[Media Invite] Cast Iron 铸铁 @ Duo Galleria

Have you been to Duo Galleria? Yes, that's right. The new place where Man Man Unagi second outlet is located. You may have also seen reviews on Andaz recently and all that, are located at Duo Galleria. It is located opposite of Parkview Square (aka Gotham City) and accessible via Bugis MRT.

Was invited for a tasting at Cast Iron Japanese Restaurant recently, and this place is only a few month's old. It may take a while to find this restaurant as the layout of Duo Galleria may be a tad confusing at first. Cast Iron is located at the far end away from the MRT station exit.

shopfront

drinks counter

interior

The place has a nice ambiance and spacious enough for large groups' gathering and intimate enough for cosy couples. If you prefer interaction with the friendly Chefs, head towards the counter seats.

Cast Iron has an interesting concept of having a gaucho grill (think cowboy) alongside with the Japanese foods. Think grilled meats (USDA Angus Prime Ribs, Bone-in Ribeye, Japanese meats such as Kagoshima wagyu etc) The open kitchen allows diners to watch the flames while the Chef grills the meat. Watching that might just ignite the inner caveman in most of us, in wanting to eat some juicy grilled meats!

sake

Look for Alex if you would like some sake or Japanese whisky recommendation to go along with the foods.

drinks menu and bar snacks

If you're drinking (or even if you're not!), start with Eihire Yaki (grilled stingray fin). This is a popular alcoholic drink snack. It has a slight chewy texture and very tasty. Gets rather addictive too.

Eihire (エイヒレ) @$13

Sea Eel

The sea eel was rather good too. Firm, thick cut meat and only lightly salted.

If you are in a larger group of say 5 to 6 pax and would like to try the Porterhouse or Bone-in Ribeye, do place your order early as it might take about 40 to 45 minutes to prepare and cook.

grill section

Chef Ming in action

While the meat is being fired up, you may hop by the Japanese counter to watch Chef Anson as he prepares your food. Watch him slice up the various fishes and plating them so beautifully.

Chef Anson

Cast Iron sources their produce not only from Japan but from Australia and America as well. Whatever that is in season, then that will likely be seen on the menu. In season now, there's the Akamutsu (アカムツ), Amberjack/Buri (寒鰤), grouper, sardine (鰯), toro (とろ), mackerel, prawn and Bafun Uni (馬糞ウニ) from Hokkaido.

Sashimi Moriawase (Chef's Selection) with in-season fish (price ranges from $120 to $380)

Lovely sashimi platter and price varies, depending on what's included on it. First time having sardine sashimi and it was rather enjoyable if you like stronger flavours. Sardine will be of a stronger flavour when compared against mackerel. After tasting the Bafun Uni, finally understood why so many had come to love this variant of sea urchin. So deliciously creamy and clean tasting. The buri and toro gave a luscious mouthfeel and not to be missed.

sweet creamy uni

Good thing that Cast Iron has a duel concept and for that, we got to indulge and to satisfy our inner cravings for hot, grilled meat (and vegetables!).

First, we got a taste of grilled Iberico pork, done in a few ways. Multiple flavours and textures on one plate. Loved the pork collar for its flavour and the pork jowl for its texture. The pork belly and karubi were lightly seasoned and did not stand out.

Grilled Iberico Pork - miso pork loin, pork collar, pork belly,pork jowl and karubi

Then, we got an assorted grilled vegetables and a Ribeye Bone-in Double Cut done medium. We've seen the flames, now to taste the fire-licked steak.

Grilled Vegetables 

 USAD Prime Grade A Ribeye Bone-in Double Cut, served with Bone Marrow Butter and Chimichurri @$130

This was the moment the meatatarians have been waiting for. Thick slices of meaty yums! One side as it is and the other, slathered with chimichurri. Chef was generous in giving us plenty of bone marrow butter. So, we coated it on the corn and it was superbly delicious! No joke.

I loved the meat as it was. Dabbed it with a little salt and in it goes. Charred smokey meaty chews were match made in heaven that's just oozing with flavour.

The portion was about 1.5kg, and fed the 6 of us comfortably. Great with a glass of ice cold Asahi.

If you would like to have Japanese Wagyu steak, it is available albeit in limited portions. Currently in-stock, they have the Kagoshima and Miyazaki wagyu.

How about ice-cream for dessert? The two available flavours are matcha and yuzu. Actually, it was more of a sorbet. Yuzu was the crowd favourite.

matcha (front) and yuzu (back)

If you are looking to splurge a little, there is omakase option available. The budget to set aside is about $120 to $180 per pax, and about 1.5 to 2 hours to experience. One could also opt to request Chef for a few items from the grill.

Thank you Cast Iron for hosting the dinner and Kris for the invite.

Cast Iron 铸铁

Address: 7 Fraser Street, Duo Galleria, #01-32/33, 189356
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/castironsg
Contact: 6581 0159
Business Hours:
Mondays to Saturdays: 11:45am–2:30pm, 5:30pm–10:30pm
Closed on Sundays