Salta

Yes it has been a very "meaty" weekend. Brawn was planned for Saturday and I would have liked to space out the meat out a bit, but my Friday dinner kaki YM was keen to show me this new steak place he had discovered so off we went.

Salta is located at ICON village, near Tg Pagar and a stone's throw from my office. The restaurant's named after a city in Argentina which is famous for beef - apparently the cattle graze freely hence their meat is leaner and full of flavor. Decor was atypical of a steakhouse - black leather and dark wood, nice comfortable ambiance.

For starters, we had the batatas fritas (sweet potato fries $5). Ok, nothing impressive. For mains, both of us ordered steak, naturally. I had the beef skirt ($31 of fatty goodness) and YM had the rib-eye. Check out the pic of my "medium" cow. To their credit, they cooked the beef just the way I like - well done with just a tinge of redness. It was flavorful enough on its own, no need for sauces. I really liked the wine prices too, we shared a bottle of Terrazas malbec for only $55, excellent value.

My only grouse is the lousy bread basket they served, the breads were rock hard - definitely not fresh. Service was a bit patchy at times but they were flexible enough to let us finish up our bottle of wine at the bar which was quite conducive for relaxing and conversation.

Excellent value for decent steak with wine. I'd vote for this rather than Brawn if I had to choose. I will definitely be back since it's right in my hood!

Brawn Steakhouse

I'm a sucker for deals, I am. Brawn is a new steakhouse at Marina Bay Financial Centre which I had walked past a few times and thought looked nice. When I heard about the 1-for-1 Dinner Special with DBS Cards, I immediately grabbed some friends to go check the place out.

The deal was sweet. Free flow of lamb and beef from the spit roast, salads, pita bread, hand cut fries and Charlotte Street Red or White wine at $88++ per set ($50 per pax). Available till 31 July on Mondays-Wednesdays and Saturday (working area no crowd?).

So there we were, on a Saturday night, fine dining (some sort). Ambience was nice and service was attentive - plus. The food itself was just so-so. The cuts of meats were a tad fatty and inconsistently cooked, there were some nice medium rare slices and then there were the dry overcooked slices. Overall, the beef was better than the lamb and I suppose for the price I can't complain. I have to commend the choice of house white and red wine, quite palatable and so we kept topping up haha.

Would I return? Hmm maybe, just to enjoy the deal again before it expires. I wonder if the ala carte meats are cooked with greater care. If not, I will not pay full price to eat here.

Affordable Morton's

Last June, I checked out Morton's Steak and Seafood Combo and walked away a very happy girl. Guess what... the offer is now back. Until March 31st so hurry!


Same deal: $95++ gets you the following:

First Course:Caesar Salad or Morton's Salad
Second Course:Single Cut Filet
Seafood side: (select one) Broiled Sea Scallops, Colossal Shrimp Alexander or Jumbo Lump Crab Cake
Vegetable side: (select one) Signature Potato or Fresh Vegetable

Tips
1. Go with a friend and upsize the steak to a double cut for $15 more. Share everything else.

2. Go easy on the onion loaf, I know it's hard to resist. Doggy back the remaining and toast it the next day with some garlic butter - heaven!

3. $60 corkage is a killer and wines by bottles are expensive. Order by the glass. $20++ per glass is still pricey but they are generous so yay.

4. Save some space and order a Chocolate Martini from the bar. Best dessert ever.