Black Angus

2 weeks back I was craving for some real mean steak. The kind of steaks you get in America and Canada, not the kind of unpalatable steaks in Singapore. Somehow the steaks in Singapore don't taste as good. Or it could be because I'm not eating the good quality ones. But $100 Wagyu steaks are out of the league of this university undergrad. And while Morton's and Lawry's are dreamwishes , they are still a long way away from my reach.

I hate it when my steaks are so tough you have to chew with much force and you feel like stoning the person next to you with it. I love steaks that are medium-rare and that have lots of fats. I learnt that the term to call this is "marbling". I have heard of how people have drooled over the fine expensive, extensive marbling of top-grade steaks. I don't really care what you call it, what matters most is that the meat must melt in my mouth (meaning there must be enough fats present to give me that oomph-satisfaction).

Having been back in Singapore for the past 3 months, I still can't help thinking about Keg's steaks. Keg is this chain of steakhouses in Vancouver and all over North America. The service is great, the food is delicious, the ambiance is just so warm, cosy and comfortable. Depending on the branch you head to, you even get romantic seats. Just imagine the fireplace's fire is glowing and the dim lightings all surround you, casting your loved one in that beautiful warm orange glow. Really romantic. I think it was the Granville branch that was pretty romantic, or was it the Burrard branch? Can't recall because everytime we went there, the focus was on the food. Before I detract and start gushing about the fantastic steaks in Canada and America, I better start on Black Angus.

Well if you're someone for names, then the full name is Stuart Anderson's Black Angus. What a long name.

I was so obsessed with looking for the perfect steak that I was almost ready to shell out a $100 bucks for a steak. Wagyu, Morton's, Lawry's just give them all to me.... if they're delicious that is. I was so obsessed. I decided to go on forums to do a bit of research. And guess what I found? Reviews after reviews of people gushing about Black Angus. And this was the same crowd who had eaten at places like Ms and Ls and the Ws.... so I guess we do have to heed their advices eh?

I didn't believe the rave reviews at first. I mean come on, surely Lawry's must be the best?

Till I stumbled upon this website with a picture of Black Angus' Prime Rib of beef. And I fell in love.

A pinkish-red picture was all the evidence I need of how wonderful it would taste. Because it looked just like my Keg's steak. I love medium-rare. Anything more and I hate eating them. Which reminds me of my french friend S who hates anything more than rare.

Actually by referring to Black Angus, Lawry's as serving steaks is to do them injustice. The proper term to address the beef serve at these restaurants are not "steaks" but rather "Prime rib of beef". So correctly speaking, Lawry's do not serve steaks.

What's the difference then between steaks and a prime rib? Well, it's all in the cooking method!

For steaks, they are sliced, and then seared. But for prime ribs, they are first roasted standing, and then sliced. But the KEY point is that they are aged meat. Usually they are aged for about 28 days in a cool dry place, this breaks down the tough fibrous muscles of the beef into a tender delicate piece of art. After the aging, they are roasted standing up. So if you want your prime rib medium-rare, the whole thing's medium-rare. The beef is then sliced into pieces and served. That's what makes a prime rib! How do I know? Well I was so obsessed with the perfect prime rib (since Keg served it sooooo well) that I went to read up on it and I stumbled on the best website every! Click here for the tutorial on how to make your PERFECT prime rib. I really hand it to the Americans. When they want something done, they do it themselves. How many of us bother sawing up a carcass, building a cool dry storage to age your beef (what if you get fungi on that??), and experimenting with the various styles to get the best roast and the best cut?

In fact, most of us Singaporeans would just open our wallets, step into a restaurant and let other people do the dirty work for us. Man, we are too pampered. I was watching Discovery Channel Travel & Living the other day and there was this programme on Luxury buses. You would think that the people who owe some of these luxury buses were multi-millionaires, true most of them are, but a substantial amount built their own luxury buses. Meaning they hunt for an old bus themselves, pull out all the old stuff and chairs inside, and refit the whole interior as their HOBBY!

Oh my goodness. This goes for the Europeans too. They fix their own cars as part of their hobbies. Oh man, Singaporeans spend way too much time thinking of making money. We should look more into our quality of life and learn to appreciate the finer things of life.

Ok, so from this blog, you guys can tell of my obsession with the perfect beef- PRIME RIBS!

The funny thing was that my Korean friend J, my twin L and I stumbled upon prime ribs by mistake. We had mistakenly thought that we had ordered a ribs dish- think pork ribs, baby back ribs etc...

Well, apparently prime ribs were not "ribs" but were merely a term

I think not many Singaporeans know of the difference between steaks and prime ribs. They just gobble them down. I myself will never eat another steak if possible. Prime ribs... you are IN!

Okok, let's get back to business!

