The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and daddy dearest is no exception. Forget that gym membership gift card and get dad to loosen his belt as he embarks on a gastronomic weekend this Father’s Day, which falls on 16 June this year.
1. Burnt Ends (One MICHELIN Star)
Modern Australian barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends, which will open its Maldives outlet next month, has been receiving international acclaim including receiving one MICHELIN star in 2018. The restaurant by chef-patron Dave Pynt serves up signature dishes such as the 45 day Dry Age Blackmore Wagyu, which is accompanied by butterhead lettuce, onions, radish finished with sherry vinaigrette; the Steak Fritez, an indulgent morsel Blackmore wagyu tartare and caviar on a pressed potato cube deep-fried in smoked beef fat.
Rev up dad’s appetite with the Grissini And Taramasalata, a burnt flour flatbread topped with smoked pollock roe, chopped kombu and chives. The meat and seafood are all cooked in a custom-built four-tonne, dual-cavity oven that is fired by with Jarrah wood from Western Australia.
On weekends, stalwart steakhouse Gordon Grill offers a quintessential British experience with its sumptuous Weekend Roast Lunch. Highlights on the three- or four-course menu include the tender slow roasted US prime beef rib-eye on the wagon, served with Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, garden vegetables and gravy.
Not in a mood for beef? Opt for the grilled lamb chop with pork loin served with potato gratin, mustard cabbage and balsamic glaze. Conclude the meal on a sweet note with desserts such as the popular Gordon’s Sherry Trifle.
If dad prefers Chinese food, there is no lack of roast meat delights here, from sio bak (roast pork) to roast duck. According to our inspectors, the Cantonese roast meats are prepared in a traditional way (with just a hint of Western style) and lure plenty of customers to this relaxed and friendly restaurant. The roast duck and crispy pork belly are great but it’s the meltingly tender BBQ pork that really stands out.
Other dishes include the Jasmine Roast Duck that is infused with fragrant Jasmine tea leaves and Soya Sauce Kampong Chicken. Can’t decide on which roast meat to get? Go for the double or triple roast platter.
4. Bread Street Kitchen
Father’s Day also coincides with Wellington Month marked by British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants globally. After all, one of Ramsay’s signature dishes is beef wellington, a classic baked pastry-wrapped steak dish. About 220,000 wellingtons are sold every year.
In Singapore, Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen in Marina Bay Sands is upping its game with two limited-edition wellingtons. Instead of a steak fillet coated with pâté and duxelles, one wellington is baked with lobster and saffron risotto, while the other wellington is loaded with lamb, minted red wine jus, green peas, baby bok
choy and sun-dried tomatoes.
If dad is a stickler for tradition, there is always the beef filet wellington, which is a golden brown pillow of juicy seared filet mignon, salty prosciutto, herb crepe and savoury mushroom duxelles encased in a golden crisp pastry crust. The restaurant has also come up with a wellington made with the plant-based Impossible “meat”.
RELATED: Are Plant-Based Meat Substitutes The Way To Go In The Dining World?
5. Chico Loco
If dad prefers chicken, give him a rotisserie-style experience at Chico Loco, a roast chicken-centric restaurant by home-grown company The Loco Group. The menu’s star item is the spit-roasted chicken by culinary director, chef Jason Jones. He has selected antibiotic- and hormone-free chickens from a farm in Malaysia.
Inspired by Mexican flavours, Jones brines the chicken for 10 hours in an agave nectar-spiked umami solution to lift up the flavours of the bird. Then, the chickens are basted with a house blend of 11 herbs and spices including achiote, dried oregano and mustard powder. It is cooked in a spit-roaster for an hour to yield juicy and tender meat. Each serving of chicken comes with sauces such as chimichurri yogurt, and habanero and mango. Don’t miss out on sides such as rice cooked with chicken fat and fries with rosemary salt and chipotle mayonnaise.
Complied by Kenneth Goh
