Sunday, June 29, 2014

Luke's Oyster Bar and Chop House @ The Heeren

This was an indulgence among indulgences, and I was here due to the generosity of my uncle. The first outlet of Luke's Oyster Bar and Chop House was actually at Gemmill Lane, which supposedly required at least two weeks advance reservation. This was their newly opened second outlet at Heeren, and on a Sunday night, it was already almost full. 

Located inconspicuously in a corner of Robinsons, my advice is just to ask someone for directions once you reach the third floor of Heeren.


Colorado Lamb Chops, $78
This came with yogurt, mint, and spring radish. The lamb was unbelievably tender, and there was almost no trace of the "strong lamb smell" that some people detest. Its flavour was extremely delicate, and it had some overtones of a nice smoky flavour. Gosh. This was fantastic.



Full dozen oysters, $90
We chose two types of oysters here - Katama Bay (the bigger ones on the right) and Marion Point (smaller ones on the left). Both were good, but I personally prefer Marion Point. Its taste was more delicate and sweet.


Whole chilled Maine Lobster, $95
When seafood is this fresh, you don't even need the seasoning. I ate this without any of the dips, and it was wonderfully sweet. The flesh was also firm and came out in whole chunks.



Kale salad
I couldn't find this on their website, and I forgot how much it costs. But this was very unique - it was kale, for one thing - something not very commonly available in Singapore. And it was mixed with some sort of peanut sauce and a bit of lemon, which complemented each other perfectly. 

My uncle is someone who doesn't eat salad, but proclaimed that if he was served this daily, he will be willing to eat it everyday.



Lobster & Corn Chowder, $22
This came served with Ritz crackers. The soup was wonderfully rich and delicious! The picture above is just half a portion, by the way - they thoughtfully separated it into two bowls when they knew I was sharing it with my cousin. And we were glad we did, as half a bowl was just right. If someone were to drink one whole bowl they will probably end up feeling quite full.


Luke's Bone-in Tenderloin Au Poivre (300g) with grilled foie gras, $74 + $25
The tenderloin was marinated with peppercorn, and came with a generous serving of mustard cognac jus. While the tenderloin was really good and tender, I thought the sauce was a bit too overpowering. I would suggest going for the ribeye instead.


Lobster Mac & Cheese, $26
Out of all the dishes we had here, this was the most disappointing. It was very plain and uninteresting, and the lobster taste didn't stand out either. Give this a miss.



USDA Prime Ribeye (400g) "Naked" Style, $88
Despite how the picture looks, this is a huge portion. And it was so damn good. The outside of the beef was wonderfully seasoned, the beef was juicy and tender, and the sides of the ribeye - the best part - was so heavenly. I think it can even win Morton's, that's how good it was.


Luke's Oyster Bar and Chop House is certainly one of the best restaurants I have ever gone to. But as the prices above show, it wasn't cheap - the four of us spent $892 in total here, inclusive of three glasses of wine and a glass of whiskey. For special events, for two pax, I would suggest ordering the ribeye and lamb as the main courses and a bowl of lobster soup to share.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Beef burger

Just a different way of preparing a beef burger. Instead of frying the egg and adding it on top of the beef patty, dig out a hole from the centre of the patty. When frying the patty, add the egg in, such that the egg is nicely in the patty.

It will be better to use smaller eggs. Either that, or dig a bigger hole from the patty. Or simply don't use up all the egg whites. When I added the egg, quite a bit of the egg whites overflowed and covered the patty.