Birthday Celebration at CUT, by Wolfgang Puck

It was Andre's (Dawn's brother) 22nd Birthday and the family decided to head to a restaurant with his favorite cuisine - a Steakhouse! And when it comes to steak, CUT by Wolfgang Puck is one of the obvious to-go-to choices in Singapore. For those who have no idea who this legendary chef is, here's a little background:

Wolfgang Puck is an Austrian celebrity chef and restauranteur who has more than 13 fine dining restaurant names under his belt. Amongst all these, the Steakhouse CUT is one of the most famous names can be found in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, London and of course... Singapore. Some of his accolades include the two Michelin Stars and James Beard Foundation award for his Spago Beverly Hills in 2008 & 2009 and an Emmy Award in 2002. For fans of the popular reality show Hell's Kitchen, you probably can remember him as one of the guest judge for the Final 2 Challenge. 

Entering CUT

Personally, I have only been to one other fine-dining Steakhouse - Morton's. So obviously, I have only one other point of comparison. BTW, please forgive me for the lousy quality photos, I forgot to bring my camera on that day and had to rely on my iPhone (NOT iPhone 5).

Drinks To Start

First, let's take a look at the decor. The layout of the entire place is pretty simple - just like how a fine dining restaurant should look like. The lighting is dim, the tables are placed in a neat fashion (though it was a little cramp) and the decor is minimalistic yet exquisite. This place no doubt has the right ambience for a fine dining experience.

Simple Decor Does The Trick

Next is Service. No matter the place or the food, as long as the service is not up to mark, it can severely mar the fine dining experience of the patrons. For CUT, the service staff is still quite inexperienced and there's still room for improvement. This is not to say that the service was bad - the staff was friendly, helpful and prompt. However, they could do more with in depth knowledge of the food/wine and could take more initiative in attending the patrons' needs (before they ask). Basically they were good, but not excellent.

Love The Wine Collection

Now to the main highlight - the Food. Given that we were afraid of over-ordering, we settled for two appetizers and two sides, together with our individual (Dawn and her parents shared a steak) steak.

The appetizers were Hokkaido Scallop “Carpaccio,” Shaved Myoga, Wasabi-Kosho Ponzu and the American Blue Crab and Shrimp “Louis,” Spicy Tomato-Horseradish. 

Mac & Cheese and Sautéed Broccolini came as sides. 

Dawn and her parents shared the Wagyu Rib Eye (For 2), Andre ordered the Australian Angus Bone in Ribeye Steak and, Priscilla and I ordered the USDA PRIME Ribeye each.

Hokkaido Scallop “Carpaccio,” Shaved Myoga, Wasabi-Kosho Ponzu

The Hokkaido Scallop was to die for. The pieces of raw scallops were fresh and sliced perfectly. On top of that, the spicy Wasabi-Kosho Ponzu sauce goes perfectly with the scallops (though they were perfectly fine without any sauce) as the tangy ponzu taste brings the best out of the scallops. Lovely!

American Blue Crab and Shrimp “Louis,” Spicy Tomato-Horseradish

After the fabulous scallops, this dish paled in comparison. But that doesn't mean its a bad dish. They were generous with the Blue Crab meat, the sauce blended well with the meat and the dish was tasty overall. It probably won't blow your mind away but still a good start to the meal.

USDA PRIME Ribeye with Mac & Cheese

Here's the highlight of the day - USDA PRIME Ribeye with our sides of Pasta & Broccolini. First, I would like to point out why Ribeye is my favorite cut of steak. Compared to most cuts, the ribeye is one of the fattest portion of the cow. The key feature of this cut is the marbling of that fats and the juiciness of the meat. Because of its fat-to-meat ratio and the nature of the cut, the meat is really tender and often have it's "juiciness" locked inside the meat, which basically "flows" out the moment you cut and eat it. This cut of meat is usually best serve medium-rare or medium - cooked enough for the fats to marble but not too much in order to maintain its juice. 

My Medium-Rare Steak

So obviously, to judge this steak, one has to look at two factors (besides the temperature of the meat) - the juice and marbled fats. I would say CUT scores full marks in both factors. The fatty portions marbled so well that it simply melted in my mouth. The meat was juicy and tender, much to my liking. The steak here were all grilled on hardwood and charcoal before finishing in the oven and this gave it a nice "woody charred" taste which makes the steak even more flavorful. I ended up finishing my steak without even touching the mustard sauce that they provided.

P.S. I took a bite of Dawn's Wagyu Steak. The taste and texture was so much better than the USDA PRIME. The Wagyu is simply in a league of its own.

