Hey foodies!

Ever since trying my first Beef Wellington at SKIRT a few months back, I (or rather, Bf and I – the ultimate gluttons) have been on a lookout for more restaurants that serve that dish. No many places do in Singapore unfortunately because I don’t know, it’s more challenging as compared to preparing a steak so not many chefs know how to do it well? I think the number of restaurants that serve good Beef Wellington here can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

And one of them is Wooloomooloo! The name is like Mississippi – it’s long but I don’t mind saying out the name in its entirety because it’s so fun to mouth the word. I’m not sure why it’s called Wooloomooloo but the most probable meaning could be derived from Woolloomooloo, the name of a suburb in Australia. But the restaurant originated from Hong Kong so…. ok. Who cares? What’s more important is the food right?

Moving on…

To be honest, I was contemplating between Wooloomooloo and SKIRT for Bf’s birthday in August but opted for the latter in the end as the price seemed a tad lower. But I was so damn wrong because I forgot to take into consideration the admission fee (S$2 per entry if I remember correctly) and the hefty taxi fare from Suntec City to Sentosa. And getting out was a struggle because the hotel is tucked so deep inside the residential area of Sentosa that hardly any empty cabs would drive in, so concierge had to book a taxi for me (and I had to bear the booking fee).

But Wooloomooloo is different as it’s conveniently located at Swissotel The Stamford/Raffles City, just above City Hall MRT station.  Bf took me there to celebrate my birthday on Wednesday but actually we had already been there once before. We returned because the pictures taken during our first visit were horrible haha. So this time we had lunch instead of dinner when there was sufficient natural lighting.

Anyway, the restaurant isn’t very visible on the third level of the mall because it’s hidden at one corner. I guess they can afford to seclude themselves since they’re already so popular and people who patronise the restaurant would have probably known of their existence.

This is a fine dining restaurant so this is their iced water. For people who constantly lament about having to pay for iced water in eateries, I suggest you stay out of Wooloomooloo (and other fine dining restaurants) because they charge at least S$12 (excluding taxes) for a bottle of iced water. This Acqua Panna costs S$12++ by the way.

Almost immediately after we placed our orders, we were served piping hot onion bread to boost our appetite. It’s huge and thick (but just right for two) – about the size of my hands placed together or even bigger, and it’s absolutely delicious. Some other restaurants serve complimentary bread that’s so difficult to slice and chew but this is smooth and not tough at all. It also has the right amount of saltiness spread evenly across the surface.

The butter. It’s so, so good, so smooth and not oily at all. And it went very well with the bread. Not a single bit of butter was left in the end.

Bf was itching for seafood so he ordered prawns which were so fresh that I had no problem removing their tail with my utensils. Served cold, they were meaty and juicy but a little tasteless on its own. That’s why the dish came with a special sauce to go with the prawns. It’s a thick paste that resembles belachan and it’s bearably sour. I couldn’t really tell what the sauce was made of but the tomato taste was pretty distinctive.

I had craving for fries so poor Bf complied with my request. But I don’t feel sorry at all (oops) because the fries were DAMN GOOD. They were given in very generous amounts (duh, so expensive of course must give more right) and so addictive. The fries were thick, crispy on the outside but mashed nicely on the inside. They’re so fresh, breaking apart easily with one bite. On top of that, the crispiness remained even after 15 minutes. This is definitely comparable to the fries (my other favourite) at db Bistro Moderne at The Shoppes.

What’s that you saw in the picture above?

The Beef Wellington is described as an “Australian filet mignon with mushroom duxelle, wrapped in Parma ham, topped with Foie Gras & wrapped with puff pastry.” You could literally see layers of the mentioned food encased in pastry in the picture above. Thus it’s actually not easy slicing it nicely with everything intact. Beef was juicy (pretty apparent right?) and tender. I love everything in the pastry, especially those mushrooms and Foie Gras. But the smell of the pastry can be a little revolting. It’s probably just me because Bf thought it smelt nice.

The first time we dined there, we were also given a choice of four gourmet mustards. I didn’t catch the names but Google tells me that they were Dijon, English, Granary and Green Peppercorn. I can’t remember which tasted like Wasabi and ordinary mustard but one was spicy. I enjoyed dipping my beef into the spicy mustard. Haha.

Strangely, we weren’t served those mustards the second time we went. I felt that the service staff were less attentive this time. Unlike our first visit (dinnertime), no one bothered to ask if we were celebrating anything. I was actually looking forward to see what they had in place for birthday celebrations. But thankfully (for them) I was really full after the Beef Wellington so Bf didn’t bother asking. Haha.

That’s what we had on the eve of my birthday. Here are some other food items we had on our first visit. The pictures are of lower resolution because I took them with my phone (and we were gradually losing all the natural lighting because dusk was falling).

We highlighted the mistake to the restaurant staff (whom I presume was the restaurant manager) but instead of taking the wrong dish away, he told us to have it while he got the right order out. This also happened at SKIRT and I swear it wasn’t done on purpose (we not so cheapskate la). I’m starting to wonder if we have poor enunciation. 😦

Good service nonetheless. I don’t like Spinach (weird aftertaste and subtle numb feeling on the tongue after consumption) at all but I was so touched by their kind gesture that I ate quite a lot of it. Hehe.

Both were priced the same, but I feel that the Sautéed Wild Mushrooms would be a better and more worthwhile choice. The potful of mushrooms are creamy and delicious and we almost couldn’t finish it because there were a lot of them! If you love mushrooms, this is a must-order!

The Apple Crumble is served with vanilla gelato & custard sauce. It’d be better if the poached apple inside the pie was less sour. The sourness became a little too overwhelming for the both of us after a few bites, even when eaten with the ice cream and custard sauce. But the crust was top-notch. I wouldn’t mind eating it alone. 😀

Just wanna thank Bf for planning such an extravagant birthday celebration (and this is only part 1 -_-). I now feel pressured to do the same thing for his birthday next year (and I believe that was his ulterior motive lol). But still, thanks dear 🙂

We spent about S$240 (after GST and Service Charge) on either day.

If you’re planning to dine there, be sure to make reservation in advance! Somehow it’s always fully packed on Mondays.

Thanks for reading!

Wooloomooloo Steakhouse
2 Stamford Road
Level 3 Swissotel The Stamford
Singapore 178882
Tel: +65 6338 0261 (for reservations)
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