BITES
Family Festive
Feasting!
It’s that time of the year again They say that the mark of a chef who knows his way around the stove is
a perfect
steak. that’s the case,
when your waistlines start someone who can cookwhoever ismedium-rare kitc henIfat Jack’s Place.
we take our hats off to
helming the
expanding and your wallet The steak specialists recently launched the Hearty US Premium Selection
takes a beating. But, you menu at two outlets – Great World City and The Grandstand – and our taste
buds had the pleasure of sampling the Kurobuta pork and USA
leave oh-so-satisfied. We
Brandt steak cuts. If you haven’t heard of these two
take our taste buds
meat varieties before, here’s a quick primer.
through the massive
KUROBUTA PORK
smorgasbord
The first thing I noticed about the new menu
selections were the huge portions, filled
available.
USA BRANDT
to the brim with the protein, the chosen
starch, and a massive helping of greens. I
was told that the steaks were about 180
grams but I was pretty darn sure that
they were approaching 250 grams, based
on my own steak-eating experiences
in other steakhouses. The two cuts –
striploin and ribeye – were marinated
with just the perfect amount of sauce;
many places tend to drench the meat in an
attempt to hide the low quality of the cut but
Jack’s Place does it just right, a testament to
the high confidence that it has in the steaks.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish my portion so I
highly recommend that you come with a really empty stomach
devoid of not just foods but liquids as well or share
one plate with a family member. However, don’t let
that turn you off from heading to Jack’s Place for an
affordable and delicious feast this festive season.
The hearty meats can be yours from S$30
and can be experienced at Jack’s Place
Great World City and Jack’s Place
The Grandstand.
28
Family & Life • Christ 2014
FESTIVE INDULGENCE
AT BUONA TERRA
If you and your family only have time
for one delectable meal during the
festive period, then make haste to
Italian restaurant Buona Terra. Chef
Denis Lucchi has truly outdone himself
this time, conceptualising a Christmas
and New Year’s Eve menu full of
tantalising vowels that Italians seem
to love and decadent Broadway-esque
ingredients.
Denis has pulled out all the stops (and
probably used all the letters in the
alphabet too) for this five- and eightcourse tour de force. Depending on the
day of your reservation, you get one
degustation menu or the other. Santa’s
two busiest days will see Denis gingerly
create cured ocean trout carpaccio,
or Carpaccio di Trota, before serving
the turbot immersed in a light porcini
mushroom broth. It’s an ambitious
effort and can make lesser chefs,
unused to the tenacity of the flatfish,
stumble but Denis predictably rose
to the occasion, treating the turbot
like a prized fighter training for his
showpiece event.
The clumsily-named Guancetta di
Wagyu e Crema di Patate Ratte is
also quite the treat. Wagyu beef
cheeks rarely disappoint and this
particular treatment acknowledges the
tenderness while charming the rest of