WAKANUI Grill Dining @ Marina One - The Restaurant That Redefined Steak Experience In Tokyo Now Opens In Marina One

It seems like there is a new trend of grill houses opening in Singapore and one of them is WAKANUI Grill Dining located on the level 4 of the new Marina One complex. The restaurant is situated in a stunning glass structure on the fourth floor of the West Tower offering New Zealand Ocean Beef and Wakanui Spring Lamb which are grilled over Japan-sourced Binchotan charcoal. It also offers New Zealand seafood, such as Ora King salmon, New Zealand-sourced sashimi-quality fresh fish and green lip mussels, and other seasonal produce and dairy products imported from New Zealand.

WAKANUI Spring Lamb Chop 4.8/5

Wakanui is not only known for their beef but they are also popular with their lamb. It is so popular that it opens a lamb specialty restaurant in Japan. The WAKANUI Spring Lamb Chop ($8/pc) uses lamb that is born in late winter/early spring, raises for 4-6 months and aged for around 4 weeks. The lamb chop was very tender and juicy. The flavour and texture was really top notch. This is probably one the best lamp chop I have eaten and you don't get that gaminess at all.

Kikorangi Blue Cheese Caesar Salad 4/5

The Kikorangi Blue Cheese Caesar Salad ($22) comes with a medley of New Zealand Romaine lettuce, jazz apple, walnuts tossed with Kikorangi blue cheese. It is then topped with shaved parmasen and walnuts. For those that is worried about the strong flavour of blue cheese, you will not get it here as the blue cheese dressing is made of a blend of Italian anchovies, whipped cream, a touch of salt and extra virgin olive oil.

Hot Smoked Salmon 3.5/5

Mentioned earlier the restaurant also offers seafood on the menu such as the Hot Smoked Salmon ($24) topped with diced fresh tomatoes. While I love the smokiness from the cherrywood chips but I thought the texture was a bit dry due to the cooking. I still prefer my piece of the salmon to be more pink in colour. for that moister texture.

Seasonal Hassun 3.5/5

Giving a feminine touch to the restaurant is the Seasonal Hassun ($32), a traditional kaiseki style starter using seasonal ingredients. On the plate, we have Japanese Tomatoes with Plum Sauce, Lotus Root Tempura topped with Bonito Flakes and Unagi on Daikon and Beetroot Puree. Beautifully plated and thoughtfully put together for guest to enjoy a combination of flavorus and textures.

What is actually Ocean Beef? It is started by ANZCO Foods, a New Zealand-based meat company specializing in premium-quality New Zealand beef and lamb. The concept behind Ocean Beef was to develop beef that achieves the perfect balance between marbling and leanness, while retaining natural juiciness and an intense beef flavour. The cattle are grass-fed for 18 months on the lush green, high-protein pastures in a stress-free environment to develop a muscular form, and then finished on specially formulated wheat, barley and maize-based feed for 4 months.

Bone-in Ribeye 4.2/5, Ribeye Cut 4.5/5, Canterbury Grass-fed Fillet 4/5

To taste the difference of the different beef, we had the Ocean Beef Bone-in Ribeye ($199 for 1Kg), Ocean Beef Ribeye Cut ($79 for 350gram/ $109 for 500gram) and Canterbury Grass-fed Fillet ($78 for 250gram/ $138 for 500gram). Among us we have our own preference and I prefer the Ocean Beef Ribeye Cut for its sweeter flavour. For those that likes a stronger beefy and earthy flavour, then the Canterbury Grass-fed fillet will be your choice.

WAKANUI Spring Lamb 4.2/5

Earlier we had the lamb chop and you think it is not sufficient, you can go for the WAKANUI Spring Lamb ($42 half rack/ $82 full rack). Wow the lamb rack is nicely cooked, I would preferred the lamb chop because I will get the sear on both sides and I also find that there is lesser fats.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream 3.8/5

Moving to the dessert, we started with the Hokey Pokey Ice Cream ($14) which consists of housemade vanilla ice cream with caramel brittle. For those that is not familiar, hokey pokey is a flavour of ice cream from New Zealand. It actually means honeycomb toffee in New Zealand.

Pavlova 3.5/5

Unfortunately I am not a big fan of Pavlova ($14) as I find the dessert itself is too sweet for me. If you have a sweet tooth, then you will enjoy the pavlova with chantilly cream, passion fruit sauce and mixed fruits.

