Tag Archives: me@oue

Wonderful Evening, Good Friend, Sumptuous Dinner @ ME.OUE on 9Jun2015

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scallop carpaccio with veloute

scallop carpaccio with veloute

had a wonderful dinner with a close friend at me@oue on 9.6.2015. ^^

this dinner was postponed for more than a month from before his birthday & my cornwall trip 7-18.5.2015.

view of MBS from me@oue

view of MBS – marina bay sands from me@oue

we were booked for 6.30pm, so great views of MBS & marina bay before nightfall.

we had a great table right by the window. anyway, you can just walk outside to the terrace, and marina bay front opens up before you!^^

me @ oue

me @ oue

a shot of the inside.

squid ink brioche2 squid ink brioche

we started with warm squid ink brioche. i had mine broken into bite size pieces before i remembered & assembled them for the photo. haha! 🙂

table decor - flower

table decor – flower

there was a soothing table decor.

scallop carpaccio with veloute

scallop carpaccio with veloute

we decided to order japanese ohmi wagyu A4 striploin to share & a red lobster each. so was picking an appetiser to share.

scallop carpaccio with veloute

scallop carpaccio with veloute

i already had the tuna tartare the last time here. we settled on a scallop carpaccio served on some veloute topped with caviar.

scallop carpaccio with veloute

scallop carpaccio with veloute

must say the scallop carpaccio was top grade sashimi, very sweet & tasty. there were 5 slices. the veloute was good too.

red lobster - done chilli crab style

red lobster – done chilli crab style

the red lobster, which was done chilli crab style arrived, together with deep-fried man tou.

red lobster - done chilli crab style

red lobster – done chilli crab style

surprised, i pointed out to the server that the last time i had the red lobster here, it was a full lobster & not 1/2 lobster.

he replied that indeed it was a full lobster & he had it split for us so that each of use was served a 1/2 lobster on individual plate instead of sharing it with 1 man tou.

so the server misunderstood our order, quite understandably. we were very pleased with the excellent service.

ohmi A4 wagyu striploin

ohmi A4 wagyu striploin

likewise he split for us the ohmi A4 wagyu striploin, done the recommended medium rare. ^^

ohmi A4 wagyu striploin

ohmi A4 wagyu striploin

wagyu was 200g, so after split, it was still a sizeable portion, served separately with sides (jalapeño chilli, leek, king oyster mushroom, cherry tomato) & 4 dip sauces. excellent food, superb service! 🙂

ohmi A4 wagyu striploin

ohmi A4 wagyu striploin

ohmi is among the top 3 japanese wagyu, the other 2 being matsuzaka & kobe.

it was very nicely marbled & flavourful, excellent grilling & medium rare. most enjoyable!

lobster risotto

lobster risotto

we wondered about ordering a second red lobster as initially intended.

lobster was nice, still chilli crab style was not my favourite & it was a large lobster (maybe 650g), so 1/2 was a big enough portion & the “mistake” suited us well, probably wouldn’t want a second order.

lobster risotto

lobster risotto

we picked through the menu with the very helpful & professional server, and decided on the lobster risotto.

lobster risotto

lobster risotto

the risotto was excellently al dente, though al dente risotto is not my friend’s favourite. the crustacean stock was very tasty & intense but a tad too salty.

for myself, i prefer the crustacean stock to be tempered with vegetable stock to give much more balanced sweet flavours. 🙂

lobster was plentiful. i believe they did use a full lobster & split into 1/2 & served individually to us.

MBS - Marina Bay Sands

MBS – Marina Bay Sands

beautiful photo of MBS – marina bay sands.

my friend has expensive camera & takes great photos. he was quite busy getting out to the terrace to capture the magic hour.

marina bay

marina bay

another beautiful shot of marina bayfront. 🙂

we had a great time watching the laser display & music by MBS & the great views from the terrace.

dinner was S$195 after 50% amex palate discounts for 2, for such an excellent meal with 2 lobsters, ohmi wagyu & scallops carpaccio in wonderful company. be back for more!^^

c.h.e.f andy

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6-course Wagyu OR Seafood Set @ En Grill & Bar on 28May2015

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wagyu salad

wagyu salad

saw on groupon a S$38 6-course wagyu set at en grill & bar & decided to go with a friend.

