[Travel Melbourne] Meatmaiden @ Little Collins Street

We were in the mood for a little bit of steak and one that doesn't requires us to cook it ourselves. Yeah, finally visiting a steakhouse during this Melbourne trip, yay!

It was an impromptu decision and on the very first evening of our Melbourne trip. Lucky us, Salina helped to secure a reservation to the restaurant on super short notice.

Its website stated "Meatmaiden is an underground steakhouse and cocktail bar in the heart of Melbourne where the classics are reimagined, reinterpreted and twisted."

entrance

going underground

Indeed, once we entered the building, we needed to get down the stairs to the restaurant. Somewhat exuding the dark, industrial decor yet classy.

booth seats

The place was bustling on a Saturday evening. We opted for an early dinner at 5pm otherwise the next seating was at 8pm.

menu

Selected a couple of appetisers, and two mains to share amongst the 6 of us as we had late lunch earlier at 2+pm. Staff was helpful with their recommendations as well. For the mains, we enquired about their specials (not in the menu) and Chef shared that we could opt for the Mayura Station Wagyu (full-blood wagyu) 600gm or 1kg as they have that on our day of visit. Ooh, let's try!

I needed to Google to find out more pertaining to the difference between full blood and purebred cattle. Full blood often refers to cattle that are 100% in breed purity. Purebred usually refers to cattle that are bred up fairly close to fullblood (~> 93.75%), but have the genetics of another breed.

Start

Grilled Bread

Grilled Bread, Cowboy Butter @AUD12

Oh my goodness gracious! I am impressed by the grilled bread. So so tasty with its sweet caramelized outer layer and fluffy-chewy bread, and topped with saoury-salty cowboy butter. Must try. Thank you Chef for sending these to our table.

Grilled Octopus

Charred Octopus @AUD26

Octopus was tender and paired well with the potato aioli. 

Roasted Bone Marrow

Roasted Bone Marrow @AUD24

Wow, I liked the bone marrow at Meatmaiden. More flavorful than any other bone marrows that I had in the past. Lovely combination with the raclete custard. Rich and delightful.

Burnt Ends

Burnt Ends @AUD23

Hmm, am not a fan of burnts ends as the ones that I had in the past, tend to be overly seasoned. The version here was strongly flavoured but not overly so. 

Chopped Wagyu Tartare

crisps

Chopped Wagyu Tartare @AUD24

The chopped wagyu tartare was by far, had the most interesting appearance amongst all the dishes served, with that cloak of green on-top of it. Hehe, this sure was a conversation piece. Mix it well and place a some tartare onto the crisps and enjoy. I liked the tartare with its Asian influenced flavours, without the crisps though. So good.

Again, thanks to Chef Jesse for sending the wagyu tartare over to our table for us to try!

Drinks

There's plenty of selection in their drinks menu, but I opted for red wine to complement the steak later.

Malbec, France @AUD17

Thank you the to staff who poured generously into the glass, cheers!

Mains

Smoked Short Ribs

Smoked Short Ribs @AUD54

The smoked short ribs was fork tender yet retained a nice chew for its meat. Loved the pickled cucumber ribbon on its side.

Mayura Station Wagyu Bone-In Ribeye Steak

Mayura Station Bone-In Ribeye (600 gm)

sauces: garlic & thyme jus, beef fat bernaise, three pepper sauce and wild mushroom

After having a taste, this has quickly became my current favourite steak of all-times! Well seasoned, and flavourful on its own. Paired with beef fat bearnaise for that additional oomph! Fantastic.

medium rare

Sides

Lobster Mac & Cheese

Lobster Mac & Cheese @AUD40

First time seeing, mac & cheese served with bisque.

mandatory pour-shot for the bisque

It was an interesting experience to eat the mac & cheese with the bisque.

All in all, it was an enjoyable experience at Meatmaiden where the flavours are very pronounced, and the staff were pretty good in keeping the guests well taken care of. So kudos, and thank you to the team!

Special thanks to Salina who introduced the place to us, and Gan and Jesse who made time to chit chat a bit with us.

Foodie experience with Ivan, Hence, Tracy, Salina and Shermaine. Thank you everyone as we managed to try quite a bit of things here! Legends.

Meatmaiden

Address: 195 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: https://meatmaiden.com.au

Contact: +61390787747

Business Hours:

Sun - Mon: Closed

Tue: Tuesday, 5–9:30 pm

Wed - Thu: 12–2:30 pm, 5–9:30 pm

Fri: Friday, 12–2:30 pm, 5–10 pm

Sat: Saturday, 5–10 pm

[Tasting] Fat Belly @ Serene Centre

Was invited to Fat Belly, a community steakhouse located in Serene Centre (Bukit Timah). They are known for offering delicious uncommon steak cuts. 

