NEW RESTAURANT
54⁰ Steakhouse
54 Amoy Street
Singapore 069880
Tel: 8893-7701
Open for lunch and dinner Mon to Sat: 11:30 am to 2:30 pm; 6 pm to 11 pm.
IF YOU were an insecure cow – or insecure in general – you may not want to go to a fancy steakhouse like 54⁰. It’s really hard to listen to all that fawning over purebred, prize-winning, exclusively sourced and presumably frequently petted cattle without feeling a tad resentful about your own bloodline.
If 54⁰ Steakhouse is all about making impressions, it certainly succeeds. For one, it has a neat connection between its unit number on Amoy Street and the ideal temperature of a medium-rare steak. It also has a formal vibe about it, which sets it apart from its eclectic neighbours – like a prissy teenager among his riff-raff cousins.
Opened by the same people behind Zafferano and Griglia, 54⁰ leans more towards the former – with a Shenton Way, power lunch-type ambience where dining is just something to do in between talking shop.
You’re greeted by an immaculately groomed manager with Michelin-level manners – the kind that makes you immediately straighten up and reply in whatever accent you can summon from your diaphragm. He leads you through a dining room that’s more polished than you expect from a steakhouse, and you’re taken care of by a service team that’s attentive and warm. In short, it ticks all the right boxes if you want, well, a nice place for shop talk.
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If you want food with character or narrative, that’s a different story. We need another steakhouse like we need one more brand of wagyu to choose from, so while 54⁰ is nice enough, it fills a need we don’t really have. Apart from the spiel about beef that’s imported from all around the meat-producing world – namely, the US, Japan and Australia – there’s little else to shout about, menu-wise.
The cooking is straightforward modern-European, designed to please most palates. There’s soup (crab), salad (Caesar), vegetarian (beetroot) and a few seafood options for starters. But the meal starts off nicely, with complimentary hot beef and dashi broth infused with sake and served in a tiny glass cup smeared with white miso on one side. That’s so you get a fleeting taste of the miso without the full whammy.
Capellini with langoustine tartare and caviar. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Cold cappellini (S$58) is thoughtfully split into two decent sharing portions, tossed in a tangy vinaigrette and garnished with langoustine tartare and a dollop of caviar. The sharpness of the dressing brings the mind to attention, especially when it realises that this isn’t going to be a cheap meal.
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Hokkaido scallops and bacon in leek veloute. PHOTO: 54⁰ STEAKHOUSE
We also get Hokkaido scallops (S$32) – properly grilled and firm, paired with chunks of smoky bacon in a classic beurre blanc sauce. A crispy garland of interlaced, leaf-shaped savoury tuiles shows attention to detail.
After listening to the long resume of the day’s special beef – which includes its pure black Angus Australian pedigree, something about a black market, how 54⁰ is the only one to have it and how lucky we are to be offered a smaller 500 gm piece instead of the usual 900 gm hunk – we order it and are immediately out S$188.
Black Market Angus Striploin. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
It’s more than enough for two – but doesn’t stand out. Partly because it’s striploin, which is not our favourite cut since it’s leaner than rib eye and not as juicy. It’s pink enough to pass the 54⁰ mark but is unevenly grilled with charred spots, and lacks a distinct beefiness. There’s no mention of wet or dry-ageing, which could explain why. It’s not S$188-level satisfactory, but acceptable. And the brussels sprouts with bacon (S$16) as a side isn’t bad either.
If you don’t want to splurge, there are cheaper cuts available like a 250 gm Rangers Valley Black Onyx striploin (S$78) or a 300gm Australian wagyu petit tender (S$48).
Chitose strawberries and cream. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
For dessert, Chitose strawberries and cream (S$16) is literally that. It’s very pretty, but let down by neither sweet nor sour Malaysian-grown Japanese strawberries – served with berry-shaped nuggets of cream and bits of the dehydrated fruit to break the monotony.
Bananas, ice cream and gula melaka crumble. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Banana Foster (S$16) holds more interest with its composition of bananas, thick dulce de leche sauce, candied walnuts and gula melaka crumble, topped with date and raisin ice cream. Maybe the chef was aiming for a low-carb banana sticky date pudding but missed. Still, it’s sweet and caramelly so it’s not half-bad.
There’s no denying that 54⁰ Steakhouse is a pretty package, put together by people with all the right credentials. It’s got the looks and a fine resume – now it just needs some sizzle to match.
Rating: 6.5
AloJapan.com