A fine new table

I rarely review restaurants outside of Hong Kong, and especially not in Singapore, which is home to some of the best street food in the world... but when a friend mentioned something about lobster mac'n cheese and clam chowder with urchin butter toast, it didn't take long to convince me to pass on barbecued stingray and chilli crab and give the place a try. As it turns out, Luke's Oyster Bar and Chophouse (20 Gemmill Lane, Singapore) is a stone throw away from vibrant Club Street and had just opened a few weeks ago. The service was efficient and courteous, and the food simply gorgeous. Solid, authentic food, portioned for giants but nevertheless utterly delicious and carefully prepared with ingredients of impeccably high quality. I will make sure to pay the place another visit next time I'm in the Lion City to see if it lives up to that amazing first impression.

A touch of colour in an otherwise very sober dining room...

 

Tiled white walls and crisp linen

 

If, like me, you like your martinis very, very dirty, this is the place... I would have had another one if these were not also lethally strong.

Warm home-made corn bread with chilli butter - simple and delicious.

My starter: steak tartar, capers, mustard and rye bread - a perfectly seasoned tartar (even if not mixed table-side) with a good balance of flavours (a touch of shallots, chives, mustard, capers, gherkins and an unusual hint of garlic that worked quite well) with an excellent rye sourdough bread, slightly buttered and toasted. Brilliant.

The sum of all evils - lobster mac'n cheese
my friend and I shared this as a side, and the flavours were just divine. Cheesy sauce, made with the lobster poaching juices, tender pasta, sizeable chunks of lobster and a topping of crumbled Ritz crackers (!!) which - to my surprise - made perfect sense on the palate. Wow. Note the Staub serving plate - nice touch...

Kurobuta pork chop, wild fennel spice and apple jam
This was actually a double chop, which I could not finish (it was - no exaggeration - gigantic). The apple compote was nicely caramelised and fragrant from the fennel and other spices (a touch of cinnamon and cardamom) and complemented the pork perfectly.

Kurobuta pork chop, tender and juicy - and still slightly pink. Need I say more??

I'm a total sucker for Aussie Cab Sav, and this one did not disappoint :)

A big hug to my dear friend B. for an amazing meal.