Thank you Hence for the invite and Fat Belly for hosting the tasting. We got the counter seats and was able to chat a bit with Head Chef Spencer Lau. 

have a sip while perusing the menu

menu

I've tried their onglet, flatiron and shortribs before and back then, onglet was the preferred cut due to its overall texture and price point.

Starters

Toasted Sourdough & Raclette Cheese

starters

Toasted Sourdough @$6 (served with salted butter)

Raclette Cheese @$18

The raclette cheese was served bubbling, so don't go touching the sides of the plate! Sourdough was crisp on its exterior and we used it to mop up the yummy cheese. 

delicious bites

Both the sourdough and raclette cheese combination could easily feed up to 3 to 4 pax as starters.

But of course, before that, friendly Shanice came by the counter to ask if we're ready to order our drinks. Hence got himself a Hugo mocktail while I chose the Malbec.

a glass for you?

Bodega Catena, Malbec 2021 (Argentina) @$23 per glass

The malbec tasted of ripe dark fruits with a hint of chocolate. Tasted good with the raclette cheese sprinkled with bits of salty crispy bacon.

left: Hugo (mocktail) @$14

Hugo's a refreshing drink with main ingredients from elderflower, grapefruit and soda. The cocktail version is gin-based and topped with prosecco.

Charcoal Grill

beautifully marbled meats; Picanha, Denver

Fat Belly takes pride in its sourcing and butchery of the meats and works closely with their network of producers for the uncommon cuts. These fine cuts are then expertly grilled over charcoal, rested and sliced into morsels of deliciousness for us, diners to enjoy.

Picanha

Picanha cut is from the rump above a fat cap while Denver cut is from the chuck located on the shoulder part.

steak dinner for two

Steak was done medium rare and it was quite a sight to behold when served. Minimalist plating yet visually impactful. A mouthwatering sight.

Picanha (American Wagyu MBS 6/7, America) @$55

The steak was served with garlic confit, salt and we tried the Mustard Royale sauce ($4). The meat was flavourful on its own or good with a tiny dab of salt. Tender and juicy mouthfeel yet not oily. As we are alternating between the Denver and Picanha between bites, the Mustard Royale with it a tinge of tangy-ness helped to refresh the tastebuds.

Denver 

Denver (Full Blood Wagyu MS 6/9, Australia) @$65

Full Blood Wagyu typically refers to the beef produced from Wagyu cattle that has no evidence of cross-breeding with other breeds and whose pedigree can be traced back to Japan providing 100% Full-Blood Wagyu beef.

As both Picanha and Denver cuts at Fat Belly are of high wagyu grading, the meat was tender, with good mouthfeel. Denver has a fuller/richer/creamier mouthfeel in comparison. I think it is best to share Denver with a partner/friend while I am confident that I can polish off the whole plate of Picanha on my own. Of course, sips of Malbec between bites of these premium meats complemented the overall enjoyment.

Sides

Pomme Puree

Pomme Puree @$10

Fried Brussels Sprouts

Fried Brussels Sprouts @$14

The sides portion are good for two. Pomme Puree was expectedly smooth and creamy. Was surprised by the fried brussels sprouts for its smokey aroma. There are savoury granola in it and the garum caramel added a touch of sweetness to this dish. 

Desserts

Signature Tiramisu

Signature Tiramisu @$14

Tiramisu portion was good for two pax and best to dig in as soon as it was served. Light as a cloud in all its creme chantilly glory! Strong coffee flavour in this one. 

All in all, Fat Belly is a cosy place, with friendly vibes to enjoy premium uncommon steak cuts in the Bukit Timah area.

Once again, thank you Fat Belly and team for your hospitality. Special thanks to Chef Spencer and also to Shanice for coming by to chat with us.

Fat Belly (FBG)

Address: 10 Jln Serene, #01-04 Serene Centre, Singapore 258748

Website: https://www.fatbellysg.com/

Contact: 6314 2247

Business Hours: 

Mon - Fri: 11 am–4 pm, 5–11 pm

Sat: 11 am–11 pm

Sun: 11 am–10 pm

[Tasting] Fat Belly x Sugarhaus @ Serene Centre Shopping Centre

Ok, call me suaku. Might have passed by this building a couple of times when travelling via bus 67 but, I don't believe if I've ever alighted at this place! Goodness. Took a cab to Serene Centre from workplace and luckily, the signage for the building name is pretty prominent. Here's a link to Serene Centre's website if you're interested to know more about this building that's been around since the 80's?

Enough of the prelude and let's get into the main. Fat Belly is a speakeasy-style steakhouse that focuses on alternative, less well-known cuts of the beef. But first and foremost, I need to Google-up "speakeasy".  This term referred to an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, where such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the Prohibition era (1920–1933). Okay, but nowadays, this term is usually associated with a cool, hip establishment (usually with a bar, or the bar itself) that's somewhat 'hidden' and awaiting for discovery.

