88 Pocha + BBQ – Vintage 80s Korean BBQ [MEDIA INVITE]

The 88 Pocha + BBQ is the extension of the 88 Pocha brand, owned and operated by Food Palace Group Pte Ltd. The first outlet of 88 Pocha opened at Lor Mambong, Holland Village earlier this year and the second outlet at Kovan opened a few months later. A full review of this exciting Pojangmacha at Holland Village is available here.

The Inflatable Man

This third 88 Pocha outlet at Duxton has incorporated Korean BBQ into its menu. Instead of offering the regular Korean BBQ menu that you usually find in Singapore, the team introduced the time-honoured tradition of frozen pork BBQ, revisiting the cherished memories of the 1980s and 90s. In the late 90s, the advancement of modern refrigeration methods ensured Koreans were able to enjoy fresh pork all year round and curtail frozen pork BBQ. However, this old-cherish tradition starting to make a comeback in the Korean dining scene. Again, due to the advancement in technology, frozen pork is delivering a better flavour compared to the vintage years.

88 Pocha + BBQ

The furnishings of 88 Pocha + BBQ outlet are slightly different from the first 2 outlets. There are still pojangmacha tables and chairs at the back section of the restaurant, but the front half of the restaurant is decked up with proper Korean BBQ tables and exhaust system. To spice up the atmosphere, the restaurant also uses colour lights just like in the retro era.

Proper Korean BBQ Table 

For the tasting, we tried the Duroc Pork Set ($45.88), which comes with Pork Belly (180g), Pork Jowl (180g), Kimchi, Chinese Chive and Watercress. To ensure the dish reached the optimum flavour, the service staff did the cooking at the table.

Duroc Pork Set

Duroc Pork Set

We get started on the banchan. Consists of mashed potatoes, strips of pickled radish, kimchi and fresh lettuce to go with BBQ.

Dipping Sauce: Salt + Sesame Oil, Samjang and Garlic
Mashed Potatoes & Pickled Radish

Kimchi

Fresh Lettuce with Black Pepper at the Back

There are a few ways to eat the thinly sliced grilled pork belly. First, with the watercress. The duroc pork belly is naturally sweet, complimented by the bitter and crunchy watercress. Second, with grilled kimchi. According to LD, the kimchi is slightly aged, when they are grilled the flavour becomes more intense and balances out the fat in the pork belly.

Duroc Pork Belly with Watercress

Duroc Pork Belly with Grilled Kimchi

Duroc Pork Belly

The pork jowl is paired with Chinese chives and BBQ garlic. I like the texture of the pork jowl as it is thicker, juicier and has a nice bouncy texture. The Chinese chives provided aromatic and bitter flavour that enhance the taste of the pork jowl.

Duroc Pork Jowl, Chinese Chives and Garlic

Duroc Pork Jowl

For dipping sauce, we have salt + sesame oil, samjang sauce and garlic. There is also a pepper on the table, it is recommended to sprinkle this on top of frozen pork.

Citrus Highball

To accompany the pork duroc set, we choose the Seafood Soft Tofu Stew ($12.88). It is packed with ingredients and the stew is on the lighter side. Though the clams are light in flavour, we can still taste it in the broth.

Seafood Soft Tofu Stew

Seafood Soft Tofu Stew

Completing the BBQ experience is Bacon Kimchi Fried Rice. Due to the holes on the grill plate, the fried rice is done on an aluminium foil. Instead of using the existing pork fat left on the BBQ, the fried rice uses bacon. The texture of the fried rice is good and flavourful as well thanks to the generous kimchi, Chinese chives and seaweed,

Bacon Kimchi Fried Rice

Bacon Kimchi Fried Rice

LD also tried Golbaengi (Topshell) Bibim Naeng Ramyeon ($12.88). Korean ramyeon style cold noodle with topshell. I think it looks menacing due to the red colour sauce but LD likes it. It is springy, refreshing and packed with flavour.

