Fat Cow: Leaves a bad taste in my mouth


Leave it in the hands of the experts of course.

Over at the Fat Cow, located aptly at the Camden Medical Center (in the case of heavy heart palpitations caused from gluttony); the Zen-like surroundings prepares one for the thrill of the cuisine at hand. The atmosphere is mildly cold and a tad intimidating for most, so, warm up with a cup of hot green tea or some well acquainted company is advised too.

The Donabemeshi ($68) is a pulse quickening dish of Wagyu beef grilled over charcoal and finished in a claypot of baked rice with onsen egg and house-seasoned shoyu. For those that relish in a good slice of claypot rice action, this my friends is a Rolls Royce version. The deliciously rich and salty wagyu breaking down at the slightest touch, it's delicate marbling combined with a gingerly sweetened basting sauce is a joy to eat with the plump Japanese rice. The grains of charred rice at the bottom providing a pleasing textural contrast to the conjugal bliss of melt-n-your mouth goodness.



My 45 Dry Aged Sirloin from Rangers Valley ($68) was a sight to behold when it was portioned out by the craftsman right before my eyes. My heart pleading with him to stop as he shaved the steak till it sat with prim precision on the flat board. I'm not fussed. The cooking was  long tedious affair, the thickness of the steak warranting a longer time on the Teppen, it's blistering heat building a distinctive crust. All went downhill as the Chef took the paddle to the metal with a deft slicing motion almost immediately after the steak came off the grill. The lack of resting time meant the muscle fibres haven't had time to relax and retain its juices, resulting in a deluge of juices flooding the plate. Outrageous... this is no way to treat a 400 day grain fed wagyu. I ate with grim face, the less than succulent meat leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Call me a snob but I believe that some respect is called for in such situations.


Word of advice, make your reservations before hand to avoid being disappointed. The Fat Cow sees a very busy lunch crowd so do take heed.

Fat Cow
#01-01
Camden Medical Centre
1 Orchard Boulevard

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi! First of all, thank you for sharing with us your exciting gastronomical experiences. I love the way you weave your thoughts about food and I admire your talent in photography. You are one of my favorite SG-based food bloggers and I wish you all the best.

Second, I just want to know if by any chance you happen to know if one of my favorite food bloggers Amasou Umasou will still blog? It saddens me that the blog is no longer open for public. I hope he still continue to blog because Amasou Umasou is one of my food blogging inspiration.

Thanks!
~Penny

Sihan said...

Hi Penny,

thanks for your words of encouragement. I've always loved to share my honest opinions with everyone. Just don't know whether the general public is receptive or not.

As for amasou umasou, unfortunately I have no idea as well. Would love to know what happened with the blog as well. sigh..

Dan said...

While I absolutely agree with you that a steak ought to be properly rested before slicing, I feel the need to make a few comments/corrections on your review.

- The dry-aged sirloin is 100% Black Angus which is on a 300 day grain-finish.

- Dry-aged meats must be trimmed of the outer edge which is exposed to air. Cooking and eating this edge is less than pleasurable. Even more importantly, the fat should be trimmed as it effectively (but safely) goes rancid. This is especially true of that thick layer of fat on the top of a sirloin.

- The steaks at Fat Cow are not cooked on a "Teppen" [sic]. The charcoal grill used is called a Robata and the cooking method is often referred to as "robatayaki" or more specifically "sumibiyaki".

- I'm not sure to what temperature "blisteringly" refers, but the reason for the "long tedious affair" is that developing that crust takes place between 145-160'C. Outside of this range, meat either cooks grey or chars/burns. The Maillard Reaction gives us that tasty brown crust and is quite fussy about temperature.

- As for the bit about respect, in my opinion the title of your post hardly gives any to the first dish you tried. Seemed the Donabemeshi was more to your taste.

I realize it is quite an old post I just happened to notice it today.

Thank you,

- just some guy who used to work there