Wow Wow West

Salad bars take me back to the glory days of Ponderosa & Sizzler, and they were one of the best inventions of the 20th century. Call it nostalgia, call it gluttony, but there’s no denying that salad bars are utterly brilliant. So when I heard that @xwwesterngrill unique selling point was that purchasing any entrée gave you full access to the salad bar, I knew I had to give it a go for old times sake.⠀
⠀
During the date of my visit, XW Western Grill had a limited time special of Mentaiko Aburi Chicken Chop ($15.90++). It sounds sophisticated, but it really is quite simple. A juicy cut of chicken thigh fillet is grilled till it acquires a captivating char, and then a deluge of mentaiko mayo is applied on top and blowtorched. The mentaiko mayonnaise was slightly too creamy & not quite umami enough, but the sublime chicken chop more than makes up for it. The skin has become crisp, and the char adds extra smokiness to the already stunningly savoury chicken chop. It’s served with a side of fries, but I left most of it behind as I had the salad bar to explore.⠀
⠀
The salad bar doesn’t just have salad and other delicious, must-have veggie items like coleslaw, creamed spinach, charred broccoli & carrots, and sautéed cherry tomatoes, they have sides too. Think sautéed mushrooms, potato salad, onion rings, sweet potato fries, aglio olio pasta and a couple of other carb options. All these carb & veg options in conjunction with the decently proportioned proteins make for a bulking brother’s dream, and good lord what wouldn’t I give to have XW Western Grill open up a restaurant in one of the three malls in Paya Lebar.⠀
⠀
If any of y’all at @xwwesterngrill are reading this, this is a sign to take the plunge & open a new outlet with a full salad bar in one of the three malls surrounding Paya Lebar MRT. Thank me later.

Beef Wellingtons are seen as posh, upper crust cuisine and rightfully so, but @meet_4_meat have been whipping wellies out of a coffeeshop since 2018. There aren’t that many individual portioned beef wellies in Singapore, and Meet4Meat is possibly the most affordable one at twenty eight dollars flat. Simply served with a baked potato and some mixed leaves, the pressure is on the Wellington to shine.⠀
⠀
Meet4Meat’s Wellington is wonderfully delicious, and even though it was lacking the customary sauce you’d expect with a Beef Wellington, it certainly wasn’t lacking when it came to flavour. Everything from the 180 grams of tenderloin to the puff pastry was superbly salted, and your tastebuds will certainly be plenty pleased. Even the baked potato was stupendously sumptuous thanks to the inclusion of a generous pat of compound butter. I suspect it was a paprika infused compound butter, as it had a little bit of heat & smokiness to really jazz up the remarkably roasted spud. ⠀
⠀
However, the cross section of the tenderloin revealed that it was alarmingly close to medium well instead of medium rare which is the Meet4Meat default. It had the grey band that indicated too much time spent on the grill, and it could be considered unevenly cooked as Wellingtons are supposed to be finished at their desired doneness in the oven. The pastry shell was also sadly soggy at the bottom, as the exquisite mushroom duxelles was still too moist for the puff pastry. It definitely required extra time in the pan to render out even more moisture.⠀
⠀
To be fair to Meet4Meat, their Beef Wellington is aptly ambrosial, it’s just that they tripped up when it came to the overall composition. Still, I hold out hope that it was just a lone, lamentable lapse in standards, and I believe it will be even more excellent on my return visit.

@original_botak_jones has been around for the longest time, and they started out as a humble Western food stall serving up hefty portions of food for reasonable prices.

Fortunately, Botak Jones managed to redeem themselves with the Grilled Salmon. It is a little more expensive at twenty one dollars, but you get a sizeable slab of salmon that’s competently cooked. The salmon was still moist inside while boasting decently crispy skin. The accompanying garlic cream sauce was rich & sapid, adding a touch of luxuriousness to the salmon. Each main comes with two sizeable servings of sides, and the refreshing coleslaw & the baked beans were decent. Actually, the baked beans were more than decent, they seemed to have a little extra flair to them. I couldn’t quite make it out, but it sure seemed like a little smoke to me, perhaps from including some barbecue sauce into the beans.⠀
⠀
Thank you so much for the invite, @original_botak_jones!

@original_botak_jones has been around for the longest time, and they started out as a humble Western food stall serving up hefty portions of food for reasonable prices. They’ve expanded a little since they came out of their hiatus, and now they have a few extra menu items, like this Stuffed Jalapeños ($10.50 nett). The jalapeños are de-seeded, stuffed with mozzarella, breaded with panko & deep fried. It’s sour, spicy and definitely a firecracker of a starter, but they could stuff a little more cheese in there to balance out the heat a bit.⠀
⠀
The Shiitake Mushroom soup ($5.50 nett) looked plenty promising with the abundance of mushrooms inside, but it was an unfortunate disappointment. I get that it’s occasionally called Cream of Mushroom soup, but this was quite literally just cream with mushrooms floating inside. Every sip just felt like pure cream, and I would have certainly appreciated more complexity to the soup’s texture & taste. Oddly enough, my dad’s main gripe with the soup was that it contained too much onion.⠀

