If you've been to Ginett recently, you may have noticed the Dry-Ager fridge taking up residence in the dining area. As a meat-atarian, I am excited as this new addition by Executive Chef Sylvain Royer is bound to raise the flavour of the steak up multiple notches! And, there is no better way than to experience it, ourselves.
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| Dry-Ager fridge |
Googled and in accordance to Wiki, that aging of the meat is the process of utilizing the beef's natural enzymes in breaking down its connective tissues, with the aim of tenderizing the meat.
Then, there's dry aging and wet aging. In dry-aging, the primal and sub-primal cuts of the meat; typically strip loins, rib eyes, and sirloin, are placed in a refrigerator unit. The key effect of dry aging is the concentration and saturation of the natural flavour, as well as the tenderization of the meat texture. Sounds good. However, dry-aging is a more expensive endeavor and takes a longer time when compared to its wet-aging counterpart.
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| beautiful aging |
All these talks about the sciences makes one hungry! Let's eat! Coincidentally, we were there on an Oysters Frenzy night, which happens on every Thursday. How does $1 per piece for Fine de Claire, sounds? Yes, please!
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| Oysters Fine de Claire 12 pcs |
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| let's enjoy |
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| Domaine Raimbault Sancerre, Loire Valley (Sauvignon Blanc) @$14 |
I asked Ginett's resident sommelier, Ms Justine Le Merle for wine recommendations with the oysters and was happy with the Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley, with its gorgeous yellow hue, moderate flavours of a balanced mineral and citrussy notes. Said to be ideal to be paired with starters and seafood and I do agree. Thank you Justine!
Oh, speaking of wine, how could one not think about the cheese? Ginett has increased its range of French imported AOC cheese such as the creamy and nutty Saint-Félicien from Rhône-Alpes, the pyramid-shaped Pouligny-Saint-Pierre made exclusively using unpasteurised whole goat's milk from the Loire Valley in central France, or the earthy Tomme de Savoie, the oldest of all Savoie cheese. Hmm, so many types, which ones to try first? I think I need a cheese sommelier!
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| cheese cabinet |
As our party of 4 has limited stomach space, we decided to forgo the cheese for this round. Nevertheless, here's the
link to previous visit and the cheeses that we had tried. My favourite was the Brillat Savarin.
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| while waiting for the mains... |
For main course, we'd be focusing on the tasting platter of Angus ribeyes; consisting of the natural Australian 30-36 months Pasture Fed Angus Beef and the 270 days Grain Fed Australian Black Angus MB3+ Rib Eye that had underwent a 3-weeks and a 6-weeks dry-aging process.
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| Black Angus steaks (top left to right): Australian 30-36 months Pasture Fed Angus Beef Rib Eye, Dry aged 3 weeks and 6 weeks were both Australian Black Angus MB3+ Rib Eye |
Currently, the menu states that the Australian 30-36 months Pasture Fed Angus Beef Rib Eye is priced at $36++ for 250g and the Australian Black Angus MB3+ goes for $48++ for 250g.
For each order of the steak, diners would get a choice of one side and one sauce: Sauce: Béarnaise, pepper, blue cheese. Since we are having 3, we got to try all the sauces. I was wondering about the pepper sauce though, as pepper sauce is less common in restaurants serving steaks? Might be wrong but that was the impression when it first arrived.
Let's talk a bit about the sides. One could choose creamy spinach, mesclun salad, mashed potatoes, ratatouille, mushroom fricassée, and potato wedges. We chose creamy spinach, ratatouille and mushroom fricassée. Creamy spinach has become the defacto choice (along the lines of creamy kale), ratatouille because we need to fulfill the vegetable quotient and mushrooms because one can't go wrong with mushrooms!
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| creamy spinach |
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| ratatouille |
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| mushrooms fricassée |
All sides were good but all of us loved the creamy spinach!
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| Australian 30-36 months Pasture Fed Angus Beef |
We tasted the steaks starting from the natural free range, antibiotic & hormone free Australian Angus ribeye and it has a good mild beefy flavour, firm chewy texture yet still tender. It felt like the meat was rather lean.
Next, the 3-weeks Dry Aged Australian Black Angus MB3+ Rib Eye which had a more tender texture as compared to the non-aged beef. Its flavour was more apparent when compared to the non-aged version. I loved the char on the 3-weeks and the 6-weeks dry aged ribeye and, it gave the meat an elevated smokey flavour.
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| Dry aged 3 weeks Australian Black Angus MB3+ Rib Eye |
However, I felt that the difference between the 6-weeks and the 3-weeks was more in the flavour compartment. The 6-weeks aged meat was tastier but I could not tell if there was any differences in texture between the 3-weeks version.
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| Dry aged 6 weeks Australian Black Angus MB3+ Rib Eye |
For the 3-weeks and 6-weeks aged beef, there was no funky smell whatsoever and it was an overall pleasant experience with an enhanced and pronounced flavour in comparison to its non-aged counterpart.
Our host, Jasmine shared that her favourite main would be the Scottish Salmon, so we gave that a try as well. A beautiful slab of salmon with skin-on, served ontop a bed of creamy spinach. Double yums.
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| Scottish Salmon @$32++ |
For dessert, we ordered three out of the nine stated in the menu. Had always wanted to try the traditional dessert, Baba au Rhum so that made it into our list. Next, we had Jasmine's favourite which was the Chocolate Tart and finally, for our finale, we selected Paris Brest.
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| Baba au Rhum @$14++ |
So what is Baba au Rhum? According to
Wiki, it is a small yeast cake saturated in syrup made with typically, rum and served with cream. Orhhhh. The version here is soaked in vanilla infused rum syrup and the yeast cake tasted like a fluffy bread. Overall, the dessert was light and refreshing. So interesting.
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| Chocolate Tart @$12++ |
The 70% cacao chocolate tart shall satisfy any chocolate cravings that one might have. Rich, creamy, just the right amount of bitter and sweetness, that's best paired with a cup of coffee/tea. The pecan ice-cream was so good and it took its time to melt even in our sweltering heat. Bravo!
For me, the best dessert would be the Paris Brest. A mega choux filled with creamy, luxurious hazelnut praline cream. Absolutely, heavenly.
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| Paris Brest @$18++ |
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| hazelnut praline cream (cross-section view of Paris Brest) |
Having dined at Ginett on a couple of occasions, it is advisable to make your reservations to avoid disappointment as the place is usually crowded after 6.45pm, even on a weekday.
Thank you Natasha, Jasmine and Ginett for having us. Justine, it was nice meeting you and thank you to you and team for taking care of us that night.
Dinner with
Hence,
Alvin and
Melissa.
Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar
Address: 200 Middle Rd, Singapore 188980
Website:
https://www.randblab.com/ginett-sg
Contact: 6809 7989
Business Hours:
Daily 7.00am to 11.30pm
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