Barossa Bar & Grill @ Vivocity - New Outlet Offering Dazzling Array Of Josper Oven-grilled Dishes

Barossa Bar & Grill latest outlet at Vivocity offers an entirely different experience from its Esplanade branch. The new Vivocity outlet focuses on dry-aged Australian beef and Josper oven-grilled lamb, poultry and seafood dishes. It serves only the highest quality and carefully sourced meats from Australian farms.

Ah Hua Kelong's Tiger Prawn 4.5/5

Our dinner started with the locally farmed Ah Hua Kelong's Tiger Prawn ($26). Three huge and meaty charcoal-grilled prawns rest atop a bed of charred kale, shio kombu garlic beurre noisette and pickled onion.

Barossa Steak Tartare 4/5

After the hot appetiser, we moved on to the cold appetiser featuring Barossa Steak Tartare ($26) consisting of smoked oyster aioli, ponzu jelly, pickled red onion, wasabi zuke, egg yolk and crisp bread.

Australia Full Blood Wagyu Ribeye MS7/8 (300g) 4.2/5

Not to be missed is the steak at Barossa that has been dry-aged for around 25 days to 50 days subjecting to the type of cuts. Grilled using the Josper charcoal oven, the Australia Full Blood Wagyu Ribeye MS7/8 ($98) is tender and juicy with a golden-brown crust. It has a deep buttery, caramelised flavour developed through the dry-ageing process.

Australia Premium 50-day Dry Aged Porterhouse (600g) 4/5

Great for sharing is the Australia Premium 50-day Dry Aged Porterhouse ($138). Though the porterhouse is not intensely flavoured compare to the Australia Full Blood Wagyu Ribeye, it has its own character with a more meaty texture bite that has its own fans. Each beef dish at Barossa is served with garlic confit and a choice of sauce. The sauces include Whisky Double Mustard, Chimichurri, Tarragon Bearnaise, Red Wine Bordelaise and Truffle Brown Jus.

Grilled U.S. Asparagus with Bearnaise 4/5

Sauteed Rosemary Field Mushroom 4.2/5

Barossa Macaroni & Cheese with Smoked Bacon 4.2/5

You can also order some sides to go along with the steaks. We tried the Grilled U.S. Asparagus with Bearnaise ($12), Sauteed Rosemary Field Mushroom ($12) and Barossa Macaroni & Cheese with Smoked Bacon ($8). I could not really pinpoint, which is my favourite as they are all excellent sides to go with the beautiful steaks.

Ora King Salmon "The Wagyu of Salmon"

Iberico Pork T-Bone Chop $32

For the non-beef eater, not to worry there are other Josper oven-grilled dishes such as the Ora King Salmon "The Wagyu of Salmon" ($35) and Iberico Pork T-Bone Chop ($32). The New Zealand king salmon is cooked to a beautiful pink, succulent and richly flavoured with a crispy skin. The pork chop fares as well too. With its lovely marbling, diners will get to appreciate the tenderness as well as the nutty-sweet flavour.

Jasmine Infused Smoked Fig Mochi Cake

Moving to the desserts, we had the Jasmine Infused Smoked Fig Mochi Cake ($18) and Frozen Dark Chocolate Whiskey Souffle ($18). The Jasmine Infused Smoked Fig Mochi Cake has a delectable chewy texture accompanied by jasmine white chocolate ganache and passion fruit gel.

Frozen Dark Chocolate Whiskey Souffle

As for the Frozen Dark Chocolate Whiskey Souffle, it comes with a wonderful medley of fresh berries, chocolate pearls and spiced crumble.

Diners seeking value for money meal will not be disappointed with the 3-course weekday set lunch starting from $28. To celebrate its opening, Barossa Vivocity has 50% off its second mains from 20 November to 6 December 2020. On top of that, it has free corkage on Mondays and Tuesdays till 31 December 2020.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Barossa Bar & Grill
Vivocity
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-161/162
Singapore 098585
Tel: +65 62551855
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Harbourfront (CC Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri: 12pm - 10pm
Sat-Sun: 11pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Harbourfront MRT Station. Take Exit C & E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Botanico @ The Garage (Singapore Botanic Gardens) - 2019 World Gourmet Summit Rising Female Chef Of The Year Brings new Maturity And Confidence In Her Creations

My last visit to Botanico at The Garage was 3 years ago when Chef Sue takes the helm introducing her interpretation of Asian flavours in her dishes. Since then, she has grown from strength to strength, winning the 2019 Rising Female Chef of the Year and spent time in the kitchens of Michelin-starred Mugaritz polishing her culinary skills.

