The Prime Society has expanded their menu to include more non-steak dishes, and one of the new signature dish is Miso-baked black cod with mee tai mak in soy broth.
Singapore, November 16, 2012
As a meat lover, I was excited to receive an invite to try The Prime Society's new menu. After all, it is well known for being a steak restaurant that serves prime cuts of beef in refreshing ways, such as a gunpowder marinate.
Wanting to improve on their selections, they invited new head chef Dallas Cuddy to come on board. Chef Dallas is an Australian chef who'd won numerous Australian culinary awards including Young Chef of the Year in 2007. He was also a partner and executive chef of top Melbourne restaurant, Verge, which is now closed.
Chef Dallas is very hands-on and dedicated, and it shows through in his work. Most sauces and flavoured salts are made in-house, and he uses garnishes found near the restaurant in Dempsey Hill. (Despite much cajoling, he refused to reveal his secret spice garden.) He also offers a change as his specialty is modern cuisine with Japanese influences.
I admit I was a little disappointed when I looked at the menu and saw only one steak dish, but I was curious to see if the new dishes could be worth substituting red meat for.
One of the dishes that caught my eye was the new signature dish Miso-baked black cod with mee tai mak in soy broth($44). Mee tai mak, for the non-frequent hawker goer, is a short white noodle. I was surprised to see this local noodle in a fine-dining restaurant, but it blended very well with the dish.
Chef Dallas learnt how to make this dish during his stint at Nobu Restaurant in London. The black cod is marinated in miso, sugar, mirin and sake for three days and then baked to order. The broth is a homemade dashi fish stock using konbu seaweed and bonito flakes. Topping it off is crisp tatami iwashi, fried baby sardine skin.
The dish is a very tasty, comfort food. The cod is soft and as it melts in your mouth you can taste the sweetness of the fish and the slight savouriness of the marinade. Mee tai mak is a wise choice for this dish as the noodle is easy to eat and its taste doesn't compete with the taste of cod.
Another stand-out dish is the Cured Kingfish with eggplant and pickled mushroom. It is a great starter with its slightly tart taste that will perk up your appetite. The kingfish is cured in salt, sugar, orange zest, vodka, juniper berries and star anise for six hours and served sliced sashimi style. On the side is daikon radish vacuumed in sake before being cooked.
Finally, the last main dish to arrive was Maura Station Wagyu Sirloin with confit shallot. What's new is the selection of homemade salts that is served with it. There are four flavours to choose from: cumin, green tea, celery and chilli. What stood out for me most was celery, the flavour was the strongest without being overpowering and went very well with the steak. The green tea was interesting, however I feel the taste could be stronger.
To end the meal on a high was the dessert Chocolate parfait, presented in a chaotic, but gorgeous mess. The chocolate parfait sat in a plate with blobs of coconut puree, aerated white chocolate, basil paste and caramel popcorn. The parfait was thick and smooth, and had just the right amount of sweetness. It was my first time eating basil in a dessert, the herb is mixed with sugar and blended. It surprisingly went well with the coconut puree.
After sampling new and old dishes, I feel there is some competition for the red meat dishes. The new items wow with the appealing presentation and mix of flavours, and are a good alternative on days when you prefer something light.
They definitely changed my impression of The Prime Society - it is more than just a steak