Golbaengi (Topshell) Bibim Naeng Ramyeon 

Golbaengi (Topshell) Bibim Naeng Ramyeon

Other than the Duroc Pork set, 88 Pocha + BBQ also serve Chicken Set ($45.88) – Chicken oyster (4 pcs), Boneless Neck (100g), Chicken Thigh (200g), King Oyster Mushroom, and Leek. Plus, there is also A5 Wagyu Beef Clod ($38.88 for 150g) part of the BBQ ala carte.

Menu 1

Overall, it was nice experiencing the vintage Korean frozen pork BBQ. The combination of the pork belly, eaten with kimchi and watercress brings out a different flavour to the dish. I like the pork jowl the most as it is packed with the goodness of the OINK OINK. Check out 88 Pocha + BBQ for the nostalgic BBQ and street food of Korean in the 80s and 90s. Geonbae!! Cheers!!

Menu 2

Thank you very much Protegie and 88 Pocha + BBQ Team for the invitation.

Lunch Menu

Menu 3

Food & Drink: 7.25/10

Value: 7/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Budget per Person: $26 - $50

88 Pocha + BBQ

17 Duxton Road

Singapore 089483

T: +65 9273 9957

F: https://www.facebook.com/88pochasg

IG: @88pochasg

OH: 11.30 – 15.00; 17.00 – 23.00 Daily

Menu, Reservation and Delivery Links available here

Monte Risaia – Omakase Dinner [MEDIA INVITE]

We are back at Monte Risaia, an Omakase restaurant serving Japanese inspired Italian cuisine. Helming the kitchen is Executive Chef Taizo Yamada, a creative chef with an avid passion for Italian cuisine that has been at Monte Risaia since its opening in 2019.

This time, we get to try their $98++ Omakase Menu, which consists of 3 Antipasti, Pasta, Carne and Dolce.

The Menu

Most of the cooking during dinner service is done by Chef Taizo. If you are seated at the Chef’s Table, you will be able to see him preparing all the savoury culinary delights from start to finish (except for dolce / dessert). To set the mood, our dining experience is serenade with light jazz music in the background.

Executive Chef Taizo Yamada

We started our omakase with Wagyu ham with Burrata Cheese appetizer. A nicely plated dish, with burrata cheese as a base, topped with sliced wagyu ham and finished with shaved parmesan and celery leaves. The dish has a creamy texture, followed by lightly salted wagyu ham and umami parmesan cheese. A nice start to the meal.

Wagyu Ham with Burrata Cheese appetizer

Wagyu Ham with Burrata Cheese appetizer

Served together with the 1st appetizer are homemade bread, olives and olive oil. The bread is soft and bouncy, while the green olive is light and not overly salty.

Homemade Bread, Olives and Olive Oil

The next appetizer is Lobster Bisque Cartoccio Style. I’ve just learned that Caroccio means wrapped in baking paper and baked in the oven. While the lobster bisque base is prepared in a pot or saucepan, the clams and finishing touch are done, wrapped in the baking paper. The lobster bisque is delicate and smooth but not overly creamy. Most of the lobster bisque that I tried has that bitter end from the sherry when you sip the soup. However, I don’t taste that bitterness here.

Lobster Bisque Cartoccio Style

While the flavour is delicate, it is still packed with lobster flavour. The clams add sweetness and chewy texture to the bisque. I use half of my bread to soak up the soup and polish off the broth. Delicious!

Lobster Bisque Cartoccio Style

Lobster Bisque Cartoccio Style with Homemade Bread

The final appetizer is Japanese Chiayu Confit. Chiayu also known as a sweet fish, looks like shishamo fish. It is cooked in oil and topped with chives. When you bit into the fish, the flesh tasted sweet. However, once you bit into the bones (yes, you can eat the bones), there is a touch of bitterness coming from the fish. Not something that I will order separately.

