Yakinikutei AO-Chan 27th July 2012

This is my first time I have taken over the reins from the official club scribe in view that it was “Veg” Choi turn to buy.  The restaurant under review today is Yakinikutei Ao-Chan which is situated at Level 2, Concorde hotel (formely known as Hotel Meridien & Shopping Centre).  I was personally looking forward to this venue as I had never previously ate at any other Japanese eateries other than the usual sushi and ramen joints.

Once we reached, veg did the ordering as he has personally eaten here a number of times and had mentioned that this place was better than Gyu-Kaku despite the fact that I have never eaten at either one of these places. Anyway, back to the food!!!!!!!. As most of the items on the menu are raw, the food came pretty quickly.

This is a snapshot of what we ordered and how I felt about each dish.

Dann being the buddahigh he is, ordered the non beef set, which basically came with the following items, prawns, scallop, pork harami and lamb. I was fortunate enough to sample everything and was quite impressed with the set. The food was pretty good. Fresh and juicy.

The raw beef sashimi served with raw egg yolk brought back memories as the last time I ate this was when I was in university in Oz. The beef was juicy and well marinated. Definitely a must try !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Veg ordered two different sorts of ox tongue which he mentioned was really good. Initially, I was a bit skeptica with regards to eating tongue but both the marinated ox tongue as well as the shoi negi (salted) ox tongue turned out better than expected. 

The texture of the meat was comparable to bacon minus the fats. Once dipped with a bit of home made Ao chan sauce, it tasted even better.

The beefs were next, we ordered belly prime beef cubes, wagyu harami and the belly prime set. 

The belly prime cubes were fantastic. It had the right amount of fat and really melts in your mouth. 

The wagyu harami were well marinated and once served was snapped up within minutes. 

The belly prime set was basically thinly sliced beef which had great marbling and tasted really good.

Despite Yakinikutei Ao-Chan being infamous for its beef, its pork belly and pork harami turned out to be great as well. Businessman felt that the pork belly and pork harami were even better than the beef that we ordered.

The mushrooms that we ordered and the salad that came with Dann set were ordinary. But overall I give this place a thumbs up and another commendable effort from veg for choosing this place.

The total damage came up to S$348.50.  However, judging from the faces of the members it was well worth it.

By: Ass Club Scribe aka "Erap II"

Iggy's - 21 October 2011

In life, nothing is certain. We thought MG would have secured the Presidential Title with his "Buddha" lunch 2 weeks ago. Well, in BMC ("BusinesessMan Club"), this theory does not hold as we worship Mr Yusof and believe in equitable treatment. In case you are wondering who is Mr Yusof, open your wallet and chances are you will see him. Having being snatched of the Presidential hopeful Title 2 weeks ago, Jon pulls a "I'll Be Back" stance and came back with a vengeance, and a very strong one indeed. This time round, he is determined to win the Title and institutionalize his desire for  a designated president driver. Mercedes E250 and BMW 640 owners beware. 

So what did we have? 

Appetizer was a salad that have a nice mix of greens and tomato. The texture and sweetness of the salad is just right. 

Next, the server came with a choice of garlic bread or sourdough. The first 2 members took either one of the bread. When it was Guru's turn, he said "Give me both". You should have seen the server's shocking expression. Thanks to Guru, the rest of the members also follow suit with 2 breads. The butter was very special. It has a smokey taste and it reminds me of drinking Yamazi Whiskey, except that you won't get intoxicated. The butter is so good that we requested for additional bread.

For starters, we chose Oyster or Foie Gras. The oyster was deep fried and seats on top a layer of sago, served with dashi and lemon.

Foie Gras

For the Foie Gras, it is simply the best Foie Gras ever had. It is pan fried and served with figs, sudachi and candy. The Foie Gras is crispy on the outside and melts away in your mouth. The candy gave a pleasant surprising effect to the dish as it sets off a tinkling and sizzling sensation, akin to having a mini fireworks display at the back of the mouth. One of the members even commented this is "heavenly"

When it comes to the 1st main dish, we ordered 4 different dishes.  

Alba White Truffle

Jon added 3 grams of  truffle to the linguine that is cooked with poultry jus and parmesan. The aroma from the truffle is pretty strong. Just like durain, some love it,  some hate it.   Lucky for us, we ain't the latter.  

Free Range Egg

This is a must for egg lovers. This is the large size egg that is approximately twice the size of the normal size egg. It is served with chicken skin and mushroom. 

Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle is a type of traditional Italian pasta that is shaped like long flat ribbon. This dish is cooked in squid ink, parsley and calamari. Not exactly the best squid ink pasta though. 

Gnocchi

The gnocchi is deliciously cooked and the texture is smooth. The lamb belly is thinly sliced and grilled to a crisp. Served with broad beans, this dish really brings out the good taste of the humble potato dumpling.

For the 2nd Main:

Suckling Pig

Cooked with Tanba Beans, chickpeas and natural jus, the outer layer of the pork is very crispy and the meat is tender. However, this pales in comparision to the traditional Chinese style suckling pig.

Venison

Served with red cabbage, butternut squash and coffee jus, the venison looks appealing. The cut was tender and juicy

Last but not least, Deserts. 

Strawberry

Beautiful picture of strawberry, basil, cream cheese and oat. Appreciate this art piece by eating the pieces one by one.  

Popcorn

You won't get this at the cinema. The ice cream is served with walnut, orange and caramel corn. However, the caramel taste is too strong and masked the taste of the walnut and vanilla ice cream. 

Guinness

This is not stout. The desert has salted peanut, miso caramel and marshmallow. So why the name Guinness? Well, if you eat the dark brownie with the the egg shaped cream filling in the middle, the guinness stout flavor will appear.  

Jon is back to the TOP of the Presidential league and MG has been renegaded to be Vice (pun intended) President.

Will there be a stronger contender for the next 5 rounds of BusinessMan Lunch? We shall see.....