The Scenic view that Black Angus overlooks
When the Integrated Resort is built, I'm sure this is going to be one stunning view. My siblings and I headed for the branch at One Fullerton. It was more accessible since we all didn't know where Orchard Parade hotel is. I mean I know it's in Orchard road, but which one of those hotels is it? It was a "Get-to-know-your-brothers-better" day. Anyway, there were lots of business people streaming in for the lunch hour. Seriously, Black Angus really gives a mean value-for-money set lunch, it's dinners are way more expensive compared to the set lunches!

The interior of the restaurant

More of the interior of the restaurant

The cosy seats we were ushered into
We got the cosy seats and not just tables and chairs! And yes, my camera-shy brother requested not to be featured. So I di an artistic censoring of his face. :)
The Set lunch was a steal at $21.90 each.
For this price, you get a soup, a salad, a drink (coke, sprite, ice tea, or unsweetened ice tea), a main entree, choice of side orders (baked potato, mash, french fries, or steamed vegetables), desserts (chocolate cake or ice cream-chocolate/vanilla), choice of after meal drinks (coffee or tea)! 7 items for the price of one! Cool!!

Baked Potato Soup
Yummy! Seriously tasted like baked potato itself. There were even the exact same garnishings used on a baked potato in the soup! Chives, bacon bits minus the mayonnaise. ;)

A closeup of the baked potato soup
It's not too bad, but nothing out of this world. 3/5

Stuart Steak Soup
This soup tasted alot like beef stew to me, except that the texture wasn't as thick as that of beef stew. This is more soupy than a stew (uh huh), and it makes a rather interesting choice of starter. 3/5. Compared to the usual selections of cream of mushroom, or cream of chicken soups, we liked Black Angus' selection as it proved to be rather unique.

Ceaser Salad
I chose this as I like Ceaser salads very much. I like the cheese taste, its dressing and the crispy bread crumbs. Fresh, crispy- 3/5

The Garden Salad
My brothers preferred this salad though. I guess they found it to be richer and more to their taste. A nice variety of crispy, fresh vegetables. 3/5 (from their palates)

Lemon Tea

Prime Burger-$21.90
Seriously, if you're going to Black Angus, just go for the prime ribs. We made a mistake of deciding to try something different. My brother, To had the unfortunate honour of being the courageous soul to detract from the set lunches and to head for the a-la-carte menu. Well, for the price, you really get a BIG portion. Even my brother To, who is really big sized, couldn't finish eating it, even after Ti and I helped him! And yes, Ti is my other brother. :)
The fries were crispy, and the burger was juicy and nice. But the first thing that shocked us when we saw this was the... PICKLE! Have you ever seen such a large pickle before? Usually the pickles in my burgers are sliced up and I don't usually care for them. But in Canada I learnt to appreciate the finer side of pickles... and boy, was this one big pickle!

A closeup of the hugemonogous Prime Burger
Seriously, 2 people can share this and still be full. Unfortunately, the disappointing thing for To was that his burger tasted very much like a Mac's burger! Oh oh! But I think it's just our uncivilised, uncultured tongues that do not know how to appreciate the finer things in life burgers. But I like the fact that the beef patty was juicy and done medium-rare just like we had requested. The bacon and cheese went well with the patty. I guess if you are burger person, then this burger is for you. But seriously, our family's not too much into burgers... :) 3.5/5 anyway, maybe you will give it a 4/5 if you are burger fan?

The Wild wild west Onion Fries- $15.90
I don't know what to call them- onion fries or onion rings? Anyway I like this dish very much though the price tag is pretty steep for a side order. Anyway To and I liked the seasoning of the onion fries. But Ti hated them. He felt that Burger King's onion rings tasted better. Well, the onion fries are something different. And I felt the seasoning wasn't too salty and proved to be refreshing from mainstream onion rings' seasonings. I liked the dip that came with the dish. I don't quite know how to describe it but who cares? I can't wait to get to the start of the meal! 3.5/5 for the WWW Onions!

A Closeup of the onion fries

AND FINALLY!! We come to the STAR of the entire meal.
Presenting the PRIME RIBS!! Oh man... I so want to eat them NOW!

The Prime rib of beef with a side order of Mash Potato

I used to wonder how my Canadian friends could eat steaks after steaks daily. Now I know! If my beef were cooked in the Prime rib way, man, I will eat it EVERYDAY! I think you guys got to try it for yourself to believe it. Nothing really stirs me up these days. But when it comes to the perfect prime rib... the way the tender meat and the juicy fats break up in flavour upon chewing them in your mouth... the way the medium-rare meat oozes with juicy red blood... the way the naked meat meets your tongue... I love prime ribs!

In fact I'm one of those ardent supporters of naked meat. I believe that unmarinated meat tastes best if you got a wonderful piece of meat. Then the flavour of the meat can truly emerge. Of course a little sauce doesn't harm (and sauce is provided mind you to give you that little bit more edge) now and then. It's a pity they don't serve horseradish here. :( I miss the horseradish at Keg's.