Japanese Chiayu Confit

Our pasta dish is Signature Triple Dashi with Shiso Leaves Pasta. This simple looking pasta is definitely not simple at all. The sauce base uses three types of dashi: hamaguri dashi, Kani dashi and konbu dashi. Once the pasta is boiled almost reaching the al-dente point, it is transferred for the second part of the cooking with the triple dashi base.

Signature Triple Dashi with Shiso Leaves Pasta

The al-dente pasta absorbs the sweet, umami and tangy stock and is packed with the robust tomato flavour. The Shiso leaves provided a refreshing finish to the pasta. I just wish there was more or even portion can be doubled.

Signature Triple Dashi with Shiso Leaves Pasta

Carne is Roasted Beef Tenderloin. The beef tenderloin is roasted to the point of rare. It is then sliced thinly and plated with tomato base sauce cooked with chicken cartilage. Balsamic vinegar is drizzled across the plate, to introduce a sweet tangy flavour, while the shaved parmesan added the umami finishing.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

The beef is juicy and succulent, while the chicken cartilage adds a crunchy texture to the dish. Since the plate is heated before serving, my last few pieces of the sliced beef become medium rare.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Dolce / dessert is Genmaicha Gelato topped with blueberries, strawberries and gooseberry. A lovely rice tea flavour sorbet. It is light, refreshing and not overly sweet. The acidity from the berries helps to counter the heavy dishes in the omakase.

Genmaicha Gelato topped with Blueberries, Strawberries and Gooseberry

Genmaicha Gelato topped with Blueberries, Strawberries and Gooseberry

To accompany your dinner, you can also choose Free Flow alcohol pairings consisting of Italian Beer, Italian Prosecco, Italian red wine and Italian white wine. Price starting from $48++ for 90 mins / $60++ for 120 mins / $70++ for 150 mins.

Free Flow Alcohol Pairing

LD started with the bubbly prosecco as the 1st glass followed by the Italian red wine for the carne.

Italian Prosecco

Overall, we are glad to return to Monte Risaia. The dishes are well executed and watching Executive Chef Taizo Yamada preparing our meal is part of the wholesome experience. Saluti!! Kanpai!! Cheers!!

Thank you Jennifer Yeo Consultancy and Team Monte Risaia for hosting us.

Food: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Service: N/A (Tasting Invitation)

Ambiance: 8/10

Budget per Person: $81 and Above

Monte Risaia

59 Duxton Road

Singapore 089523

T: +65 6970 0067

W: https://monterisaia.business.site/

F: https://www.facebook.com/monte.risaia/

IG: @Monte.risaia.sg

OH:

Mon – Sat: 12.00 – 14.30; 18.00 – 22.30

Closed on Sunday

WKD Cuts – Steak Tasting Pop Up

Dry Aged Tasting Platter

Last week, the foodie algorithm in my IG (@Chubbybotakkoala) displayed a sponsored post by WKD Cuts on their Steak Tasting Pop Up. I send the screenshot to LD and she said Let’s Go!!

WKD Cuts is a purveyor of the best quality meats and serving them up to perfection. Their business model is to deliver perfectly cooked meat (beef, lamb, pork plus sides) to your doorstep. Taking their business to the next level, WKD Cuts is having a Pop Up at Duxton for 2 weeks. Due to strong response, the team has extended the pop up till 02 October 2021.

WKD Cuts Steak Tasting Pop Up Menu
Image Credit: WKD Cuts

As a foodie, we love trying new things and steak tasting give us the freedom to try different cuts at one seating. A quick check through their booking website, we manage to get seating, though it is at the lounge area instead of the dinner area. While the menu is the same, you are seated on a comfortable leather sofa and eat your food from a knee-height table for the lounge area. Not ideal, but it seems to be the trend nowadays.

We wanted to order Smoked Burratina ($24) to start our meal, however, it runs out. Therefore, we decided to skip the starters and load up on the main. We decided on Dry Aged Tasting Platter ($148). Consist of:

100g USDA Angus 45 Days Dry-Aged Grain-Fed Striploin,

100g John Stone Irish Dry Aged Grass-Fed Beef Ribeye,

500g Galician Australian 45 Days Dry-Aged Bone-in Ribeye.

