Our enduring fascination with meat and fire is a primordial instinct, hearkening back to an age lost in the mists of time when cavemen eked out short, brutal lives. The discovery and revelation of the promethean flame then must have seemed godsent to such primitives, and a part of that base, reptilian consciousness still resides deep within the recesses of our minds, as evidenced when we eagerly crowded around the oven for a behind the scenes look at @chef_fab plunging a 300 gram hunk of meat straight into smoldering coals and fire. What a brilliant way of cooking meat as it imparts a gorgeous smoky, crusty finish to the beef, which miraculously still somehow came out a perfect medium-rare(it was a medium by the time we were done taking photos), a testament to Chef Fabrice’s skills. Apparently this method of cooking steak is fairly common and popular abroad, but this is the first I’ve seen of it in Singapore.

Aptly dubbed the “dirty” steak, not least of all because I felt slightly dirty gorging myself on so much dead animal, the sirloin was surprisingly tender for a lean cut and full of flavour imparted by its cooking method, so much so that I probably preferred it to the pricier ribeye we had later. Pair it with a full-bodied red and a bowl of Handcut Provencal Chips($10) – steamed, confit and deep-fried with the end result being some of the best thick-cut fries you’ll ever have – and you’ll be set for the night.

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Taste: 4/5