When Ms Elicia Lim’s client sought her services to set up their steakery, she jumped at the opportunity- although she and her partner had never known the relation between ventilated ceilings for open fire grills and ventilation gaps in high heat tempered glass, let alone obtaining the services of a good saucier to take the carnivore festival to juicier levels. As a supplier of fine meats, she knew only one thing, “to offer the finest cuts at the most affordable prices”- an overly polished statement from a businessperson who just wants to push their best meats to their clients.

No frill grill: Ms Elicia Lim decided on the HDB location

She had to consider, firstly the location- at some backyard of a row of retail HDB shops at Sunset Way which the government is converting into some experimental boardwalk makan hub a la Holland Village. Then, the price factor- it’s surrounded by public housing heartlanders who would jump at any hawker stall discount offers in a heartbeat. How would she price their divinely marbled Kurobuta pork tenderloins and the prime Black Angus cuts?

She simply went ahead to brand what they knew about steaks (or what they only knew about it)- to sell prime cuts grilled over open charcoal fire in its naked glory dusted with only salt and black pepper, maintaining the meat’s integrity. “Whenever top steak chefs come over to our butchery for a tasting, they insist that we grill them on open charcoal fire with a hint of salt and pepper. Some just want it done without any flavouring, so they can taste the purity of the marbling and texture.” She went ahead with the location because “the place simply looked very good and so not HDB. The multi storey carpark behind is a big help too.”

It is, indeed. If you step off the scenic bridge over the Sungei Ulu Pandan from block 371 at Clementi Ave 4, you’ll end up in this charming al fresco row of about nine shops, bars and restaurants fronted by a boardwalk surrounded by matured trees, very swanky and alluring. But look over the rails and you’ll see aunties in half squat qigong positions, and saunter to the back of the eateries, you’ll come smack face to face with familiarity- a typical HDB shophouse unloading and loading bay. The trick, I suppose, is to stay at the candle lit marquee area, breathe the atmosphere in and order what their manager Jon Hiew suggests.

Try the marbled Kurobuta pork tenderloin

He started me off with some slices of grilled ox tongue which went in so fast as it had a crunchy chewiness and a roasty barbequed flavour. I had no need for the barbequed sauce dip and the customary handful of rocket salad leaves it accompanied. Then he slapped me with a little platter of grilled Kurobuta pork collar slices. The simplicity of preparation coupled with the gorgeous marbling (yes...well nurtured fat) - I gave in to greed. When he brought out the Kurobuta tenderloin ($26), simply sitting above a bed of plainly sautéed greens like sweet peas, carrots and halved baby potatoes, it really felt like the chef didn’t like me and left the sauce out. Until I bit in and realized why the Japanese so revered this black hog, which arrived on their land as a gift from the English who originally bred them as the Black Berkshire hogs. They breed the Kurobutas the way they nurture their well loved Kobe cows. The pork tenderloin, grilled simply with salt and pepper, tasted like beef, which is why some consider this the Rolls Royce of pork. The chef had regard for fussy carnivores like me.

The US Kobe Striploin

When I tried the wild sock eyed salmon ($35) done similarly, the first word that bounced up from my palate was “wild”. This almost fatless and lean fish had a steak like sensation about it. The rich flavour of the fish permeate but was somewhat marred by the fact that they did not de-bone and de-gill well, to which Elicia offered a “we’re still ironing out the problem of consistency in the kitchen as knife work and charcoal fire control is our main enemy for now.”. Finally Jon finished me off with a Kobe tenderloin ($68, which usually cost 40% more in fancier meat joints). I can only say that for all the hiccups this four month old eatery has in the kitchen and in the presentation consistency department, that piece of plain Jane looking steak should never be judged by physics. It was simply a great cut of marbled well fed beef, done over soft fire and served with its divine integrity intact.