Already familiar with The Butcher retail stores, where I occasionally buy fresh meats from the Parkway Parade branch, I decided to check out their new (and first) full-fledged restaurant, The Butcher’s Kitchen, at Suntec City last week.
Interestingly, the first thing you see, front and centre, is their 32-flavour gelato bar, featuring some rather intriguing flavours like salted egg, chendol, and chilli crab. I sampled the chilli crab and let’s just say, I’ll stick to the real deal. A couple of licks is fine, but can’t imagine finishing an entire scoop!
But seeing as how this is The Butcher’s Kitchen, let’s get back to the meats. The Butcher is known for selling free range meats that are certified organic, free from antibiotics, hormone promoters and steroids, and off the shelf purchases include fresh beef, lamb, chicken, pork and sausages.
At The Butcher’s Kitchen, we were recommended to try the following dishes:
A Sausage Platter of three sausages: Beef Chorizo; Honey, Mint and Rosemary Lamb; and Apple, Sage and Rosemary Pork ($18).
I like that the sausages were thick and juicy, each with a distinct flavour that complements the meat its paired with.
Unlike most people I know, I love chicken breast. And at The Butcher’s Kitchen, you can throw away any concerns about dry, stringy meat! The Chicken Breast ($16) is well-marinated (with teriyaki) and moist.
The Nolans Grass-fed Ribeye ($32) and the Signature Lamb Rack ($35) are served medium, so we enjoyed well-charred meat with a pink centre, but feel free to order it to whichever doneness you prefer. I found the lamb to be on the fatty side, but that seems to be the norm rather than the exception in restaurants here. I’ve had lovely, lean (not fat-free, of course, but just well-rendered fat) lamb elsewhere so it wasn’t among my favourite dishes.
Now, sacrilegious as this is going to sound, especially when you are reviewing a place called The Butcher’s Kitchen, I enjoyed the New Zealand King Salmon ($29) the most. I’m a sucker for fish, what can I say. Again, the dish was prepared really well, not overdone so that the fish remained moist and flaky.
Their in-house creation of a Burger Dog turned out to be rather yummy indeed, especially the beef version which sees a moist beef patty and cheese melt sandwiched between two sturdy hot dog buns. For all intents and purposes, this is probably The Butcher’s Kitchen’s version of a hot dog but who’s quibbling about names? This portion at the $10 price tag is perfect for a quick lunch.
We were served a Four-Cheese pizza ($25) and a Carbonara ($15) – pizza has a nice, thin crust and I suppose anything with cheese on top has an edge in terms of the taste department, while the Carbonara was competently executed, with that lovely requisite yolk on top.
As to whether I’d recommend The Butcher’s Kitchen? Well, there are other restaurants (Les Bouchons, The Chop House, Huber’s) where you can get a good steak at a decent price range but if you’re at Suntec and looking for more than just steak, the Butcher’s Kitchen is a good choice for a casual night out.
This was an invited tasting session.
The Butcher’s Kitchen:
Address: Suntec City, Tower 1 & 2, #02-472
Contact: 96160111 or info@thebutcher.com.sg
Opening Hours:
Mondays – Sundays: 10am-10pm