Meatsmith @ Telok Ayer

It was deja vu, all over again. The thing about eating out at Telok Ayer on weekends at popular places like this one, could only mean one thing. One needa queue even when there is a reservation. Our 8pm reservation saw us queueing till an hour later and that was because we were lucky for the previous party had kindly vacated their table after an hour of dining. We know, because we were there when the food was served to their table, to the time that they left.

alfresco dining

Kona Big Wave Golden Ale @$12++

bacon wrapped cheese

Meat Platter for 2 @$90++

Our order was plenty. There's starters and meat platters plus additional ala-carte order of beef short ribs and hangar steak.  The meat platter consists of brisket, pork ribs, brisket springrolls, buffalo wings, pastrami burnt ends and pork belly burnt ends. Plus, it came with corn bread!

Pork Ribs

Pastrami Burnt Ends

Brisket

Whoa, the meat platter sure was strongly flavoured. Not that I wasn't expecting it but still, I was somewhat caught surprised by the pork ribs. Possibly due to the sauce, me thinks.

I liked the springroll brisket more than the brisket itself. The pastrami burnt ends was nice to nibble on. The corn bread was my favourite! The pickles were lovely too and it helped to take off some of the greasiness. Well, ice cold beer works too!

Corn Bread with smoked butter

Next, we enjoyed the Hangar Steak. Loved the salad that came along as well. This meat had an enjoyable chew to it and tasted of its natural flavours.

300g F1 Wagyu Hangar Steak @$38++

tender with a chew

Best meat of the night? The vote went to Beef Short Ribs, hands down. It was just wow. Right up my alley, this one.

Beef Short Rib @$48++

can't wait to get some

Fork tender, with some fats and tasted so good with that sauce. What was that sauce again? 

big bites, big love

The staff are friendly and ice water was topped up whenever we needed a refill.

MeatSmith Telok Ayer

Address: 167-169 Telok Ayer St, Singapore 068620

Website: https://www.meatsmith.com.sg/

Contact: 6221 2262

Business Hours:

Daily 11:30am–11:45pm

Luna and GO! K-BBQ @ Amoy Street

For our first dinner at Telok Ayer where we were doing a staycay at The Clan, we actually whatsapp'ed a place to reserve but unfortunately, no response by dinner time. Dropped by the said place and was informed that, sorry, the earlier reservation did not go through. Hence, we walked around and decided to try GO! K-BBQ, one of the many Korean BBQ places around the area. Left our name in the waitlist and walked over to Luna for some dessert first.

The shop had some tables left, so we sat down comfortably and ordered some cakes and drinks. Can see the cakes on display, make your order and pay at the counter. Return to your seat and the friendly crew will call you when the order is ready.

Gula Melakaya (back) and Matcha Opera (front) @$8 per slice

Gula Melakaya

Truth be told, I thought the cakes looked rather dry. But, I'd soon discover that after taking one big bite, that was not so, as the layer of cream complemented the texture and taste. Sweet but not overly. Gula Melakaya tasted of pandan and coconut-ey.

Matcha Opera

There's a bit of edible gold flake on the Matcha Opera, so that gave it an instant chic feel. As the fork cuts through, one could feel the denseness of the cake. This is matcha gao gao (strong matcha taste). Of matcha mousse, ganache and chantilly cream. Very likeable and recommended to share.

Luna

Address:  53 Amoy St, Singapore 069879

Website: https://www.luna.sg/

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri: 12–6:30pm

Sat: 12–6 pm

Sun: 12-4pm

By 8pm, we went back to the BBQ place to check if it was close to our turn. Alas, not quite. So we guai guai stayed in queue. Think there were about 3 to 4 groups ahead of us still.

GO! K-BBQ

let's eat meat!

Noticed that the Manager running the place was super busy. He does almost everything from attending to the customer queue, cutting up the meat and serving the tables, and that's pretty impressive.

looking at pictures while waiting

We finally got a table around 9pm and the floor manager was pretty apologetic about the long wait. No problem but first up, let's order meat! Left it in the good hands of Tracy and Hence to recommend while I made a quick dash to the washroom.

By the time I returned, the table was starting to get crowded.

side dish and wraps for the BBQ, the pickled leaves should be 깻잎 장아찌

lots of lettuce 많은 상추

salad

steamed egg 찐 계란

let's have a big bite

Big Beef Rib Soup 큰 쇠고기 갈비 수프 @$22++

It was comforting to have the hot food. Steamed egg was soothing and the beef soup was good, with bits of ginseng and red dates. The meat was good with a dab of salt.

Have you tried beef tartare / yukhoe before? I had it in Busan and it was good. But in Singapore, this was my first time trying. A bit squeamish when you see those reddish hue of the liquid from the pear mixed with the raw meat. Taste wise, it was enjoyable and non-funky.

Yukhoe 육회 @$28++

Let's wash it down with some soju. I'd prefer flavoured soju but this original one, was not bad as well.

