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| Interior of Sear |
The recent opening of Sear at Raffles Place gives Central Business District workers reasons to cheer. After all, the gastronomic dry land where the moneyed crowd labours currently offers little more than a handful of handsome dining options.
Perched on the 45thfloor of Singapore Land Tower with stable mates Empire (an ultra lounge) and next-door Angie’s Champagne Bar, Sear is a modern American diner that puts the spotlight on steaks seared in a charcoal-fired Pira grill.
Its setting is impressive and right on the money for the sophistication sought by the target market: a soaring ceiling with floor-to-ceiling wrap-around glass windows, a rich confection of dark-toned leather seats and banquettes and dim drop-down lamps, plus breathtaking view of Singapore’s Southern horizon (admittedly, you’ll have to dine at the alfresco verandah to snag a view).
Like its enormous space (300 pax, half indoors and half alfresco), the menu is expansive. Headlined by Pira grill-cooked steaks and chops, the menu also purveys an array of starters, surprisingly fresh seafood platters (thanks to next-door Angie's), soups, salads, sides, potatoes, more seafood and other meat options.
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| Angie's ocean platters for 2 |
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| Lobster cobb salad |
Crustacean lovers will also be bowled over by the luxurious lobster cobb salad (S$32) - lobster pincers are slow poached in stock until just-cooked, then de-shelled and tossed with bacon, orange, lettuce and heady blue cheese for good measure.
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| Split bone marrow |
If calories were no object, we suggest the split bone marrow (S$18) for the so-smooth-it-slides-down-the-throat globs of bone marrow ambrosia topped with persillade of onion, garlic and parsley alongside compressed watermelon cubes.
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| Pira-grilled steaks |
No ones should come to Sear without so much as sink their teeth into the Pira-seared steaks. Pick from the leaner Canadian tenderloin (S$66 for 180g, S$78 for 250g), more marbled Australian 450 days grain fed ribeye or the more flavoursome New Zealand 21 days-aged hormone-free sirloin. Or have them all via the tasting of trio (S$95, total grammage of about 300g) from the menu. If the steaks arrive under-seasoned (like ours did), it’s probably because Sear intends for you to have them with a choice of sauces. The array of 6 to 8 sauce options can be mind-boggling but you won’t go wrong with the whole grain Pommery mustard sauce (don't get too greedy with the sauces though because each additional order will cost you S$4).
Bigger groups of 4 to 6 pax may wish to consider the specialty cuts for sharing. If you’re out to impress a business associate, consider the certified Kobe A4 ribeye (2kg) served with 200g of Sturia vintage caviar (priced at a staggering S$6,000). Half the price will get you a 1.3kg 450 days grain fed Tomahawk steak (S$282).
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| Sides: Brussel sprouts with maple syrup, hazel nuts and pancetta is your best bet |
For sides, look no further than the Brussels sprouts (S$16) cooked in maple syrup with hazel nuts and pancetta (you won’t regret this). There’s also a creamy sweet corn with corn kernels (S$16) that promises charred sweet corn and siphoned creamy corn topped with shaved Parmesan but arrives as unfulfilled corn custard (with corn kernels not properly charred and no visible traces of shaved Parmesan).
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| Tasting dessert platter |
If you’re undecided about desserts, Sear’s tasting dessert platter (S$48 for 4 persons – apple pie, cheesecake, chocolate mud cake, Pira grilled pineapple) should do the trick. But bingeing on all these sweets may prove challenging after a hefty meal, in which case we suggest an apple pie (S$16) served with a dollop of yoghurt sorbet to calm the palate.
Sear may not be a strong contender to Cut's astronomically priced marbled cuts but for the bountiful menu options and convenient location in the CBD, it's worthy of a shout-out.
© Evelyn Chen 2013