My brother rescued me the other day when he helped me solve a problem with my accounting software year end processing.
So I told him that I would take him for our long awaited tomahawk steak. I suggested Grub by Ahong & Friends, Section 17 since I have had (fairly decent) steaks there twice already.
So there we were yesterday. I don't usually post so soon after an outing but this was so astounding that I just had to.
We ordered coffee as usual.
Coffee here is Nescafe, the next best thing to cafe style coffee.
Mum and I had iced coffee while my brother preferred his hot.
I got us the Special Pani Puri because I loved this appetizer when I tried it on an earlier visit with my partner.
Now, this, the Angus Tomahawk was what we came here for.
From the description it says - "with chips, leaf, potato salad & confit garlic bread". Then you choose the doneness. Since mum was with us, I opted for medium well.
There is no information of how the tomahawk would be cooked/serving style and one would of course expect a tomahawk to be cooked the usual way - on the grill and seasoned with salt and pepper.
I also ordered some extras - leaf salad, mustard, mint chutney and (accidentally) potato salad. Usually there is not enough condiments hence the extra mustard and mint chutney.
I got an extra portion of the leaf salad because mum loves salad.
I love this mint chutney and I thought I might enjoy it with the steak (in place of chimichurri).
And then the Angus Tomahawk was brought to the table.
Do you see something strange here?
The aroma of five spice powder wafted up my nose.
Oh God. Tomahawk with chap (gravy). Like Teochew style braised duck/pork.
With mustard greens and mushrooms.
I don't have any complaints about the tomahawk itself in terms of the meat and doneness but the braised five spice gravy ruined the tomahawk to kingdom come.
Our experience was completely spoiled due to this style of cooking. To say that I was shocked and disappointed is a gross understatement.
I don't think I can forgive Ahong/his team for this transgression and I am so traumatized that I will not come back ever again.
I am even wondering if Ahong is still the proprietor of Grub because I find it hard to believe that he could dish out such an abomination.
Dear friend, your meal and salad looks scrumptious 😋
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I only enjoyed the starter and some of the sides. Pity about the tomahawk.
DeleteI was laughing away and shocked with mouth opened from your description of how your beef came in chap gravy and the Chinese style greens.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is unbelievable and shocking. LOL!
DeleteWhen I saw the post title, it could only lead to 2 things....it's either very good....or very bad (and I'm shocked to find out later that it was the latter! When you asked "do you see something strange here"...I immediately noticed and wondering why the steak was in a pool of gravy! :O Further description of the strong smell and taste of 5-spice powder and I can imagine it ruining the taste of the steak...big time. In fact, 5-spice powder is not a seasoning one should take lightly as too much of it can be overpowering...even in ducks and roasted chicken (which I've experienced before). What a waste of a good piece of meat...not to mention money (I feel your pain)! If I were you, I would immediately raise the question to the server or kitchen staff if it's meant to be like that (unfortunately when I googled photos of it, they look exactly like that from a year back, in a pool of gravy). I guess if you had seen the photo, you would not have ordered it. I wonder if it's perhaps the meat is not so quality that they needed to drown it in a strong gravy to mask it.
ReplyDeleteI thought you wouldn't brave the traffic again to dine here after your last visit with your partner. And P/S: sorry to say but Ahong is still the proprietor there (you can see his FB postings). I think you should leave a google review to warn others about this dish. >_<
Haiz! Double haiz! What a misfortune I met (and my brother's too) to eat a tomahawk prepared like that. I did not raise this issue with the staff because it would be an attempt in futility. Whoever cooked the meals in the kitchen are good at preparing pani puri and samosa (and the basic steaks and fried stuffs) if you get what I mean. The only person who I would love to talk to about the tomahawk prep is Ahong the boss himself.
DeleteThe traffic at lunch time is OK, though my brother had to park a short distance away. I did leave a google review (while I was still hot under the collar) and Ahong's (if that was even him) response told me that my compliant was not seriously addressed and was met with some degree of sarcasm. So I will not be visiting Grub ever again.
I read your detailed review online and the response you received sounds like it was written by AI artificial intelligence software as it is a standard response based on keywords and didn't seem to understand your points at all.
DeleteMun : Possibly. Not addressing the issue raised is very bad. Anyway, I won't bother dining there again. Ahong has lost control and I get the feeling he is not really into running the business anymore. Just my opinion.
DeleteI figured out why my comment appeared twice in your post sometimes. When I used my mobile phone to type you a comment and hit the publish button, before the phone can load the comment to be published, my finger/hand was too fast to hit the publish button again the second time, which ended up in the comment appearing twice. This will not happen when I am using my laptop.
ReplyDeleteOh I see! Well, you resolved the mystery yourself :)
DeleteOh dear, you don't like the gravy.
ReplyDeleteThere shouldn't be any gravy in the first place. I wasted my money.
DeleteI guess this is just a misunderstanding. You thought the tomahawk is cooked in western style and had high expectations for it when it was actually cooked in Chinese style since sometime ago as ewew said so with high expectations the disappointment is also high when the expectations are not met.
DeleteI guess you didn't read reviews online about this tomahawk before ordering it. 😭 😢
Well, they could have stated the cooking style in the menu. Also after the fact, I looked for a google review on the tomahawk but did not find any. Anyway, that's all water under the bridge.
DeleteYou are right again. I also couldn't find a KOL or an influencer review on the tomahawk, only on TikTok app which I don't have. I guess it is too expensive to be reviewed 😂 😭
DeleteI saw one on tik tok yesterday, an old review and it was a rave review. I guess that person has different tastebuds to mine. You are right, not many will order a tomahawk since it is expensive.
DeleteBut you are right that the tomahawk dish photo in the ordering app is without gravy so that is what causing this misunderstanding. They are in the wrong for using that photo which is misleading and for not describing in detail how the dish would be like, cooked in which style. Cos I see online, there are some chefs who cook tomahawk steaks in various Chinese styles.
ReplyDeleteYup, they should have been clear in how the tomahawk is to be cooked. Since it is an expensive item, customers should know what they are going to get. I don't think anyone could have expected it to be cooked gravy style.
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