Oooooooohhh Lala

Comparing the steak here with the ones at Morton's, I would give the edge to CUT. The steak at Morton's is bigger in size (considering size to price ratio) but in terms of flavor, CUT beat Morton's hands down. The charred outer layer gives it a much tasty flavor which puts one over the other. The quality of beef is obviously the same and, for service and decor, both restaurants would probably go neck to neck.

Menu For Us

After the excellent main course, we ordered a few desserts to share. The restaurant was also kind enough to give us a complimentary plate of ice cream for the Birthday Boy. The dessert themselves were also remarkable and we cleared the plates in quicktime despite being stuffed by the main course. 

Their Special Seasonal Pineapple with Rum Dessert

Valrhona Chocolate Souffle, Crème Fraiche Cream, Hazelnut Praline, Nutella Ice Cream    

Warm Pear Crumble, Cinnamon Oat Streusel, Ginger Ice Cream

Overall, it was a fantastic gastronomical experience for us. The ambience was nice, the service was good and the food is out of this world (though the price is equally 'out of this world'). I would admit that it is really very pricey even given such quality of food. However, places like this still isn't a commonplace in Singapore and is certainly an experience worth trying at least once. An experience (note: it's not just a meal, it's an experience) here will definitely bring a fresh perspective on food & dining, and worth the occasion splurge. I am certainly looking forward to my next gastronomical experience!

Thank you Uncle Deryl and Aunty Joyce for this fabulous experience. And Happy Birthday Andre!

Best of LA II: Fun day at the Beaches topped with a BBQ Ribs special

The LA leg to our US tour ended as soon as it started and we were left with half a day before heading for our 4 hour long drive to Las Vegas (Exciting!!!).

Our last destination was the famous Santa Monica Pier and for lunch (after days of Amusement park food and In-and-out Burgers), we decided to have a go at the famous Californian Ribs.

Santa Monica Pier

This 100-year old landmark is one of the most iconic (other than the Hollywood Sign) symbols of Californian beaches. This place is built for families and youths, with (even more) amusement park rides and a huge load of beach activities happening around. 

View from Atop

Unfortunately, this place is a nightmare to drive into during the weekends. The jam that led to the pier effectively cut our time there into half. All we could do (to make it before sunset into Las Vegas) was to get to the end of the pier, take a few photographs, chill for a while before the ribs called out for us (our lunch).

Family-Themed Pacific Park

Despite the short time, this place still left a pretty deep impression on me. I can't exactly put my finger to why, but I simply feel that this is how all beaches should be like. The clean sandy beach, the beautiful sea view of the pacific, the nicely filled pier and the absence of irritating tourist touters made this one of the best beaches I have been too. Obviously, the hollywood movies made this place even more glamourous, adding more glitter to an already beautiful place.

Simple Nice Beach Fun

Boardwalk to the Santa Monica Pier

Read on to check out our fantastic meaty lunch...




Mofia's Ribs & Pies

Our last meal in Los Angeles (for now) - Mofia's Ribs and Pies. Basically, it was only the ribs. Throughout the LA leg, we were all hankering for good ol' American ribs, but all we had were fast food and Asian food (we had Korean and Japanese food consecutively). So it was (how ironical) a good change to have good American food instead.

Mofia's Ribs & Pies

 First of all, I have to admit that this place doesn't look like a place any tourist will stop for a meal. In fact, you would probably miss it (we missed it--twice!), given the inconspicuous location and the "run-down" look of the place itself (its signage is simply a banner pasted over an original signboard). But trust me, this place is at least 10x better than it looks.

Simple Decor

Obviously, we had the ribs. As the portions were pretty huge, sharing was a good idea. When the ribs came, it was evident that we made the right choice. The thick juicy sauce was dripping from the bones of the ribs and the meat was chunky and looked delicious. It was time to get our hands dirty!

Oohhhhh-La-La

The ribs was as good as it looked! It was good ol' heavenly BBQ ribs. It was really unhealthy but the 'good kind' of unhealthy sort - the kind where after the first bite, you won't even mind if that were to be your last meal on earth. Lovely stuff! Another testament to the wonderful ribs - our plates were ALL wiped clean and we left satisfied.

Proof of Good Ribs

I feel that I'm not doing the place justice if I only introduce the ribs because the sides were equally amazing. Sadly, (for some reason still unknown to me) I didn't take any picture or note on the sides that we ordered. All I can remember is that their greens was fabulous (I ordered an extra bowl) and their potato-based sides were pretty awesome too. Check them out at 4077 Lincoln Blvd Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 (around Venice Beach).

Food Trails

As I mentioned above, other than fast foods and amusement park food, we also went to two Asian restaurants for our dinner. However, I won't dwell on it too much as neither was really impressive and I'm sure there are better ones around the neighborhood.

