The Ranch Steakhouse by Astons, Clarke Quay

Astons has gotten themselves a spiffier upgrade in the form of The Ranch Steakhouse (Clarke Quay Block B, #01-15, 3 River Valley Road, tel : +65 6256 0334). With their own fridge dedicated to dry ageing meat and no less. From what we've had, they've totally outgunned the Ruth's Chris experience.

Bread gratis was toasted rye and truffled butter. I couldn't complain. It's better bread and butter than many out there. We enjoyed munching these while waiting.

If I might say so, The Ranch has pretty good lobster bisque. I'd like to iterate at this point that the balance of flavour is not a specific metric but an accepted range of moderation. There's good balance here from the creaminess of the soup that had a crustacean punch not to be scoffed at. I'd come back just for this. 

I've never tried figuring out the spices that went into beef tartare I've had beyond what I could see or taste. This tasted a bit more gherkin-y with a nice tanginess without what I would associate as being spicy. 

That's the XO cognac on the side which didn't really change much of the flavour after we doused it over the tartare. We were told it was meant to kill bacteria on raw meat. We enjoyed this. Would have preferred a coarser texture but am not complaining.

We went with a 240 days grain fed ribeye and 150 days grain fed tenderloin. Both Australian Black Angus. To get the criticism out of the way for a start, I feel that they need to work on the char on the surface of their steaks. Needed more for that smoky kiss on the meat.

To cut into both the literal and figurative meat, both the tenderloin and the ribeye were tender and sufficiently salted for flavour on their own. That ribeye had had pretty nice marbling. Note to self : pepper sauce is nicer than the Périgord truffle one.

I'd skip the corn the next time. It's a little cheesy, a little sweet but I didn't think much of it as a whole. The bacon needed more presence as well. It just made me miss a good creamed corn.

But wait, there's their gratin dauphinoise. Something to be enjoyed while it was still hot and the cream hasn't settled into something cold and stodgy. This was nicely baked with a creamy richness over thin sliced potatoes and a smattering of charred cheese. I was shovelling this into my face even though I was stuffed so they must have done something right.