gastrosmiths, beach road.
i've been wanting to try gastrosmiths for a long time, so when they had a groupon, i immediately bought it. finally made it there for dinner last night, after making a rather last minute reservation.we had seats outside, but i didn't mind because the restaurant itself was small. the tables were close together, making it difficult for conversation. the outside tables were much better; spaced out. the weather was also cooling, so coupled with the fans they'd switched on, it was nice being seated outside.
i ordered the 220g angus 150-day grain-fed striploin ($33.50) and my sister got the signature hokubee beef bowl ($28). we were pondering over what appetisers to get, so we got the waiter to recommend, and ended up with the roasted bone marrow ($15).
i first had bone marrow at burnt ends, with their bone marrow bun, and loved it. so it was with that kind of expectation that i tried gastrosmiths' version. this paled in comparison. the bone marrow was good, but it got scary after a while- too much, i suppose, without anything to cut through the fattiness. the bread helped, but was way too light for that purpose. interesting dish to try, but we ended up not finishing it. too much for two people to share as it gets cloying after a while- probably better for a bigger group.
my striploin fared better. wasn't mindblowing, but it was a passable steak. would've liked a bit more char on the exterior, though. it came with pomme puree, roasted cauliflower and salsa verde- i know they're meant to be sides, but they really could've given more of it.
this was my sister's hokubee beef bowl, which she really liked. she's not a steak person, so for her to like it, it was a huge compliment. i tried a couple of bites of hers, and what struck me was that the steak was really juicy. the texture was excellent. i know it's manufactured to be so, by injecting oil into a normal cut of beef, but it was surprisingly good. it came with furikake rice and a wobbly onsen egg- i took a liking to the furikake rice. reminded me of wafuken's.
decided to add on another main, because we got tempted by the mee sua after googling what was good at gastrosmiths. we got the fisherman's mee sua ($25.50), which came topped with a delicious tumble of prawns, scallops and crabmeat. but the kicker was the bisque that the mee sua was soaked in- it was rich and full of seafood flavour. it reminded us somewhat of chili crab, but in a good way. so glad we decided to be greedy and order this- really good. i would come back just for this.
of course we had desserts. we got the valrhona lava cake ($15.50) and the beet & cheese ($14).
my sister was saying that $15.50 for a lava cake was really expensive, but then it came beautifully plated. we cut into it and it was perfectly oozy. it was a pretty good rendition of lava cake. even the vanilla bean ice cream that came with it wasn't an afterthought.
ordering the lava cake with the beet & cheese turned out to be a good idea. one was rich, while the other one was lighter. it was also gorgeously plated- like artwork. all the elements worked well together. smooth cheese parfait, sour beetroot gel, a light beetroot foam cake, vanilla bean ice cream, and a surprise- a thin slice of beetroot pickle. it was a play of textures and flavours that worked.
portions were on the small side, but everything was prepared with care. prices are on the expensive side though. not sure if i'll be back- if i do it'll be for the mee sua.
gastrosmiths
103 beach road
http://www.gastrosmiths.com