Thank you so much for the invite, @original_botak_jones!⠀

If you like your meat long & strong, then @berlin65_ig has something for you. The Mixed Beef & Lamb Adana kebabs ($26++) continue the Turkish trend here, with one stick of beef kebab & one stick of lamb kebab, and are very simply complemented by basmati rice & a couple of sauces. Both of them were seasoned & spiced sufficiently with a distinctly Turkish spice blend that includes cumin, thyme & za’atar, and both kebabs were tender & easy to chew.⠀
⠀
Surprisingly enough, both of us preferred the lamb to the beef. The lamb was juicier and just ever so slightly more tender, and thanks to the spice mixture, the natural gaminess of the lamb is well suppressed. The beef kebab isn’t too shabby either, but the lamb kebab certainly has it beat.⠀
⠀
And now finally we have something German but not quite German: Currywurst ($22++). This long pork sausage is drizzled in curry and served with fries. German curry & our Singaporean curry are completely different species, as the curry in the Currywurst a lot more like subtly spicy tomato relish. It’s definitely something different, but I definitely could appreciate it, especially when it’s appreciated between swigs of pilsner off of @berlin65_ig beer tap.⠀
⠀
Thank you for having us, @berlin65_ig & @scalecollab.sg!

Diners seem like a curious relic from the Golden Age of American hegemony in the 1950s, but if you’ve ever read an Archie comic, you’ve definitely wanted to experience an all American diner. Here at @broadwayamericandiner , you can get a taste of the quintessential American diner, complete with burgers and milkshakes.⠀
⠀
Speaking of milkshakes, it would be remiss of you not to order one. Broadway’s shakes are expensive at $13++ a glass, but these shakes are DUMMY THICC. It’s a lot more efficient to just gulp it down as opposed to trying to drink it through a straw, that’s how thick it is. I was impressed with just how close their Onde Onde shake was to real ondeh ondeh. The shake was chock full of pandan aromas & the sweetness of gula melaka, but it did get a tad too sweet after a while.⠀
⠀
As for the starters, they have Ol’ Reliable: chicken wings. I have no idea why these wings are described as Buffalo Wings ($12++ per order) as they are clearly not sauced up. Still, the crunchy coating of batter encasing the moist meat within was excellent , and these wings paired perfectly with the Peri Peri sauce on the side.⠀
⠀
These wings also feature in Broadway’s mammoth Meat Platter ($36++), which represents the carnivorous food pyramid. The long sausages in the Meat Platter were delightfully delicious with an outstanding texture, and the hamburger patties…well, that’s another review for another day.⠀
⠀
Thanks for inviting us, @burpple & @broadwayamericandiner!⠀

Diners seem like a curious relic from the Golden Age of American hegemony in the 1950s, but if you’ve ever read an Archie comic, you’ve definitely wanted to experience an all American diner. Here at @broadwayamericandiner , you can get a taste of the quintessential American diner, complete with burgers and milkshakes.⠀
⠀
Speaking of milkshakes, it would be remiss of you not to order one. Broadway’s shakes are expensive at $13++ a glass, but these shakes are DUMMY THICC. It’s a lot more efficient to just gulp it down as opposed to trying to drink it through a straw, that’s how thick it is. I was impressed with just how close their Onde Onde shake was to real ondeh ondeh. The shake was chock full of pandan aromas & the sweetness of gula melaka, but it did get a tad too sweet after a while.⠀
⠀
As for the starters, they have Ol’ Reliable: chicken wings. I have no idea why these wings are described as Buffalo Wings ($12++ per order) as they are clearly not sauced up. Still, the crunchy coating of batter encasing the moist meat within was excellent , and these wings paired perfectly with the Peri Peri sauce on the side.⠀
⠀
These wings also feature in Broadway’s mammoth Meat Platter ($36++), which represents the carnivorous food pyramid. The long sausages in the Meat Platter were delightfully delicious with an outstanding texture, and the hamburger patties…well, that’s another review for another day.⠀
⠀
Thanks for inviting us, @burpple & @broadwayamericandiner!⠀

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) @britishhainan has been in business for over a decade now, and they’ve been serving up consistently decent Hainanese western food. Plus, they’re preserving a piece of Singapore’s culinary history that was created by Hainanese cooks working for the British during the colonial era.⠀

The surprise hit of the night was the Porky Combo ($20.90 nett), which featured a porcine trio of British Hainan’s signature Hainanese pork chop, mustard pork chop and a classic bri’ish pork banger. The Hainanese pork chop was truly tender and sported a beautiful breaded exterior, and the sweet and sour sauce was tasty enough albeit a little sweet. ⠀
The mustard pork chop was the true standout, and not just because of its smoky & sapid flavours. The pork chop had a texture that hit peak neuron activation in my caveman brain, as it was tender enough to be swallowed with a moderate amount of chewing, but possessed enough resistance to give my jaw a decent workout and give me a chiseled jawline without mewing. And of course, the bri’ish banger was an absolute banger, with its juicy, meaty and bouncy qualities all encased in a snappy sausage skin.⠀
⠀
Still, as long as you main British Hainan’s mains, you’ll be alright. Thanks for the invite, @britishhainan & @scalemicroinfluencers!

