GastroSmiths Bistro and Bakery @ Tan Quee Lan Street

Been curious about this place for a while now. Blame it on the postings by myfoodsirens. Reservation was via SMS and response was pretty quick. Staff would do a verification on that day itself and we are all set. Located at 103 Beach Road, Tan Quee Lan St., this place is very near the Downtown Line MRT exit.

First impression of GastroSmiths, was that its indoor seating area was rather small and compact. Lovely wall art. Suits the mood.

interior

The menu can be found online. For drinks, we had the umeshu and yuzu vodka soda. Guess which one was mine?

komasa umeshu with soda @$8.50++

Yuzu Vodka Soda @$12.50++

Yuzu really goes quite well with soda water! Haha, yup. Had the yuzu vodka and I liked it. Maybe will recreate this at home, one day.

For appetiser, we had the Scallop Ceviche. Cubes of raw Hokkaido scallop, marinated with citrus juice and dressed with olive oil, salt and corriander. Hmm, it was less tasty than I imagined. Slightly bitterish aftertaste from the marinade. The scallop unfortunately lacked its natural sweetness.

Scallop Ceviche @$14.50++

My friend, Flo, ordered the Cast-Iron Grilled Chicken. When the dish landed on the table, the first thought that struck, was of its serving size. Felt like something was missing from the plate. Perhaps a side of greens would have compensated for the space on the plate? This one is for breast meat lovers. The sear on the chicken was nice and the taste was simple and light. Loved the sauteed mushrooms and the smoked yoghurt potato mash was something different.

Cast-Iron Grilled Chicken @$24++

Next, was my main course. The 150 days grain-fed Angus Striploin. Ok, both plates were pretty minimalistic. How do you like your beef to be done? If it is not a French restaurant, then medium-rare would be my option. Pink at its center, please. The cauliflower was roasted with salsa verde sauce. Tasty as there were concentrated sprinkles of salt at the cauliflower's head. The angus has a good beefy chew and loved the thin layer of fats at its side, especially with the charred bits. The pomme puree was rather lovely with its buttery creamy scent.

220gms Angus 150day grain-fed Striploin @$33.50++

lovely medium rare

Lastly, was dessert. Went for the Valrhona Lava Cake. A waiting time of at least 10 minutes would be required. Perused the coffee menu and saw an item called 'Magic'. Curious, so enquired from the staff. Oh, it's a ristretto and since it is extracted with half amount of water, then its flavours would be more concentrated. Didn't try that, but the Shoyu Caramel Latte looked interesting. Went for my usual piccolo.

Piccolo Latte @$4++

The plating of the dessert was lovely. Manjari chocolate was delightful, with a good balance of sweetness and bitter. However, was there essence of banana underneath the ice-cream?

Valrhona Lava Cake @$15.50++

Manjari 64%, vanilla ice-cream, banana

Expect to spend about $67 per pax for a two-course dinner with an alcoholic drink.