happened that another friend from sydney was in singapore at the time. my friend got his wife to join also, so in the end we had 4pax dinner at en grill on 28.5.2015.^^

i made sure i made the reservations before i bought the groupon deal. 🙂

En Grill & Bar

En Grill & Bar

the last time i came here was in 2008 & my family sat at the bar area. i remember because there were flat screens & i watched safina & ivanovic for the first time & ivanovic won her one & only grand slam at roland garros that year. never been the same since.

today we sat at the restaurant side. 3 of us picked the wagyu set (okinawan wagyu) & 1 the seafood set.

wagyu salad

#1 wagyu salad

6-course wagyu set

#1 wagyu salad

we started with the standard japanese salad with ponzu dressing which i always like. there were like 3 thin slices of wagyu, quite marbled & sweet i guess, not much impact.

wagyu meatball, tataki & misoyaki

wagyu meatball, tataki & misoyaki

#2 wagyu meatball, tataki & misoyaki

very tiny helpings. they supposed to add up i guess.

wagyu meatball

wagyu meatball

wagyu meatball was ok. the crouton went pretty ok with the tomato sauce too.

wagyu tataki

wagyu tataki

wagyu tataki was excellent, marbled & flavourful.

wagyu miso yaki

wagyu miso yaki

the misoyaki? quite odd..didn’t taste anything, like any roast beef.

wagyu foie gras & mini burger

wagyu foie gras & mini burger

#3 wagyu foie gras &mini burger

this was quite excellent!

wagyu foie gras & mini burger

wagyu foie gras & mini burger

liked the roasted sweet potatoes.

wagyu foie gras

wagyu foie gras

the wagyu was well marbled & tasty. not everyone agreed though. 1 friend thought it tasted like satay beef. i didn’t feel that though, & the beef was great for my taste. 🙂

and the grilled onions infused much of the taste, very good. didn’t feel much of the foie gras, maybe we were busy talking.

wagyu mini burger

wagyu mini burger

the wagyu mini burger was excellent!^^

i can have this again. good that it’s so small, i finished all the carbs. haha! 🙂

wagyu roasted sumikyaki

wagyu roasted sumikyaki

#4 wagyu roasted sumiyaki

a slightly thicker slice!

wagyu roasted sumikyaki

wagyu roasted sumikyaki

don’t know about the orange sauce. the wagyu was well marbled & flavourful. i felt the orange sauce diminished it. not that the sauce was not nice, but i rather have the grilled, intense wagyu taste.

wagyu ragu pasta

wagyu ragu pasta

#5 wagyu ragu pasta

it’s more braised beef than ragout tagliatelle. i guess it was ragout sauce + braised beef. well, as good as a braised wagyu could be. very nice pasta really.

sashimi salad with truffle miso

sashimi salad with truffle miso

6-course seafood set

#1 sashimi salad with truffle miso

1 friend had the 6-course seafood set. didn’t ask but it looked like the same salad with cube-cut sashimi maguro, salmon & maybe kajiki (swordfish). looked good.

tako carpaccio, hotate baikinu & oyster salsa

tako carpaccio, hotate bainiku & oyster salsa

#2 tako carpaccio, hotate bainiku &oyster salsa

this looked very appetising. the sliced scallop with plum jelly on cucumber quite interesting.

gindara teriyaki & mini chicken burger

gindara teriyaki & mini chicken burger

#3 gindara teriyaki &mini chicken burger

the friend was very impressed with the chicken mini burger she mentioned several times during dinner & afterwards on FB that it was one of the best burgers she had.^^

gindara (cod)

gindara (cod)

the gindara like some of the wagyu servings was really thin to feel much impact.

eafood mentaiko yaki (prawn, oyster & hotate

seafood mentaiko yaki (prawn, oyster & hotate)

#4 seafood mentaiko yaki (prawn, oyster & hotate)

japanese shellfish grilled in shells not my favourite preparation. for me, oysters should be taken raw, though occasionally breaded oysters can be quite nice, and scallops pan-fried. however, all these looked grilled (& maybe flamed) & may in fact have been grilled with mentaiko then plated on the shells. if so they should be quite tasty & flavourful.