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) @britishhainan has been in business for over a decade now, and they’ve been serving up consistently decent Hainanese western food. Plus, they’re preserving a piece of Singapore’s culinary history that was created by Hainanese cooks working for the British during the colonial era.⠀
⠀
One common thread I noticed about British Hainan’s food is that it tends to be noticeably sweet, as evidenced by their Signature Oxtail Stew ($32.90 nett). The oxtail is tremendously tender, with the meat separating from the bone with minimal fuss. It wouldn’t be much of a stew if the meat wasn’t accompanied by potatoes & carrots, and both root vegetables were present and stewed till they were super soft. The stew gravy was satisfactorily savoury, but after a while I noticed it getting increasingly sweeter.⠀

Still, as long as you main British Hainan’s mains, you’ll be alright. Thanks for the invite, @britishhainan & @scalemicroinfluencers!

Hey look at us, dining at a halal steakhouse with nary a drop of alcohol. Who would’ve thought? Not me! @asapnco might just be the swankiest steakhouse that’s halal (or Muslim friendly at the very least), and they pride themselves on their choice cuts of cow from the most prized of bovine breeds.⠀
⠀
ASAP & Co’s Smoked Beef Bone Marrow is a little expensive at twenty eight dollars before adding GST & service charge, but when they served this starter I fully understood the pricing. Three massive bones, each filled with that much coveted marrow, are grilled over charcoal till perfection. For those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of sampling beef bone marrow, it would be best described as a beef butter. It’s like someone took the entire cow & distilled it into a ridiculously rich mix that’s not far off from butter, but better. ASAP & Co also serve their own beautifully baked dinner rolls complimentary, and I really wish I left one to enjoy the beautiful bovine butter. Oh well, next time it is.

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) Saturdays are for the boys, but they’re also for shots. Liquor shots are great, but first we down some oyster shots at @fryingfishclub. They’ve got a few variants of Oyster Shooters ($4 before ten percent service charge), and I picked the shoyu & the classic tabasco one. The shoyu was decent with the extra umami & the little pops from the tobiko (flying fish roe), but oysters are peak when combined with a spicy & sour element, plus some diced onions for a little twist.⠀
⠀
I don’t know why I chose the Fried Cauliflower ($8 +10% service) as I’m in the cauliflower hate gang, but Frying Fish Club does these fried popper sized snacks excellently. Like the fish & chips, the batter used here is not a minute older than three hours, so the fresh batter means that the coating is more airy & less prone to soaking up oil. Additionally, the seasoning was sensational, with paprika leading the spice blend. I could’ve sworn I tasted some Indian spices in there, but the chef was not going to divulge his secrets to me, so that remains a mystery. A tasty mystery, but a mystery nonetheless.⠀
⠀
Thanks for the invite, @fryingfishclub & @scalemicroinfluencers!

(PARTIALLY SPONSORED) I thought my clubbing days were long over until @fryingfishclub pulled up, and this is definitely more my type of club now that I’m the wrong side of thirty. They only have four entrées on the menu, making them a club of focus, commitment and sheer f-sorry. As their name implies, their claim to fame is fried fish, or more specifically, fish and chips.⠀
⠀
I was feeling a little hot to trot that day, so an order of Spicy Shio Maguro Fish & Chips ($19.50 before ten percent service charge) was in order. Shio Maguro is the Japanese designation for albacore tuna, and this might be the first time that I’ve encountered tuna being used for fish & chips. It certainly won’t be the last time, as the shiro maguro is a marvellously moist & mildly oily fish that holds its structure well. The texture is terrific, as its firmness ensures that it flakes off in large chunks that can be speared easily by fork, compared to some other fish that are flaky but fall apart far too easily.⠀
⠀
The batter used was immaculately crispy, and despite it being just a touch thicker than most other highly acclaimed fried fish, it did not absorb that much oil. I would later learn from a chat with one of the chefs that this was due to Frying Fish Club’s (FFC) insistence on keeping the batter fresh. The chefs would whip up & utilise a new batch of batter every three hours to ensure that the batter stayed as aerated & fresh as possible. That would certainly explain the airiness & crispness of the batter. With that said, I feel like FFC could’ve been a lot bolder with their mala spice applied to the fish, as the mala was only really a whispered suggestion in the grand scheme of things.⠀
⠀
The accompaniments to the fish were superb as well. The fries used here are thick cut fries, and while potato purists may debate their status as proper chips, they are a damn sight better than poxy little shoestring fries. Shoestring fries are nice, but they simply don’t belong in fish and chips. The kani (no nabei here) salad was certainly a curiosity, with lots of shredded imitation crabmeat mixed with carrots in mayo. Not quite as refreshing as a proper ‘slaw, but this was sufficiently superb.