Fire Up the grill
The Mandarin Grill has seen quite a change in the past few months: last year, it was transformed into pop-up restaurant Aziamendi88, and back in February, Ryan Clift of the Tippling Club in Singapore took control of the gears for one brief, creative weekend. By now, German chef de cuisine Benjamin Halat must be glad to have the kitchen back to himself, ready to do justice to the Mandarin Grill’s reputation as the city’s leading grill restaurant.
A simplified, streamlined menu marks the re-establishment of the restaurant’s concept as a traditional – but always elegant – steakhouse. Here, prime cuts of plump, beautiful meat are just waiting to sizzle on a Josper charcoal grill. An inbuilt fireplace, tastefully selected contemporary artwork, and a glass wine cellar will put you in the mood for a martini before you meet your meat. A Perfect Martini prepared with dry and sweet vermouth mixes marvellously with Belvedere vodka, while a robust Manhattan made from Jack Daniels, Martini Rosso, and bitters will set you up nicely for the rest of your grilling session.
It’s well worth keeping some space aside for starters such as the hand-chopped beef tartar with egg yolk confit and slices of sourdough, still warm and slightly smoky from the griddle. The understated classic prawn cocktail with homemade Thousand Island dressing is another example of Chef Halat’s clever reworking of steakhouse staples, paying homage to the 1960s hors d’oeuvre without the cliché of balancing prawns on the rim.
Taking your pick of the grilled dishes and classic mains won’t be easy, but the 1.5 kg Sher Wagyu Tomahawk steak (RM928) will hit every carnivore’s sweet spot. It comes complete with a cone of crispy, rendered beef fat on the side, plus a treasure trove of salts, peppercorn varieties, and mustards to experiment with. Just as delightful are the sides, particularly the moreish French fries ‘Alsace’, topped with crispy beef and melted Gruyere, and a dish of devilishly creamy spinach.
The Mandarin Grill’s sophisticated interpretation of traditional desserts like their picturesque Baked Alaska with vanilla and strawberry yoghurt ice cream are guaranteed to please, but the smoked dark chocolate cigar is pure, unadulterated fun. A solid cylinder of Italian chocolate mousse is steeped in the smoke of real cigar tobacco, and presented with edible ‘ash’ and a glass of The Macallan on the side: the real deal when it comes to rounding off a gentleman’s meal.