uni angel hair pasta

uni angel hair pasta

#5 uni angel hair pasta

the uni & ikura capellini was excellent. ^^

uni angel hair pasta

uni angel hair pasta

this the only one from my friend’s set i tasted. very flavourful, matching gordon grill’s and other places. i would be quite happy overall to take this seafood set.

cheese cake with yuzu sorbet

cheese cake with yuzu sorbet

#6 cheese cake with yuzu sorbet

both sets came with cheese cake & yuzu sorbet. the yuzu sorbet was superb, just love it!^^

cheese cake was the usual soft textured japanese cheese cake, which i like also. 🙂

overall, it was very good value set for S$38nett. as a great set meal i will certainly do this again.

for the purpose of having a good steak fix, the wagyu set did not really deliver a steak experience, not like what we had at-

i guess that’s not comparing apple for apple.

c.h.e.f andy

Good Value Saga Wagyu 佐贺和牛 6-course Set @ Superstar on 5Apr2015

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japanese wagyu

saga wagyu 佐贺和牛

what was very good value but perhaps not the best in culinary sophistication was the premium saga wagyu 6-course dinner set we had at the flagship stall of the superstar group restaurant on 5.4.2015.

there was uncertainty from the beginning that this what looked like a very traditional chinese kind of restaurant could manage a wagyu steak well. superstar group do have teppanya & 燒肉牛蔵(和牛專門店) yakiniku gyukura restaurants, so initially i booked yakiniku gyukura but they replied that the wagyu set was only served in 2 superstar restaurants & recommended their flagship at tsim sha tsui mansion at nathan road.

premium wagyu 6-course set

premium saga wagyu 佐贺和牛 6-course set

there was nothing to fault really about the menu & quality of ingredients. the preparation & presentation though was not quite the best.

geoduck sashimi

geoduck sashimi

wife wanted to go light after too much eating & decided not to take the set, and instead just ordered a mirugai (geoduck) sashimi. it was good. not a big portion, can’t remember now but probably hk$298.

geoduck sashimi was sweet & succulent, but it was a small geoduck clam, so it was nearer the ends & did not have the large inside flesh that the excellent if expensive geoduck platter we had at  budaoweng 不倒翁 hotpot at isquare.

crispy roast chicken

crispy roast chicken

& the restaurant gave us a fee 1/2 roast chicken, apparently for any spending above hk$200. not the best chicken, still it was pretty good.

crystal pork & tofu

crystal pork & tofu

set started with crystal pork 肴肉& deep-fried tofu. both were competent in look & taste for a good chinese restaurant. tofu was crispy outside & silky inside. 🙂

sharksfin soup

sharksfin soup

sharkskin with compoy & fishmaw was average, not the standard of good chinese restaurant sharkskin soup.

japanese wagyu

japanese wagyu

the main draw was the japanese saga wagyu 佐贺和牛. they were pricing it at a special hk$308 for 100g & hk$498 for the set.

we asked for medium rare, which according to them was 五分熟 50% cooked. it came about medium rare to rare. beef was very marbled. the piece looked bigger than 100g. anyway japanese saga wagyu at about S$55/100g was a good price.

it was indeed a very good steak, good marbling melt in the mouth. i felt though that somehow the temperature was not right. it was not charred enough (not enough maillard reaction to impart the flavours) & the meat felt like steamed, somehow the marbling, fragrant flavours were not quite there.

don’t know but just did not have the memorable “wowed-over” feeling that we had at imahan hakata at fukuoka!

nor also the excellent A4 ohmi wagyu at me@oue.

my own chargrilled wagyu steak

for comparison, my own chargrilled wagyu steak

well, it was not even as flavourful as my own chargrilled wagyu steak! (above photo).

maybe belief is important? lack of belief affects taste. don’t know!

stonefish soup

stonefish soup

stonefish soup was very tasty. it was their signature dish. as a accompanying side dish for a premium wagyu 6-course set, i thought it was very good. not sure it could be consider a top signature dish standalone.

stonefish soup

minced wagyu fried rice

the minced wagyu beef fried rice was to me also average though son thought it was very good. i thought it did not have the same wok hae & intense flavours like-

the unagi chahan (fried rice say) at either zen OR en japanese dining; nor

the fragrant spicy fried rice at crystal jade lamian xiaolongbao.

