Jason L.
Yelp
A cut above the rest.
Lawry's The Prime Rib, what more can be said about it.
Since opening its doors in 1999, Lawry's has been THE go to place for prime ribs in Singapore.
With its English style setting (ironic considering the restaurant started in Beverly Hills), it's wait staff dressed immaculately and of course, it's iconic silver cart, Lawry's has attracted thousands, maybe millions, of hungry carnivores looking to get a dosage of their prized, USDA, 21 day aged Prime ribs.
However, with tons of Steak houses like Wolfgang Puck's Cut, the much more affordable Aston's and the rise of restaurants like The Prime Society and independent restaurant's like Cocotte, the question remains..... Is Lawry's really still a cut above the rest?
If you're looking for a good generous slice of meat done different from anywhere else than... Yes.
We've seen how steaks are done at most restaurants. In a pan, on a grill, all beautifully seasoned and seared off in perfect 200g cuts of sirloin or ribeye but till date, no one quite does it like Lawry's (at least i don't think so).
The menu at Lawry's (lunch menu) is fairly simple. No 50 item menu, just a few selections for each course, but be warned, their prime rib lunch which comes with a salad, mash and Yorkshire pudding is more than enough for a meal.
This round however, we decided to go for the Festive cut. 220g of their renown prime rib, served with an additional side.
We did however thought we'd give their appetizer a shot since it was only for a $19++ top up.
Pan Seared Hokkaido Scallop and Shrimp.
This was a very beautifully presented plate. Very different from the one you'll get with your ribs. However, sad to say, the presentation was more beautiful than the dish itself.
The Shrimp was over cooked and slightly on the rubbery side while the scallop, which was nicely cooked, was very "stringy" (apologies for the lack of a better word). It was hard to cut through and chew and while you could tell it was cooked well, the knife somehow wouldn't slice through smoothly as you'd expect when eating scallops.
What bothered me most about the dish though was the mango salsa that came with it.
While it was a mango and strawberry salsa, it was very very sweet. The mango had cancelled out all forms of acidity from the strawberry and what you were left with was a salsa that was neither vibrant or complimented the seafood above it very well. So much so that all natural sweetness that should have be showcased by the prawns and scallops, was lost in the salsa.
Signature Spinning Bowl Salad
Well.... I've honestly had better salads.
While it's a decent salad, it certainly didn't blow my mind and really tasted... Well... Rather ordinary. Plus point? The croutons are great!
Festive Cut Prime Ribs
There's no doubt in my mind that the quality of the meat has changed. While it's still delicious and tender, the meat wasn't as melt in your mouth tender as it was when I first tried it a few years ago.
The vast difference in the tenderness between a medium and medium rare was very obvious. That said, it was still a good piece of meat to have.
While the meat was good, the sides that it came with sort of bothered me.
Mashed Potatoes, a little too starchy and heavy for my liking.
Buttered Peas (for myself)
As good as buttered peas can get. Peas were decently sweet and nice buttered.
Creamed Spinach (for the Gf)
Very thick and very rich, just the way spinach should be done. However, flavour? A little flat. You get a heavy dose of cream but don't get any depth in flavour, be it salt or a tinge of acidity to balance it out.
Yorkshire Pudding
Plus Point? It's HUGE!
But, that's about it. Having spent most of my holidays in England thanks to having family there, I've spent my entire childhood enjoying restaurant and home made Yorkshire pudding.
However, this Yorkshire pudding sort of misses the spot for me.
My aunt uses lard to coat the strays to ensure it crisps without burning but there was that prominent burnt taste in the puddings here. While the overall texture is still nice, the flavour just misses the mark for me (maybe it's because I've been spoiled by the original home made versions).
Overall, this is a very tough call for me to make. I still rate the meat a 5 but some of the other dishes didn't quite hit the mark for me.
Will still give the restaurant a 4 because of the ambience, the meat, the showmanship.
The only qualm I have is, whether Lawry's needs to modernize. While the meat is still good, the way it's served on a plate and the overall feel of the restaurant does somehow feel comfortable yet dated, if that makes any sense.