Korean BBQ Soowan Galbi

This was better of the two. The ala carte styled Korean BBQ (yes, there is no buffet) located right in the heart of Korean town is a good place to go if you have a hankering for Korean food in LA. In fact, there is a large Korean population in LA, so finding good Korean food will definitely be easier than locating good Chinese food. 

Soowon Galbi Korean BBQ

Our Dishes

Our Dinner Cooked at Our Table

Nobu 

One of the more posh restaurants in Los Angles, this place is well known for the chef that opened it - Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. We headed there for Hannah's birthday celebration and went for a specially "tailored" menu recommended by our server. 

That turned out to be the mistake of the night as it turned out the choice of dishes presented was the most unsatisfying part of the meal. The quality of the food and the skills of chefs is unquestionably good (they do have a standard to upkeep), but the server somehow thought that we never had Yuzu before and decided to spam all the Yuzu dishes. So it was basically Yuzu this and Yuza that, such that at the end of the meal, we were pretty much sick of that word. Still, this place is really good for a upscale japanese meal and I wouldn't mind giving it another shot (I'll do my research beforehand this time).

Ending words

Well, this concludes the first city of the West Coast. Apart from the glam and glitter, Los Angeles has been pretty monotonous and laid back. It doesn't have the excitement New York brings or historical roots that both Washington DC and Boston provide. However, this is a good place for one to take a step back and just chill out. For someone who doesn't like to party, Los Angeles pretty much ends after nightfall. If I'm ever back here (though highly unlikely), I wouldn't mind a stroll down Venice/Santa Monica beach or to go up the Griffith Observatory to see the City of Angels lighted up at night.

Santa Monica & our group

Oh and last but not least - A great HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our dearest Hannah :). Hope you had fun on your special day in LA (especially with the all-day K-pop) with us!

Happy Birthday!

Final moments in Boston: Whale-watching and yet another Lobster Sandwich

On our last (half) day in Boston, our plans was simple - Whale Watching and Lobster Sandwich.

Let's start with our lovely whale-watching trip. The trip itself started pretty early in the morning (8+ a.m if I can recall), took us out into the Atlantic Ocean where they guaranteed we will be able to spot whales. We were skeptical at first (the price was around S$60), given the fact that none of us had been to anything similar.

Whale-spotters

The journey to the whale-spotting site was around 1 - 1 1/2 hours and unfortunately for me, it was a bumpy ride there. I got hit by a huge bout of sea-sickness and was basically incapacitated for the remaining journey (Credits to Dawn for the photographs). After a chat with the rest of the group, I found out that the ride was indeed worse than usual (we were riding against the wave and going at a really fast speed). So anyone who wants to go through this, remember to take your seasickness pills before embarkment.

An opportunity to catch the city line of Boston

The journey into the sea wasn't really exciting (except having to entertain my sea sickness). It was a straight journey without any incidents or sightings. From a conversation that I overheard from one of the staff, the way they are able to ensure 100% sightings is that they have a network of ships (be it fishermen or whale-watching crew) and boats that will give live updates on where the school of whales is spotted. So the moment any activities are reported, the boat would rush there and hopefully get there in time before the activities ceases or the whales have moved on.

Approaching the whale watching site

Read on to check out more pictures of our Whale-watching experience and the excellent lobster sandwich that followed.



Once the Captain has decided that the boat was closed enough to the whales (without scarring them), the boat stopped and the commentator did her job in guiding our vision to where the whales were. I managed to get up from my seat for a few moments (the boat was pretty much stable at that time) and caught a few glimpses of these magnificent creatures. Here are some shots:

One of the first few sightings

Two of them

Though we didn't catch any breath-taking shots of the ENTIRE whale, I would say that being able to get close to these beautiful creatures was an experience worth every penny and minute of travel. These majestic whales are really the beautiful works of Mother Nature and is definitely an experience I would recommend to anyone in Boston. Here are some closer shots Dawn took when some whales went by our boat.

School of Whales

Close-up

The entire whale watching experience took up almost 4 hours (so plan ahead when you do whale watching) and we only had time for lunch before having to catch our flight to Los Angeles. So what was for lunch? Obviously, more Lobster Sandwich before we leave this place for good.

James Hook Lobster Sandwich

We ended up (after failing to get a table at Neptune Oyster Bar) at the James Hook + Co for our lunch. Kudos to Andre for finding this place as the meal proved to be more than satisfying. The place itself wasn't much - a simple makeshift container with the simplest of decor, perfect for take-outs. Dawn and I took our pick and decided to share a large Lobster Sandwich and a portion of their Stuffed Clams.

Selection of sandwiches...

...and stuffed clam

I'll start with the Stuffed Clams. The clams itself was really huge and the stuffing made it look enormous. Naturally I would say the portions pretty generous and it was a wise choice to share. There was nothing really special about both the stuffing and the clams, just that both went really well and they were both baked perfectly. Nicely done!