Beef Tongue Tacos 3.5/5

I guess no one has ever seen or tried taco presented in such a matter. The Beef Tongue Tacos ($18) is served jicama slaw, toasted rice, ginger flower, baby bokchoy and cashew cream. To enjoy it, simply piece everything together and have it in one mouthful to get the different textures and flavours all at play in one go.

Corn Pani Puri 4/5

The Corn Pani Puri ($10) is a playful touch by Chef Sue where puffed little pillows of Indian-inspired puri pastry acted as a cup, holding within it, spiced baby corn and a rich espuma of curried Japanese corn. Pop this in the mouth for a burst of aromatic flavours dancing in the mouth.

Rojak 3.5/5

The Rojak ($15) may look plain, but it is actually packed with the lovely savoury shrimp paste flavour. Give the heiko foam a good mix, coating the pile of kohlrabi and seasonal Southeast Asian fruits salad. It reminds me of the Penang-style rojak, giving the refreshing salad a delightful combo of sweet, savoury, and sour with each bite.

Wing Bean Salad 4.2/5

Chef Sue took inspiration from a staff meal that one of her Malaysian chefs created. Together with her team, they took the dish apart and created the new elevated Wing Bean Salad ($15) using European techniques with Southeast Asian flavours. The wing beans are paired with cubes of housemade chickpea tofu, chopped hard-boiled egg, bird's eye chilli, dressed in a bright, punchy dressing of lime juice, lemongrass, fish sauce, belachan and Thai palm sugar. It even comes with a generous topping of Asian anchovies or better known as ikan bilis in Southeast Asia.

Assam Pedas Snapper 4.2/5

Fish lover will adore Chef Sue's modern take of the traditional assam pedas - Assam Pedas Snapper ($32). The red snapper fillet is grilled over banana leaf, complemented with saffron risotto, okra 2-ways, assam pedas and ginger flower.

Herbal Chicken 4.5/5

I love both Hainanese chicken rice and herbal chicken; hence I really enjoyed the Herbal Chicken ($29) at Botanico. The chicken breast is slow-cooked to tender and dressed in angelica sauce. The sauce is definitely the star which brightens the dish. Not forgetting the chicken rice couscous, which is a flavourful substitution of the usual rice to pair with the herbal chicken. What I feel missing is the chilli sauce to complete the whole enjoyment.

65 Degree Kurobuta Pork Belly 4.2/5

I am sure not many can resist the gorgeous piece of 65 Degree Kurobuta Pork Belly ($30) slow-cooked to fork-tender. It is served with textures of sunchoke, leek flowers and housemade soy-vinegar infused with Szechuan peppercorns.

Crab Rissoni 4.8/5

The crowd favourite definitely goes to the Crab Rissoni ($32). The outer circle is a ring of Japanese deep-sea red crab and blue swimmer crab. The internal circle is Japanese nori rissoni and a comte custard right in the middle. The beautiful dish is sprinkled with octopus bottarga made in house with octopus egg. Give everything a good mix, to get the lovely crustacean's sweetness swimming in each mouth fill. 

BGR (Black Glutinous Rice) 4/5

Even the desserts at Botanico are inspired by flavours in Southeast Asia. First up is the BGR ($12), a playful name for the black glutinous rice dessert recreated with a modern look. It came in the form of black glutinous rice mochi cake topped with toasted rice ice cream and compressed coconut resting on a bed black glutinous rice foam.

Ondeh Ondeh 3.5/5

Familiar yet not is the Ondeh Ondeh ($12). The beloved nonya kueh is transformed into a bowl of pandan glutinous rice cake with coconut foam, kaya ice cream and gula melaka. It is definitely interesting and yummy, but I still miss the oozing gula melaka moment whenever one bites into the traditional ondeh ondeh.

Having dined at Botanico when Chef Sue first took over the helm, I can really taste the improvement in her culinary skill. Her creations now reflect a greater nuance and finesse with a new focus on South East Asian flavours. 

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Botanico 
The Garage (Singapore Botanic Gardens)
via Cluny Park Gate
50 Cluny Park Road
Singapore 257488
Tel: +65 98311106
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Botanic Gardens (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Thu: 6pm - 10pm
Fri-Sun: 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Botanic Gardens MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left and walk to Cluny Park Road. Turn left onto Cluny Park Road and continue walking down the road. At Cluny Park Gate, walk in and walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. {Map]