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The Chop House - 1^st Oct 2013

I was looking for a place to eat at VivoCity last Sunday when I came across Jaime’s (Jaime Oliver) Italian however friends who have been there tell me it is not worth the calories so I skipped it. Next to it was a new restaurant named The Chop House that caught my attention. I tried to google more information on it but it is that new that there is hardly any intel on it. The wooden exterior with beer barrels gave it an interesting industrial feel and so I decided that this shall be the place to give my dinner dose of calories.

                       

We started with the chicken quesadillas. They have it with beef as well but since we decided on their signature beef for the main, we went with the chicken version. The menu boldly states that they serve the best quesadillas in town. While I am no expert in this dish nor have I tried it at numerous places, the version at Chop House is rather pleasing. The filling consists of chicken, tomatoes and cheddar cheese cooked till the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crispy. You can opt to add the accompanying guacamole, sour cream or salsa but it is good on its own as well.

                         

Next we had the mussel marinière, cooked in white wine, garlic, shallots, celery and topped with parsley. The mussels came beautifully in a cast iron pot however it was not possible to scoop out the broth until removing about half the amount of mussels. I thought the white wine and garlic flavour could be stronger in this dish. Not quite as satisfying as the quesadillas.

                                           

For the main, we ordered the signature beef shank. This dish is not for small parties as it serves 4 to 6 persons. I think this is the first time I have ordered a dish that is to be shared by more than 2 to 3 persons. It is not easy to get 4 to 6 people to agree to eat the same thing but thankfully it is for a family of butchers. The beef shank is a 3 to 4kg beast that has been frenched to create a lollipop look. The meat is braised and swimming in its finger licking juices. It is served in a large deep pan with mashed potato, roasted cherry tomatoes, asparagus and tater tots. Before I go any further, one word of advice is to portion out all the sides onto the individual plates before cutting the beef. Failure to do so will leave one watery mess. I actually enjoyed the mash potato with the gravy but it does injustice to the tater tots. Tater tots is a registered product in the USA and was created in 1953. It is basically grated potato made into a small size cylindrical shape that is then deep fried till crispy. Think hash brown in a cylindrical shape. The beef shank is a tough cut of meat with a good amount of white connective tissue (collagen) however when braised, produces tender and flavour meat. At the butchery, we sell this as shin shank cubes for stew. The best part of the shank is the marrow located within the bone. Senior Huber, true to his butcher background promptly removed the marrow by unglamorously blowing it out and finishing it all himself! Thanks dad….

While we decided to stick to red wine that night, The Chop House has a beer room and offers a self tap beer system that has Mac’s Great White Cloudy, Schneider Wiesse Tap 7 and Pure Blonde Premium Lager on tap. They also have televisions showing the English soccer so I can imagine this would be a great place for the guys to hang out.

As its name suggests, the rest of the menu focuses on chops like lamb chops, pork chops and they have some nice looking burgers as well. However I recommend trying the beef shank because it is unique and as I have tried it I can say, confirm plus guarantee got chop (singlish for sure of something) good!