Thanks But No Thanks!

We checked it out when we saw the moment without a queue outside the entrance. Besides its popular cheese Hamburg steak, we also had its A4 Wagyu steak. Frankly, neither impressed us in ways we expected them to be.
The cheese Hamburg didn’t stand out in flavour even though it was filled with a cheese center. The thin slices of Wagyu were fatty but lacked the grill finishing which was a real pity.
Ironically, we enjoyed their salad bar and egg station more than the mains. The former offered quite a substantial range for salad mix. Their free-flow tamago was the best thing for the meal; but it wouldn’t make sense to come and pay to mainly enjoy that. Unfortunately, the tamago was the only thing we remembered after the meal.

We went for their most ex MS 4-5 Wagyu on their menu which turned out short of expectations.
It didn’t help that while waiting for our steaks, we saw a table rejecting their steak repeatedly, overhearing it was lacking in taste. Their staff who didn’t seem to understand much about steak when taking order also had us feeling a little concerned about how our steaks would turn out.
Our verdict: while the cut was still alright; we felt that the execution didn’t do it much justice. It was a tad too salty and we didn’t really get that taste of a good beef.
Having looked at the kitchen staff grilling the steak behind the glass, we felt sorry for the beef that looked like it was being abused over the flames. Quite an irony that they wanted an open concept to let customers watch how their steaks would be grilled.
The wire mesh over the charcoal grill was also in a bad state, much like the poor overused condition of the wooden planks that our steaks were served on.
It was quite a shame that the place couldn’t bring out the goodness in their steaks that would otherwise be desired. Even with a 1-for-1 discount, the various factors wouldn’t draw us back.

We were rather disappointed with our visit though.
With options of various cuts up for offer, there were only limited choices available when we visited, with most of them “sold out”. A standard portion was 150gm while Double Up pretty much meant 2 pieces of the same cut. We picked their Ribeye and Chuck steak for a comparison. We didn’t enjoy both the steaks. The Ribeye was pretty fatty while the latter was really ordinary. There wasn’t any char finishing though they were nicely cooked inside. We felt very surfeited towards the end, possibly due to the oiliness from the cooking rather than the fats in the meat. The steaks were also seasoned too salty to be enjoyable.
The sides available were similarly to those you would find at Aston’s so there wasn’t any surprise. Neither was there any satisfaction.
Frankly, we didn’t find these any better value for money than Aston. Even if the cuts were indeed better, the cooking didn’t do them any justice. There are better choices around for both premium and economical steak.

With long queue during peak hours, we avoided the crowd in between the meal times. With much anticipation, we ordered 2 sets with some top-ups to maiximise our experience.
Beneath the luscious looking omelette were flavours that fell short of expectations. The omelette didn’t stand out at all. Its problem probably started from the reddish pan-fried rice with bits of chicken that drowned the omelette of any taste.
The Demi-glacé sauce would complement the rice better than the cream sauce. Our top-up of 3-Cheese sauce (prepared in front of us) also didn’t do much to excite our palate.
We added chicken wing, fried prawn and Hamburg patty of which the last was probably the only part that stood out for us. Then again, why not just visit their Hamburg Keisuke to enjoy that?
Not sure about others but we were glad we didn’t queue for this today. For Keisuke, we would stick to some of their ramens that still remained on our list for return visits.

Staying with our favourite Poulet chicken with signature Chardonnay sauce, we also tried their new Angus beef steak with foie gras created by JQ. But the verdict was quite a let down.
Since the last time we had Poulet few years ago, their chicken didn’t taste the same. The sauce was still delicious as before but the chicken meat tasted drier.
The new Angus beef steak was medium rare done right, quite good but not outstanding. Perhaps a feat these days with so many places offering good steaks with premium cuts. The ingredients on the plate were pretty good but didn’t come together well for a dish that’s be memorable.
Old or new, hopefully it was just a one-off at this outlet; or really that this wasn’t what we remember it to be anymore.

But our anticipation for their latest collaboration with Ramada at Zhongshan Park was a letdown.
We order our favourite item from the menu that featured most of their familiar popular dishes - their Hokkien prawn mee. Whilst the colour of the dish looked suspiciously off in front of us, its taste was also no where close to what we remembered from their former outlets. Instead of wok hei, this was distinctly chao da (burnt), both in the noodles and the gravy. It also lacked that rich flavourful consistency in the gravy.
The other dishes we ordered were similarly disappointing. The finishing on the foie gras satay wasn’t enough to give it that nice crust while their pork satay tasted dry although the sauce was good. Fried pork jowl didn’t do it for us too, the miso caramel sauce couldn’t cover the oiliness in the fatty fried pork.
So none of the dishes we had were positive here, albeit new or familiar ones that we’d always order. Service by the staff was good though, much like hotel ones (or were they actually). We felt that standards here weren’t reflective of the tasty food one would taste at the New Ubin Seafood at Bukit Timah. We will definitely return there again; but not here.

Saw the boss present so we reckoned the standard should be better. But we were just wrong.
2 plates were served inconsistent, 1 dry and the other wet. The noodles didn’t absorb any of the stock, though it wouldn’t make any difference if it did. B’cos the stock didn’t have much of a taste.
So we left after consuming the prawns. Didn’t wanna waste our calories despite having waste our money on it.

But it also doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to be.
With the location, we did go with certain level of expectation which ended with disappointment.

We returned after reading mixed reviews.
The initial taste reminded us of the Wok Hei we were expecting, but it soon fell short with the flavour lacking from both the stock and the chilli. The use of frozen prawns turned us off immediately.
Their grilled sotong turned out to be the star of the meal, fresh, tender and delicious. Enticed by the name of Dinosaur Pork Ribs, we expected it to be the Chinese style instead of western type of ribs. It was not bad though.
However, the disappointment from the fried Hokkien mee would probably not bring us back again.

Had their Cajun roast chicken (yes, 3rd roast chicken lately) which we felt was nowhere near the ones we enjoyed just recently. You would know the difference went the chicken breast cut open dry. From the 2 dishes we had, execution could really be better not to overcook. Flavour on the chicken wasn’t great although it was heavy on the seasoning. In fact, they tend to overdo on the seasoning of their food and salad such that they ended up too salty for us.
This was 1 place that easily appealed to the teens to chill out at, especially when the prices of their food and drink were quite affordable. The ones that probably weren’t so particular about their food as long it looked and sounded good.

The brioche dessert was beautifully decorated with petals and fruits. Colourful, but its taste could be more balanced. Already with the fruits that were mostly on the sour side, the sour cream took it over the line for us. We felt that a vanilla gelato in place or some maple syrup would do the job to tip the scale back. There were some almond flakes but more crunch would enhance it with more texture too.
Nevertheless, their coffee was quite enjoyable. The Matcha Shot into white coffee would appeal to those who like their matcha bitter.
Read that their savoury items were quite good and we would probably return to try next round.

Seemed like quite a hype with the reviews and long queue and we waited an hour for our food. Our verdict however was that it was a letdown from all the anticipation.
They had a lot on their menu and the prices were pretty decent. But the food was nothing different from the average. Steak was tough and chicken cutlet batter was thick. Pasta was also overcooked and nothing noticeable about its gravy.
In fact, we had much better western food just nearby at 吃 Western although it’s a much small stall. But G&H is probably still a spot for many to eat and drink (especially with their wide range of beers) under its cosy warmly lit ambience. A hip place to drink but not sure about the eating.