[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

Blue Smoke @ Joo Chiat

I first got to know about 1925 Brewing Company was via its beer, "Liang Teh". Haha, yeah. So curiosity was piqued when I found out about Blue Smoke, an Asian Smokehouse by 1925 Brewing Co., which incidentally, is within the vicinity of my staycay at Katong.

Kris, Tracy, Hence and Ivan are agreeable to have dinner at this place, so Ivan made a same day reservation since it was risky to do a walk-in on a weekend evening. There's a $15 per pax deposit for reservations of 4-pax and above.

Walking to Blue Smoke from Hotel Indigo, took us about 10 minutes or so. Ivan, Hence and Tracy were already seated by the time Kris and myself got there.

signage

interior

The early birds had ordered appetizers of chicken skin and belinjo. So we reached at the right time!

Crispy Chicken Skins @$14

Emping Belinjo @$6

Chicken skin was not as crispy as we had imagined it to be, but for me, it was strangely addictive. One piece after the other. The emping belinjo was as expected and the homemade chili balado became a star on our table. It has the right spicy kick and loveable taste! We refused to let go of it, even when the belinjo crackers were long gone. This later was proven to be the right choice, as the chili balado goes well with the dirty rice too!

Vienna Lager @$7

I got myself a Vienna Lager, which is a limited edition brew. Limited till when? No idea also, but am a sucker for this type of wordings on the menu. Hahaa! Flavours of malt with a touch of bitterness as the aftertaste.

Lychee Lager @$7.50

I like the Lychee Lager more, as it was sweeter and more refreshing as that night was hot and humid!

Miso Shitake Buns @$8

Read plenty of reviews about the umami miso shitake buns. It was just alright for me. Good flavours of mushrooms earthiness but was somewhat expecting a stronger flavour punch. Loved the soft brioche, but everything on it was soft too.

Smoked Crispy Pork Belly @$22

Our first plate of meat was the pork belly! Lovely vibes from this dish. Not too porky taste, meat was tender with a good bite, and lovely to eat with the wasabi sour cream.

But, of course we need our vegetables too! Thus, I insisted on the cabbage.

Charred Napa Cabbage @$14

We could probably get alot of Napa Cabbage from the market with that price but oh boy, this plate was delicious! Cabbage was softened, the fried shallots on top gave it a hint of crunchiness, and swipe a piece with the garlic aioli, and oh yes, this one was umami! One of my favourite plate of that night.

served with roasted garlic aioli (that blob there, the one that looked like a prune..)

Chargrilled Wagyu @$28

200 gms of wagyu, was finished in no time. Flavours were on-point, but pistachio crumble were really scarce. Didn't taste much of it. Enjoyable mouthfeel for each piece of the wagyu slice. 

Smoked and Grilled Pineapple @$10

I didn't remember much of the pineapple but the sunflower seed cream, was causing me to lose my mind. It has a peculiar taste and that was the most intriguing part of this dish. We even asked the service staff to enquire if there's anything special in the sauce. I found it interesting!

"Dirty" Rice Basmati @$8

Initially, I thought ordering rice will not be a good choice as usually, I'd avoid carbs when eating out with the group. But this, was worth ordering especially for sharing. It paired real well with our main course of Wood Smoked Beef Brisket.

Wood Smoke Beef Brisket (left to right: Naval End, Point End) @$48

If my memory is correct, I think we got 100gms of Naval End and 200 gms of Point End with Point End being the fattier cut.

Naval End Smoked Beef Brisket

Loved the pickles served with the brisket. The rendang sauce, basmati rice and the bits of the brisket goes very well together. And, add a dash of that homemade sambal balado for extra oomph!

Having had brisket from other smokehouse before, I like the version at Blue Smoke more as the seasoning is not too strong.

Wood Fired Basque Cheesecake @$18

Ended our meal with the cheesecake and birthday wishes from the group. Thank you Tracy, Hence, Ivan and Kris for the meal! 

Special thanks to the two friendly service staff who attended to our table and answered all our queries during dinner.

Blue Smoke

Address: 261 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427515

Website: http://www.the1925.com.sg/bluesmoke

Contact: 8923 1592

Business Hours:

Closed: Mon

Fri - Sat: 12:30 pm–12:00 am

Sun: 12:30–10:00 pm

Tues-Thu: 4:00–11:00 pm