baked lotus paste sago

baked lotus paste sago

the baked lotus paste sago was a attempted fusion dessert dish. hmmm…i would prefer a creme brûlée or portugese egg tart the ones at marco polo continental club lounge was exquisite!

will i go back again??? i wonder myself….

on paper, this should be a very good deal. but actually i can do without the other dishes (nothing much there to miss really) and just take the wagyu at hk$308. still hk$308 is a bit of money, and not sure i want to leave my fate with the chef and hope for a hk$308 wagyu to turn out for the best. hmmm…

c.h.e.f andy

Excellent Ohmi Wagyu & Early Valentine Dinner @ ME.OUE on 12Feb2015

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A4 ohmi wagyu

A4 ohmi wagyu

decided to do an early valentine dinner with wife on 12.2.2015. 🙂

we do that usually, no point paying through the nose on 14feb for poorer food & service.^^

me.oue

me.oue

me.oue

me.oue

me.oue

me.oue

there were quite good reviews for me@oue at OUE Bayfront. this place offers a choice of 3 cuisine – french/european, japanese & chinese. & of course it offers spectacular views on the roof terrace.

parking was S$3.21 after 6pm.

service was quite good, friendly not the top professional type which could be overly formal.

we asked for recommendations. server suggested red lobster & lamb (chinese), miso cod, the signature A4 ohmi wagyu (japanese) and pan-seared dorade (a fish) & tenderloin (french). for appetisers, he recommended crystal prawns (chinese), poached egg (french).

we enquire about sashimi moriawase. i showed the server a blog photo on sashimi moriawase which included chutoro, otoro, uni etc. the server returned to say that they were having maguro, sea bream etc (probably hirame, hamachi etc). well, it pays to ask. this nothing like what was written & not exciting at all!

squid ink brioche

squid ink brioche

we were served a squid ink brioche & butter.

tuna tartare

tuna tartare

we ordered the maguro tartare. this came to akami (lean toro), hotate & avocado. the starter was very nice, though i agreed with my wife that it was not very fine (or refine). it was a good cut so it was very tasty, but no better than the S$18.80 chirashi don at sumiya.

scallop carpaccio

scallop carpaccio

the scallop carpaccio was very fresh & tasty, a reasonable serving.

red lobster (chlli crab sauce)

red lobster (chlli crab sauce)

red lobster (chlli crab sauce)

red lobster (chlli crab sauce)

the server recommended the red lobster (S$55). i saw the photos before & thought it was 1/2 lobster but in fact it was a full whole lobster. the lobster was fresh, bouncy, very tasty & the chilli crustaceans sauce was excellent, better than many indifferent chilli crab places.

A4 ohmi wagyu

A4 ohmi wagyu

the signature A4 ohmi wagyu (S$145) was quite expectedly, superb!

this was japan standard, better than most of the bungo wagyu 丰后和牛we had in kyushu (yufuin, beppu, fukuoka) during our recent trip.

it was better than what we had at arossa previously & also about same as the kagoshima wagyu ishiyaki at mikuni. it cost nearly 2x what we paid at arossa (but arossa is closed now & even just prior to closing, palate privileges 50% discount was withdrawn & the wagyu cut was no more on the menu).

chocolate lava cake

chocolate lava cake

chocolate lava cake

chocolate lava cake

i ordered the S$16 lava cake because it had good reviews. that was a mistake. it was competent but i think no better than my own lava cake, though lately i don’t do that much so fumbled couple times when i tried to do it. i must try it again!

MBS skyline

MBS skyline

marina square skyline

marina square skyline

marina bay skyline

marina bay skyline

marina bay skyline

marina bay skyline

after dinner, we went to the roof terrace outside for the nice night views of MBS & the marina bay. it was windy, there were very few people & it was a very pleasant & brief stop.^^

overall, price was S$193nett (inclusive of a S$20 red wine with no discount) after 50% palate discounts for 2pax, including japanese A4 ohmi wagyu & a whole lobster.

for me that was a very good deal. i would certainly come back for both the red lobster & also the ohmi wagyu. it was not quite fine dining yet, but it was overall pretty good & the 2 mains were just awesome!

c.h.e.f andy