Celebrating my 3*th birthday, I wanted to have a nice good steak. We were willing to go for something exquisite so it was a toss for Morton's, Wooloomooloo, Ruth Chris and Angus House. Wooloomooloo eventually won as we did plan to go here a few times already but dur to unfortunate events, always had to cancel.
Some online reviews rave about this place while others are just so so. But what makes a good steak house anyway? For me the most important thing is the temperature and of course the taste. Everything else like sides and other food is secondary. So how did Wooloomooloo do? Lets find out....
The Resaurant
The Entrance
When you go to Wooloomooloo, you will be greeted by racks of wine and a chiller where they store their fine selection meats. If or when I have my own steakhouse, I will do something like this.
The chiller of fine beef.
This 3 feet by 3 feet space house the most important ingredient in Wooloomooloo: "The Beef". From time to time I will compare this to CUT which is a very good baseline for this type of restaurant.
The Order
Onion Bread Loaf - Free
I'm a sucker for good bread and Wooloomooloo doesn't disappoint. Do apply some butter topped with seasalt before eating it as the bread itself lacks some saltiness. I believe this depends on the preference of people but it was a bit bland for my taste. Eaten best while hot and soft.
Jumbo Prawn Cocktail - $30.00
This was so worth it. Four "large" prawns dipped in a cocktail sauce that is sweet and spicy. It almost tasted like a Mexican ensalada. Served cold, this was the dish that we liked most today.
Mixed Spanish Ham Selection - $38.00
I wanted to try this as its been quite a while since I've had aged ham. There are two type of Iberico ham in the platter, 20-24 months and 32-36 months. In the middle was a selection of pickled artichoke, pepper with cheese, olives, and sun dried tomatoes.
I liked the 32-36 month Iberico ham and the pickled pepper with cheese. But the whole plate left me wanting something else. I probably need a good glass of red wine with this just to appreciate it more.
Australian Rib Eye - $64.00
The star of the show but it had two major flaws.
First, we wanted this medium but it was served almost medium well. The middle was almost lacking the nice pink color I want in my steak of this caliber.
Second, steak from these types of restaurants should be soft, tender, buttery, or something similar to these adjectives. Unfortunately ours was tough.
So the verdict on the steak is a fail.
Kipfler Potato - $14.00
Some reviews loved this. They havn't tried the potato dishes that I've had like Roesti from Switzerland or stir fried Potato Wedges. Point? These were average.
Creamy Spinach - $14.00
Too bad, I've eaten at CUT already otherwise I would rate the creamy spinach quite high. Cut just makes this a lot lot better.
Wooloomooloo Hot Chocolate Cake - Free (Birthday)
This was another star. We just loved the way the chocolate inside oozed out after placing the first slice. Mix the homemade vanilla ice cream plus a good hot cup of coffee (my best guess is that they are using Lavazza) and you have a dessert champion.
Price and Value
For a birthday celebration with 2 pax, we spent $200. $100/pax isn't that bad for a good steak but unfortunately the steak wasn't that great. I'm still in search for the best steak in Singapore and for sure I'll be looking for suggestions. Morton will probably be my next target. I just can't help to compared this with CUT by Wolfgang Puck. Perhaps its an unfair comparison as CUT is about 30 to 40% more expensive but value wise, CUT is way way better.
Rating:
Food - 3.5
Ambiance - 4
Value - 3.5
Service - 4
Overall 3.5 of 5
Repeat Factor (No!! No! Yes Yes! Yes!!):
Yes!
Restaurant details:
Address: 2 Stamford Road, Level 3, Swissotel The Stamford, 178882
Numnef: +65 6338 02 61
Reservation is available but walk-in also possible.
