Melanie C.
Yelp
We came here on a Wednesday night for dinner. Reservations are awkwardly timed, either between 6-6:30pm or 8:30-9pm. We walked in slightly past 8pm, and there were seats.
Given the reviews, I expected Moosehead to be an innovative type of small plates place. We ordered the olives, the tzatziki and pita, roasted asparagus (daily special), roasted cauliflower, fried artichoke, fried pig's ears, bone marrow on sourdough, and the braised beef cheeks. Our food was served in that order too, one plate at a time. I'm not sure if the chef decided on an order, or it just came out that way. Everything was well cooked, although most dishes seemed a little incomplete. But at the very reasonable prices they are charging, experimental dishes are okay.
Someone mentioned below that the food was salty. That review was from a while ago. I barely tasted the salt, even on dishes that can be expected to be salty. On hindsight, the chef's Australian background is very obvious in the food he makes -- a friend describes Australian cuisine as big on good produce, and letting the flavors speak for themselves. In the US, they call it Californian cuisine. Despite the effort to be creative, the chef tends towards classical and traditional flavors, a cosy instead of a surprising taste.
The olives were marinated in citrus zest, which was a first for me. They were green olives, so they were milder, but I thought they were the mildest olives I have ever tasted. The tzatziki sauce had a strong dill flavor, and was chunkier than I am used to. It also tasted quite mild. I really enjoyed the flatbread.
The roasted asparagus was perfectly done, served with a soft boiled egg and a puree of something (can't remember the menu). It was perfectly flavored and balanced. The roasted cauliflower was a large fist of caulifower, better roasted on one side than the other. The sauce contained miso, and other creamy things. The sauce was interesting, and went nicely with the roasted cauliflower, although it overwhelmed the cauliflower. It could have gone as nicely over potato. The fried artichoke was crisp on the outside, and flavorful on the inside, served with ricotta cheese and bits of random leaves. I think the ricotta went well with the artichoke, but the leaves didn't quite bring enough crunch to freshen up the dish (if that was the intention).
The fried pig's ears were supposed to be spiced, but it didn't quite taste of anything strongly. It didn't have too much of a pork flavor, in case you were worried. It's served with a sauce that looked like mayonnaise, but tasted a lot lighter. While I thought it was good, the dish was lacking a certain oomph -- I think it would have been great to have the ultra crisp pig's ears with sauce and some kind of a shredded vegetable, like a slaw or even kimchi to bring a different texture and flavor to the dish.
The bone marrow came on perfectly toasted sourdough bread, mixed in with anchovies and celeriac, all chopped up so you can't tell what you're eating but it all goes delightfully together. Despite the addition of anchovies, it wasn't too salty, and had only the faintest hint of the sea. This was probably my favorite dish in terms of complexity and flavor. I highly recommend it.
The beef cheeks were nicely braised, and a good sized portion. It was well done, but lacked complexity.
All in all, it was a fun dinner, more challenging than the usual restaurant in Singapore, especially at the price point. I enjoyed analyzing and thinking about my food, which doesn't happen often. It's a good restaurant that makes you stop and think about what you're eating, and appreciate the care that the chef took in creating the food.