is located in Cuppage plaza, home to many a dodgy karaoke bars with girls bursting in their in skimpy clothing hanging about the entrances. Despite that there are a couple of good restaurants here, I’ve yet to try them out but I will do that one day. IMG_5304

A couple of peeks at the menu. I highly recommend the Tontoro Ringo fatty pork apple skewer! The pork belly was pretty normal to me.IMG_5305 IMG_5306

I also highly recommend the foie gras! I’d order 4 skewers just for myself ;p

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They will serve you this for free the first round… however you will find that this sweet cabbage with a little lemon and dunked in that delicious miso based sauce, would have been quickly gobbled up. And then you’d have no choice but to order another portion. It is that addictive. I’m seriously considering replacing an entire meal with this cabbage and miso sauce alone.IMG_5313

If I’m not mistaken, these are the foie gras skewers. Beautifully grilled, dripping with delicious fat and seasoned with salt and cracked black pepper, these babies are well seared and hot. Good crust to the outside that gives way to the creamy rich goodness on the inside. It is almost falling off the skewer so be careful when you pick them up.

SGD 6.50 a skewer? I’m so sold on this!IMG_5312

Grilled chicken wing, not bad. Nothing much to say on this one as it was average to me. IMG_5310

From left to right, pork belly, beef balls (i think), pork balls, and finally the amazing fatty pork and apple skewers. The pork belly skewer was good albeit slightly chewy, same with the balls, had a little too much resistance that day. The fatty pork and apples were perfection. The apples’ sweetness intensified after being grilled and lend so much depth and flavour to the fatty. When eaten together, they form a perfect harmony in the mouth, that of the natural sweetness of the apple and the briny oily fatty pork. IMG_5309

This is a tamago dish. I was expecting the usual sweet tamago that you find in all Japanese restaurants, but somehow we got this. I’m not sure if we ordered wrongly, but it wasn’t great. I did not like the slimy sauce that was poured over the egg, it was just a major distraction for me.IMG_2470

More of that cabbage! And fresh uni sashimi. Expensive but so fresh and good!IMG_5314

Asparagus wrapped with bacon. It wasn’t bad, but I just never understood the combination. I always found the asparagus taste too strong for the bacon, or the bacon too salty. Why does the bacon in SIngapore and Malaysia taste so salty T_____T The ones in UK taste so good~IMG_5315

More pork belly and fatty pork with apple. So tantalizingly juicy.IMG_5316

Mentaiko chicken skewer. I did not taste mentaiko and the chicken was tough. Not a good choice. The chicken liver at the side was better, if you’re a chicken liver lover you’d probably like this. IMG_5317

The lamb was good as well, grilled to perfection, juicy yet not bloody, with the right amount of fat and seasoning to ensure a good balance of texture and flavour in each bite.IMG_5321

I’m not a lover of squid, I always find it tough and rubbery and not good to eat. Grilled squid just doesn’t do it for me. I prefer calamari!IMG_5320

Some radish dish with meat. Clean tasting and simple, as if it is a kind of home cooked dish? Comes in a base made of dashi.IMG_5319

Another dashi based dish, this time its beancurd skin topped with slightly charred uni. Skip this dish and just order uni sashimi 😉IMG_2495From left to right: I think this is chicken/pork, Chicken skin, chicken liver

All of these were good, the chicken skin nice and crispy. Perhaps a little more char on the chicken liver would have made it a lot better.

One thing I have to say about the service, it’s pretty bad. Also, I would recommend making reservations, especially during weekends, its always packed full! There’s usually a queue as well. If you can, try to avoid weekends, the service is really bad during weekends. Servers forget your orders, they don’t respond to your calls for them, food is slow, even the bill is slow. And their tempers are not at their best. They would also try to make you leave by a certain time if they are trying to seat other customers. I’d sit there longer just to annoy them (the inner demon in me is unleashed).

Go during the weekdays and you’ll enjoy the food a lot better 😉

*edit: New post on Kazu Sumiyaki (Aug 2018)

Kazu Sumiyaki restaurant,

#04-05 Cuppage plaza

5 Koek Rd  Singapore 228796

+65 6734 2492

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