However, the grass-fed ribeye is unavailable, so the team replace it with upsized Bone-in Ribeye.

Dry Aged Tasting Platter
Left: Striploin, Right:Bone-in Ribeye, Top Right: Foie Gras and Bone Marrow

We enhance our platter further with Foie Gras ($12), Bone Marrow ($18) and Bearnaise Sauce ($6). WKD served a warm bread basket for us to nibble. We did not know that the waiting time is more than 40 minutes, so we decline the offer of extra bread. Big mistake on our side, because we had only brunch as we expected to overload ourselves with meat. Do take note to order a starter or accept the extra bread.

Bread Basket

Our dry-aged tasting platter is surely a heart-stopper. All the proteins are nicely grilled, with a charred exterior and medium-rare doneness internally. The 100g USDA Angus 45 Days Dry-Aged Grain-Fed Striploin just hits the spot for us. It has the right marbling, intense MOO MOO flavour and a slight bite in each of the cuts.

USDA Angus 45 Days Dry-Aged Grain-Fed Striploin

Our 800g Galician Australian 45 Days Dry-Aged Bone-in Ribeye (a.k.a Côte de boeuf) deliver a meaty steak, filled with rich MOO MOO flavour. Don’t expect a melt in your mouth sensation, this cuts one is for those who prefer the longer chewing process of their steak.

800g Galician Australian 
45 Days Dry-Aged Bone-in Ribeye.

The platter is served with three different types of salt, lemon and also grilled garlic. However, we find the steaks are nicely seasoned and you don’t even need the extra sauce.

The additional foie gras that we ordered is thick and well-executed. Slightly crisp externally, followed with buttery and velvety texture internally. The bone marrow is slightly disappointing as it has a shallow depth and we can only extract around 2/3 of the marrow instead of the whole bone length.

Foie Gras

Duroc 21 Days Dry Aged Pork Chop ($30). #Porkgasm. Our first experience with exotic pork chop dated back to 2014. Once you tried Duroc, Mangalica or Nagano pork, you won’t ever look at pork chop the same again. We find Korabuta and Iberico are too common. The Dry-aged Duroc is nicely seared and cooked to medium doneness. If you can’t take your pork chop pink in the middle, you should give it a miss. The meat is juicy, succulent and it has a high-fat content. The grilled onion on the side helps to balance the “jelakness” in this meat. Yumz!!

Duroc 21 Days Dry Aged Pork Chop 

Duroc 21 Days Dry Aged Pork Chop

For the sides, we have Roasted Ratte Potatoes ($15) and Creamed Spinach ($12). The potatoes are fragrant, crispy externally and soft internally. Cooked in duck fat and rosemary, it adds crispiness and a nice aroma to the potatoes.

Roasted Ratte Potatoes

Meanwhile, the creamed spinach portion is very generous. We enjoy the freshness of the spinach, perfectly cooked in the cream. We highly recommended these two sides to accompany your steak.

Creamed Spinach

Overall, we find the food are delicious and this pop up allows foodies to try out different types of meat from different suppliers worldwide. The Duroc pork chop is an absolute must try. We just hope that in the future, the team can consider adding steak knives in the cutlery arsenal and warm up the plates before serving. The warm plates prolong the fats from coagulating early and allow diners to enjoy the steak longer. Hopefully, we can come back for another round. Cheers!!

Food & Drinks: 7.75/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 7/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Budget per Person: $51 - $80; $81 and Above

WKDcuts Steak Tasting Pop-Up

9a Duxton Hill

Singapore 089676

T: +65 9782 2661

W: http://wkdcuts.com/popup (for Pop up)

http://wkdcuts.com (For delivery)

F: https://www.facebook.com/wkdcuts/

IG: @Wkdcuts

OH: 18.00 – 22.30

Seating: Dining Area – 2nd Floor, Lounge – 3rd Floor.