The other let-down? The tiny piece of prime rib is way too small! I finished it in three mouthfuls. Ok, so I didn't. I had to chew slowly and eat slowly to ensure that my beautiful prime rib could be savoured to the last morsel possible. I was quite sad I had to share my prime rib with Thomas since he didn't like his burger at all and was very disappointed with it. But considering it's only $21.90 for so much side dishes and a main entree, I don't really mind. I'm considering trying out Lawry's just to see if Black Angus can be beaten.

My beautiful Prime Rib of beef with a side order of baked potato
I was wondering if the baked potato would be anything special so I got it instead of the mashed potato. Well, I tried it for you guys and the result? Ya, it's the same as other baked potatos. Eat it with the mashed potato instead. I think it's more appeitising.
The sauce complemented the meat perfectly. Didn't cover the taste up. ;)

A closeup of the gorgeousness of the beef.
See the beautiful blend of fats and tender meat. Ya ya granted it's no Wagyu beef, still this is my ULTIMATE BEEF! Marvel at its its beautiful beautiful pinkish red tone. So ultrally delicious and appeitising that I so want one now! I love PRIME RIBS!!! Ooooo the flavour, the texture, the tenderness.... !!!! FATS... I love the juciness of fats... 4.5/5 for heaven!

A closeup of the prime rib beef patty from To's super-sized Prime rib Beef burger.
I love the pinkish-red tone. OOOOOO MEDIUM RARE BEEF!!! I love you!! While the burger was not really our cup of tea, it was still good. And I loved the patty. I hated it when burgers serve minced meat... because the texture tastes totally horrid. In this prime rib beef patty, you could still taste every morsel of jucy medium rare beef finely sliced into small pieces. Note to To- Mac's don't serve medium-rare patty. It's brown and flat all around. You don't even taste the juciness of the patty!

Dessert- Chocolate Cake
As much as I hate to admit, my main entree was gone pretty fast and soon it was time for desserts. The chocolate cake is not too bad. Was quite moist in the sponge layers. Frosting was a tad too sweet, but still bearable. On a whole a pretty average cake. 3/5

Dessert- Vanilla ice cream
I must say that as good as our lunch at Black Angus was, the Vanilla ice cream was a pure let down. It tasted too sweet, like normal NTUC artifically-flavoured Vanilla ice cream. No vanilla bean definitely, PLUS it had icey bits in the ice cream. Which means.... that it was refrozen! Yucks! That is definitely low-quality ice cream. What a let-down. The ice cream did not just taste cheap, it was unappeitizing to the tongue. I hate it when they refreeze melted ice cream. Guys, go for the chocolate cake at any time. 2/5

The classic case of Coffee, Tea or me?
I chose tea in that case. :)

Verdict: I would definitely go back again! However I'm a tad afraid of heading there for dinners seeing how over-the-top the prices can be. The set lunches are totally worth it and I recommend them to everyone! But I think they are only available on weekdays, so call ahead to check!

I just love this place!! Can't help gushing about it even after 2 weeks.

Ambiance: 3/5- nothing special during lunch, but I think it makes a pretty romatic place during dinner, what with the scenic view available.
Service: 1.5/5-I felt that the waiters and waitresses were rather snubbish. Perhaps it dawned on them that we were just young adults... but it took 4 waves just to get the attention of someone, and repeated orders for water and our WWW onions. Even when taking our orders, the waitress gave us a very disdained look and disinterested look. I guess we didn't look rich enough to her. Humbug.
Food: Forget the average rating. I'm going to be biased in this case and just go with the rating for the Prime Rib!! 4.5/5!! Why do you guys even bother eating other things there? Okok, so we got to be fair. 3.12/5 But seriously guys, just go there for the Prime Ribs!!

The total bill? For 3 big eaters, we had a wild wild west onion fries, 1 prime burger, and 2 set lunches, and it was a total of $95.10 (after service charge, cess and gst). We were so full after lunch we couldn't breathe! My brother To even remarked "No more burger jokes please". He was so full he felt like throwing up!

For a more detailed listing of their menu (like what other main entrees you can choose), click here to go to their website.

There's 2 branches and it's all happening at:

Black Angus Orchard parade hotel

1 Tanglin Road, #01-08 Orchard Parade Hotel, Singapore247905

Tel. no: (+65)67341181

Operating Hours : Mondays to Thursdays: 11am to 3pm, 5pm to11pm

Fridays : 11am to 3pm, 5pm to 12pm

Saturdays: 11am to 12pm

Sundays: 11am to 11pm

Black Angus - One Fullerton

1 Fullerton Road, #01-02/03, one Fullerton, Singapore049213

Tel. no: (+65)62201191

Operating Hours : Mondays to Thursdays: 11.30am to 3pm, 6pmto 11pm

Fridays : 11.30am to 3pm, 5pm to 1am

Saturdays: 6pm to 1am

Sundays: 11.30am to 11pm

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