My faith in beef has been somewhat restored. New(ish) restaurant Oca Grassa on Bukit Pasoh Road is a charming Italian restaurant specialising in beef - specifically, their star dish, the Florentine steak. The menu lists a 1.2 kg cut, but you can ask for an 800g cut which is perfect for 2 people to share.
What sets their steaks apart is their unique technique of both curing and aging them in-house. When we went, they had two different types of Florentine steak available - aged for differing periods of time. We went for the longer one (either 14 or 30 days, sorry can't remember), since I wanted a full-on beefy experience.
The steak is grilled and served on a disc of Himalayan rock salt, imparting even more flavour and char to the meat. It also acts like a hot plate of sorts, and they provide you with an empty plate to transfer meat if you don't want it to carry on cooking. The steak comes with roasted new potatoes, and confit onions and garlic.
Wow. The combination of the curing/aging process and the flavour and char from the salt disc, makes for an intense flavour experience that made me very happy indeed. I enjoyed the sirloin part of the Florentine for its flavour and ring of very tasty fat; A predictably preferred the tenderloin side.
Their other offerings are worth a mention too. The bread comes with a tomato and basil jam, with a glass of olive oil and home-made balsamic jelly. The texture of the balsamic jelly is a bit strange, but the syrupy flavour more than makes up for that.
They were out of their char-grilled foie gras starter, so they recommended one of their daily specials - a tortellini filled with foie gras and pork jowl, served with a mushroom and truffle emulsion. This was really good, particularly the sauce which we completely lapped up.
We managed to get a table at fairly short notice on a Friday night, which is good for us but not very good for the restaurant. It was about 3/4 full by 8+, but I somehow expected more of a demand for a table. We'll certainly be back, because at least for now, I think I've found my default place to satisfy my beefy cravings.
A says:
Fantastic. Great food and service. Will definitely be back.
Oca Grassa
6 Bukit Pasoh Road
Tel: 6534-9854
Mon to Sat: 12 noon - 3 pm; 6 pm - 12 mn
Closed Sundays
www.ocagrassa.com