Oca Grassa @ Bukit Pasoh

Located at 6 Bukit Pasoh. If taking MRT, alight at Outram Park. Was there for Restaurant Week. Second restaurant, and also the last one for me.

"fat goose"

Wanted to try Oca Grassa because my friend had her florentine steak here and she enjoyed it. Since its restaurant week menu does offer beef, thought it was a good opportunity to visit and try its restaurant week set lunch at $25++.

view from my table

The only available timing for booking, was 2pm. Last seating for lunch. Didn't mind, because there was a concert to attend at 6pm, so it was just nice.

I was a party of one that day, since my bro had to cancel and no one else was interested. Too late to cancel the reservation too.

Arrived 10 minutes past 2pm, and was greeted by the staff upon stepping into the restaurant. Nice. Mr Andreano Carbotti (Operations Manager) happened to be around, and he suggested downstairs (ground floor) table. Ok, I admit. It was pretty awkward to dine alone, in a restaurant.

table for two, ground level

Restaurant Week Lunch menu

First up, appetiser of squid salad.

grilled squid, baby cos (lettuce), cucumber, tomato, pickled onions

The dressing was very light. Squid didn't taste much of grilled flavour though. Too mild.

homemade balsamic with olive oil, and warm bread

Liked the balsamic very much. A blob of tangy and sweet all at once. Andreano shared that their homemade balsamic had been boiled so that it is more concentrated and flavourful. Mixed it with the salad, and it felt like the flavours belonged together. Finished the greens soon after.

balsamic dressing

Since I was the only person at the ground floor area, chef and staff were very prompt in ensuring that the in-between-of-course interval was kept to a minimum. Like a minute or so. Still, I've managed to find stuffs to do, to amuse oneself.

staring at the ceiling lights in self-reflection

Had a brief conversation with Chef Edwin Lau (Group Executive Chef). He's very passionate about the beef that they serve at Oca Grassa. Curing and aging of the meats, preferences of locals, definition of 'good' beef etc. He's very willing to share the information.

Chef Edwin Lau

Meats that are undergoing the aging process, aren't pretty. The longer it aged, the darker the colour its outerparts will be. Eventually, all the dark crust need to be removed from the meat. These are known as wastage. Hence, the longer the meat is aged, the more costly it will be as the wastage percentage will increase. Aged beef has a more concentrated flavour and taste, and its meat texture tenderized.

beef aging differentiated, left to right shorter to longer timeframe

If one wants to reserve their own block of meat for florentine steak with preferred aging, they can do so at this restaurant.

Short prelude and gained some basics on beef aging and curing. Thanks Chef!

Back to the food, a beautiful plate of char-grilled striploin.

char-grilled cured aged angus striploin with garlic puree and balsamic dressing

The striploin was cured for a day and aged for two. The meat looked rare. The fats on the surface was rather chewy, so in this case, I'd prefer to have the fats trimmed away so that it's easier to eat. Thinly sliced, tender (but doesn't melt away), still moist yet requires one to chew quite a bit. Thought the beef tasted not like those 'metallic' beefy flavour, but rather, a very very slight hint leaning towards jamon iberico type of flavour.

The smooth mash with garlic puree in balsamic dressing was a delight to eat. Mopped it up with the beef! Personally, I'd like the beef to be more charred and its doneness up a notch.

Prosecco Belussi (@$12++)

For dessert, it was limoncello tart with pastry cream.

homemade limoncello tart

oozing out

The limoncello tart was rather sweet and the airy cream helped to lessen the sweetness a little. If not, the tart and slightly sourish raspberry will do the trick. Quite yummy and a nice end to lunch.

Service was polite and prompt.