Steak and Wine

Interestingly, when one do locate Fat Belly when walking in from the inside of Serene Centre, there's no door for one to enter. Fat Belly is accessible via Sugarhaus entrance. The steakhouse comes alive after 6pm daily.

Fat Belly offers counter-seats with high chairs where one could watch the flames (ideally), but usually, it would be the back view of the hardworking young Chefs prepping the order. Steaks are flash-grilled and then sliced right in-front of your eyes while you and your dining companion enjoys a quiet catch up while sipping on a glass of wine.

Cheers!

There are three steak-cuts available on its current menu. The flat iron, the onglet and the short rib. Each of these are served with a side of housemade chimichurri verde sauce and a small serving of salad. But, the sides are to be recommended as well. Choose from sauteed thyme mushrooms, or the crowd favourite creamed kale, or the newly rotated-in spiced roasted sweet potato.

Sauteed Thyme Mushrooms and Creamed Kale @$5 each

Loved the well seasoned juicy mushrooms. Creamed kale was good too (and much raved about) but I liked the sauteed mushrooms more! One bowl of these sides is easily shared amongst 2 pax.

Let's get back to our main focus area, which is on its alternative cuts of beef and we started with the Flat Iron Steak as it is the leanest amongst the lot, at the moment. The notion of tougher meat when the fat is minimal, was not applicable here. Flat Iron Steak had a more pronounced beefy-grassy flavour when in comparison with the other two cuts.

USDA 150day Grain Fed Angus Flat Iron Steak @$22

Next, let's take a look at the Short Rib. The strip had slightly more fat and its ratio is somewhat in-between of the Flat Iron and Onglet. Its meat was bouncy and one need to work the jaw a bit more for this one. This one is definitely for the guys.

USDA Grain Fed Angus Short Rib Steak @$25

Next up, the Wagyu Marble Score 4.5 Onglet Steak is more premium with the best mouthfeel and visuals. Meat that glistened, beckoning to be eaten. A genteel piece of gorgeous looking steak that was a joy to savour. My favourite piece out of the three.

Wagyu Marble Score 4.5 Onglet Steak @$38 (in photo: Alamos Malbec @$12 by the glass and creamed kale @$5)

The end? Nonsense! There's still dessert to try. When in Sugarhaus, one needs to get some sugar into the system to complete the experience. 

Like its meaty and side dishes counterparts, there are three options for plated dessert. The Foie Gras Chocolate Bar that makes one curious about its taste, the safe-sounding Sticky Date Pudding and the Drunk Pear.

Foie Gras Chocolate Bar is basically foie gras ice-cream (did not such a flavour exists!) encased in chocolate shell, decorated with caramel sauce ontop and adorned with a touch of gold. Plate has apple jelly and raspberry sauce.

Foie Gras Chocolate Bar @$12

Curious about foie gras ice-cream? We sliced up the chocolate bar to find out more. Just kidding. Was sharing this with Sihan and Ivan, so needed to cut it to three. Would you be sharing yours?

foie gras ice-cream revealed!

Also tried the Sticky Date Pudding. It was somewhat therapeutic, watching the dessert plate being assembled. The bonus of counter seats. The pudding was smallish, but I was smiling when slicing it to be distributed. It was a ふわふわ (fuwa fuwa) moment. Sooo fluffy!

Sticky Date Pudding @$10

The pudding was served with salted caramel ice-cream ontop of a bed of crushed feuilletine. This french sounding item is a crispy confection made from thin, sweetened crêpes. The next surprise was that the salted caramel ice-cream had a familiar buttery taste to it. It tasted so much like Werther's Original caramel candy! Wow.

Went to try other flavours of the ice-cream and they do have some interesting ones like Hibiscus Yoghurt (but me not a fan of yoghurt though), Gula Melaka Pecan and found my favourite, in the for of Coconut Sorbet. The Honey and Milk was good too!

ice-cream selection

enter through this door

Thank you Sihan for the invite and Fat Belly for hosting the tasting. Special thanks to Stanley and his cheerful crew @fatbellysg and @sugarhaus. An evening with Sihan ((@fundamentally_flawed)) and Ivan (@ivan_teh_runningman).

Fat Belly x Sugarhaus

Address: 10 Jalan Serene #01-04

Singapore

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fatbellysg

Contact: 6314 2247

Email: hello.sugarhaus@gmail.com

Business hours:

Sundays to Thursdays: 6pm to 10pm (Last order 9.30pm)

Fridays & Saturdays: 6pm to 11pm (Last order 10pm)