Jinro Soju @$15++

But let's get some BBQ action going, shall we? Guests can sit back and relax as the staff will do the grilling for you. Jerome was assigned to our room and he's pretty quick.

Beef

let it sizzle

almost done

ready to eat

Within a few minutes, we finished consuming the first place of meat. Not enough, let's have some more. This time round, let's try pork. As with aged meat, there was some smell emanating from it but the taste was alright and the texture was nicely tender.

pork neck and pork belly with tteok 돼지 목과 삼겹살

let's brown it

not yet

almost

I think in total, there were 4 portions of meat, 1 yukhoe, 1 soup, 1 egg and lots of vege, all consumed from within 1.5 hours. Yes, we were that hungry!

finale, of iron pressed pig skin

If you like QQ, then the last bit of pork skin will appeal to you. For me, not so much in this manner and moreover, our dinner was more like supper hence, felt sinful after inhaling all the meat.

Food adventures with Tracy, Hence and Ivan.

GO! K-BBQ

Address: 76 Amoy St

Contact: 6423 0308

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri: 11:30am–3pm, 5:30–10:30pm

Sat - Sun: 5:30–10:30pm

[Tasting] Riverside Weekend BBQ Buffet @ Food Capital

Grand Copthorne Waterfront is within walking distance from M Social where I was having my staycation. Hence, took the opportunity to schedule a dinner with a colleague to try out the à la carte Buffet Riverside Barbecue at Food Capital. Thank you Gilbert and Food Capital for extending the invitation!

dinner

Safe-entry and temperature checks at the hotel lobby and another safe-entry check-in at Food Capital. Inform the staff of your reservation and they will provide a tag for you to wear on the wrist. Staff will then lead you to your table.

our view for the night

i got tag

There is a Launch Special where diners could enjoy the buffet at 30% off. Below are the promo prices:

Lunch: $45.50++ (usual price $65++)

Dinner: $59.50++ (usual price $85++)

(Lobster for Dinner only)

Prices are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST

Terms and conditions apply. Buffet menus are subject to changes. 1 serving of Lobster per diner.

To order, simply pick up the various order chit from the container on the table. We took some time to scrutinise the 'menu'.

order chit

Let's lay out the different food sections:

what shall we start with

As per usual, we were cautious with our first order since we are not so sure about the portion size. Ordered the Seafood On Ice (available for dinner only), 2 portions of salmon and tuna sashimi,  for the tempura, you could indicate the portion and circle the items that you like, and some spicy smoked salmon. I also had a jar of wood ear salad.

top left clockwise: Seafood on Ice, Sashimi, Smoked Salmon, Tempura and Wood Ear Salad in the center

wood ear salad

I ordered a glass of M Wine Red as the promotional price was $10++ per glass. For buffet, a cup of coffee/tea is included. For other beverages, just need to pay additional. 

my fav drink at Millennium Hotels

Was happy with the sashimi. Fresh and good! So we had second helpings of this. But in the second round, the tuna was of a different cut hence, not so satisfying as the first plate.

tuna and salmon sashimi

For the Seafood On Ice, the langoustine was rather difficult to eat with its pokey shell. Was trying not to get cut by it, the clams were quite good actually, and the prawns were as usual firm and nice. The scallops and mussels were... a bit tough.

prawns, scallops, langoustine, clams and mussels

Next, was the tempura. The brinjal and sweet potatoes were enjoyable. Ebi was nice too although a bit limp.

Tempura

Next up, was the anticipated arrival of the grilled seafood platter and of course, the limited serving of lobster.

Fusion BBQ Grilled Platter with 3 sauces

hello there, beef sirloin

Pro-tip: Must must get the chinchalok sauce. Best sauce ever!

there's pork belly and chicken drumstick too

Hmm, the least enjoyable was the pork belly. I'd pick the chicken drumstick over the pork belly. Let me know what you think if you had tried it too. The squid was flavourful but it'll give the jaw a good workout.

sirloin steak

The main highlight for me, was the lobster. Cooked just right, with sweet flesh. So satisfying!

lobster

look at that beauty

As lobster was just one serving, the next best, would be the live prawns. Yums! For me, all the grilled items except the squid and the otah, would go well with the chinchalok sauce. The sauce has quite the spicy kick, but so yummy and not pungent as thought.

Grilled Live Prawns

I like the laksa here, so introduced it to my friend.

laksa

Ok, by now we are stuffed. But not too stuffed for a sampling of the dessert.

waffle with yam ice-cream

choco fountain coated fruit skewer

And with that, we could eat no more. 

Once again, thank you Gilbert for the invite and Grand Copthorne Waterfront Food Capital for the à la carte Buffet Riverside Barbecue.

Grand Copthorne Waterfront lobby

Food Capital

Location: Lobby, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

Business Hours:

Lunch: 12pm to 230pm (Saturday & Sunday)

Dinner: 6pm to 10pm (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)

For reservations, please call 8168 1539, email dining.gcw@millenniumhotels.com or visit this link