Lovely stuffed clams

The Lobster Sandwich was definitely better than what we had at Quincy Market. The lobster was equally fresh but the portions of lobsters were so much more generous. I came out so much more satisfied then both my trips from the Quincy Market.

Hot sandwich with chunks of cold lobster fillings

Overall it was a good mistake that we ended up here. The sandwich is really fulfilling and the stuffed clams was the icing on the cake. Lovely place and I would recommend anyone to check it out if you are in Boston.

Check them out at 15-17 Northern Avenue Boston MA 02210 or visit their website here.


That's marks the end of our East Coast Travels as we head to West Coast to join up with the rest of our group. Stay tuned to see the Best of West Coast, which includes Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Costal Drive and San Francisco.

Visit my Facebook photo albums to check out more photos of the whales:
Boston 2012 Whale-Sighting Album

Final Moments in the Capital - Washington DC

Day 3

The last day at Washington DC saw us going our separate ways, only to meet again in Boston later in the evening. Andre went off for his morning flights, while the rest of us headed to the Eastern Market for breakfast.

Eastern Market

The Eastern Market, like most markets, is where you can get all your basic produces, including your meats and vegetables, fruits and cheese. Personally, I'm not too sure if the prices there are actually cheaper than most, but its definitely a place worth visiting regardless if you are staying or visiting DC.

Take a walk down Eastern Market

Besides groceries, DC's oldest communal market also serves as a venue for periodical flea markets. From time to time, the outside space will be converted to host Art & Crafts vendors, food vendors or even flower vendors. Check out their schedule on their website before going to see whats going on.

Read on to find out what we had at the Eastern Market

A museum exhibit worthy of this place

At one end of the market lies the small little bistro where we had our breakfast. Choosing was pretty easy - the weekday menu only offers the basic Eggs, French Toast, Pancakes, Breakfast Meats and Sandwiches. After that, we have to choose our sides (Potatoes or Grits) and beverages. Lastly, they have the lovely crab cakes up for selections too.

Breakfast time

I ordered the 2 Eggs (Scrambled) with a side of Grits and added Crab Cake. Let's start from the best - the Crab Cake. Lovely stuff, though a little underwhelming at first (especially if you are expecting a rich taste of seafood) but when I got to the core, the crab taste blended so well with the other ingredients. I want one more!!!

My breakfast set

The eggs itself was a little disappointing. It was a "scrambled" as I would have liked it to be. In fact, it looked more like a chopped up omelet rather than scramble eggs. The taste was still fine though. The worse of the lot - Grits! Alright, I have to admit that its very unfair for me to pass judgement like that, simply because I absolutely hate grits. So don't take my word for it and try it yourself. 

Dawn's breakfast set

Dawn ordered a similar set but with a different style of eggs and added the Bacon instead of Crab Cakes. The Bacon was salty and crispy, which goes to show it's a well-cooked bacon.

With most of us ordering eggs, Yaofeng took a different route and ordered Pancakes. Though it was a fluffy heavenly experience (the one I had at Clinton's) but it was still pretty fluffy and tasty. Only thing - they didn't have honey or jam to go with the pancakes.

Pancakes anyone?

Overall, it was a hit-and-miss breakfast for us. The Crab Cakes and bacon were pretty awesome but the grits and eggs didn't really match up to our expectations. I'll still recommend a visit to this bistro though as I'm pretty sure this bistro has more than just grits and eggs. 

Visit them at 225 7th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003 or at the website here.

After breakfast, I left the group as I wanted to further explore the museums in DC (the others wanted to walk around town). Making use of the free entrance fee for the Smithsonian Museums, I revisited the National Museum of American History and continued exploring the American War section. Here are some snippets of the exhibition.

Outside the National Museum of American History

Civil War Exhibition

Vietnam War

After the history museum, I could still manage some time to visit another museum. So I decided to take a peek into the Natural History Museum to watch one of their 3-D films. Comparing this museum to the New York counterpart is inevitable. For me, I prefer the DC ones as the exhibits are more spaced out, giving the museum goers more "breathing space" when moving around. On top of that, the lightings for the DC museums is so much better, making the experience less gloomy. In terms of exhibits, I managed to catch more exhibits here as most of the exhibits are actually opened (more than 50% was closed when I was in New York), so naturally, I would have preferred DC.

T-Rex

Mastadons

Early Humans

Predator & prey

The Natural History Museum turned out to be the last highlight of the Washington DC leg of the trip. We met back at our apartment and headed to the Reagan airport to meet up with Andre at our next destination - Boston.

Stay tuned for more on the wonderful selection of Boston's lobster and Clam Chowder.

Visit my Facebook page for more pictures:
USA Summer'12 DC Day 2 Photos