Baked Rare Chocolate Cake 4/5

I actually enjoyed the Baked Rare Chocolate Cake ($14) most among the 3 desserts. The richness of the bake chocolate cake is perfectly balanced with the tang from the strawberry ice cream.

WAKANUI Grill Dining is a culinary experience enjoyed in a quiet oasis, where the views of the lush central gardens of Marina One provide a welcome respite from the bustle of city life. Pricing maybe a bit on the steep side but the dry-aged beef and lamb here are top quality and well executed.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


WAKANUI Grill Dining
Marina One The Heart
5 Straits View
#04-02
Singapore 018935
Tel: +65 63842665
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Downtown (DT Line), Marina Bay (CC Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 1130am - 3pm, 530pm - 11pm
Sat: 530pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Downtown MRT station. Take Exit D. What to Straits View road. Turn right on Straits View road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Marina Bay MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Marina Way road. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Daily Affairs @ Cairnhill Community Club – Hidden Gem With Quality Food Within Cairnhill CC

Nestled inconspicuously within the basement level of Cairnhill Community Club is Daily Affairs, a cosy dining space serving up a variety of Asian-Western fusion cuisine. Established since May 2017 by two home grown chefs Qihao and Jiahong, it is fuelled by their passion in infusing unique elements into dishes and curating new fusion foods, which never fails to surprise customers, and increasingly draw crowds in with their ever-changing menu prolific of creative offerings at affordable prices. The Chefs also make personal trips down to the market to source for the freshest ingredients daily, hence the availability of most dishes each day is largely dependent on the ingredients they are able to buy fresh on that day.

Daily Affairs rolls out an extensive menu of dishes ranging from all-time favourites such as the Atlantic Salmon glazed with Honey Miso Marinade, Trio Mushroom Creamy Pasta, kids favourites of the familiar fish and chips, and mac and cheese, to the unique ones such as the 12-Hour Braised Beef Short Rib with Chinese Hua Diao wine. They also offer daily lunch specials at only $9.90 for a set comprising of a main, soup and drink, with a different surprise for customers each day.

12 Hour Braised Beef Short Rib 4.2/5

The 12 Hour Braised Beef Short Rib ($18) consists of a beef short rib slow cooked for 12 hours in aged Hua Diao wine, rendering the meat texture to resemble that of a braised pork belly – soft, tender, and melts in the mouth with each bite. It also boasts a sweet and savoury combination of flavours due to the sweet wine used in its cooking, as well as the addition of caramelised onions atop. Essentially a western dish of beef short rib, yet executed perfectly with an infusion of the Asian element. The side of potato pancake boasts a fried crisp exterior and soft potato fillings to create a different mouth feel to the tender beef meat, creating a dish that not only features unique combination of flavours but also a medley of textures to continuously excite tastebuds from the first bite to the last.

Atlantic Pink Salmon 3.8/5

The main courses on the menu such as this Atlantic Pink Salmon ($15.50) comes with a side of a vegetable and a starch (choice of steamed calrose rice, sea salt fries and mashed potatoes). The cereals usually incorporated in the more known “creal-crusted prawn” dish was used here on the honey miso glazed salmon, soft and tender meat with a thin crisp salmon skin. Yet another well executed fusion dish with the addition of cereal and a kick of spice from the chilli padi embedded within.

Smoked Duck with Soba 4/5

The Smoked Duck with Soba ($12.50) comes with generous slices of tender smoked duck meat on a bed of buckwheat soba and salad, with wakame and wafu dressing. The smoked duck slices add a mild saltiness to enhance the flavours of the soba and salad, with a small portion of duck fats still attached on each slice, playing out a perfect ratio balance of meat and fats. For the health-conscious, you can opt to have the duck fats removed instead.

Mushroom Cappuccino 4/5

The Mushroom Cappuccino ($6) features a bowl of trio mushroom soup with truffle oil and garlic. It also comes with an extremely crispy and addictive breadstick, which was slathered with butter and toasted to a crisp texture. Dip that into the mushroom soup, and it is simply pure enjoyment.

The menu at Daily Affairs undergoes constant changes and fine-tunings to bring new flavours and fusion dishes every day to surprise its customers. Barely half a year into operations and it is already drawing families and office crowds with its quality fusion fare and affordable prices despite its slightly obscure location.

Words and photos by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Daily Affairs
Cairnhill Community Centre
1 Anthony Road
#01-02
Singapore 229944
Tel: +65 62624342
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Newton (DT Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 11am - 10pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction:
1) Alight at Newton MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk towards the carpark. Cut through the carpark to Anthony Road. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]