Wakanui Grill Dining at Marina One SG

Are you familiar with New Zealand beef and lamb? I'm not. For most beef lovers, our beef come from US, Australia, or Japan. Hence it was interesting to have a taste of the New Zealand meats at Wakanui Grill Dining at the stunning Marina One Singapore.

Wakanui Grill Dining first started in Tokyo in 2011 and the Singapore outlet is the first overseas franchise. What's special here is their dry-aged Ocean Beef and succulent Wakanui Spring Lamb which are grilled on Binchotan charcoal. 

Ocean Beef is produced from the Angus breed against the backdrop of the snow-peaked Southern Alps and pure snow-fed rivers of the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand’s South Island. 

The concept behind Ocean Beef was to develop beef that achieves the perfect balance between marbling and leanness, while retaining natural juiciness and an intense beef flavour. Even though the marbling is nothing like the regular wagyu beef, i was surprised by the tenderness of the meat. The cattle are grass-fed for 18 months on the lush green, high-protein pastures, and then finished on specially formulated wheat, barley and maize-based feed for four months at the Five Star Beef Feedlot located in the coastline area of Wakanui, South Canterbury, from which the restaurant takes its name.

The beef are wet-aged at Wakanui, but for the Ocean Bone-in Ribeye (1kg $199), they are further dry-aged for another 21 days. I preferred the regular Ocean Beef Ribeye (350g $79/ 500g $109) which has a lovely crust! If you are into stronger meat flavors, the Canterbury Grass-fed Fillet (Lunch 150g $45, Dinner  250g $78/ 500g $138) is recommended. This is my favorite cut here at Wakanui!

Next, the Wakanui Spring Lamb! Sheesh these are the BEST LAMB i've had in my life really. There's none of that gaminess, and the meat is superbly tender and there's no need for any sauces at all! It all boils down to quality meat. These lambs are born in late winter/early spring and are raised for approximately six months on the lush and highly nutritious spring pastures. The meat is then wet-aged for around four weeks until reaching its peak flavour, at which point it undergoes quick freezing. This process ensures that the optimum flavour and texture of the lamb can be enjoyed year-round. 

You can have them as appetizers ($8/chop) or for mains (Lunch half rack $32, Dinner half rack $42/ full rack $82). They are seasoned with Christmas Island salt.

Have the meats with sides of Sautéed Mushrooms ($18), or that dense and fragrant Handcut Potato Wedges with Truffle Oil ($15)

Alongside the meats, you could have the Kikorangi Blue Cheese Caesar Salad (Lunch $14/ Dinner $22). The blue cheese is very light, even the non-cheese eaters in our company were ok with this version. 

Seafood eaters could have the New Zealand Ora King Salmon (Lunch main $39, Dinner starter $24) that is marinated for a full day with juniper berries and bay leaves, before being house-smoked a la minute over cherrywood chips for three mins and baked for another three. ($24). It is served with Chef's recipe sauce - tomatoes, shallots, olive oil, green chillies.

Some Japanese influence is seen in the Seasonal Hassun starter(Lunch 2pcs $24, Dinner 3 pcs $32). When we visited, we had a silky scallop beancurd wrapped in winter melon with a dashi reduction; unagi and daikon on beetroot puree; and a dryish lotus root tempura topped with bonita flakes.

For desserts, the class New Zealand Hokey Pokey Ice Cream ($14) is a must. Love the burnt honeycomb brittle in the house made vanilla ice cream. 

The Baked Rare Chocolate Cake ($14) which is a lovely bitter-sour Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate cake. The acidity comes from a blackcurrant puree that is included in the batter and the sweetness comes from the whipping cream. I don't know about you but i like a rich dessert to anchor my meal. :)

With so many meat restaurants opening in Singapore in 2017, i must say that Wakanui Grill Dining provides diners with a unique steak experience. Make sure you pay them a visit.

Wakanui

5 Straits View #04-02 Marina One The Heart Singapore, 018935 

Tel: +65 6384 2665  

Weekday: 11,30am - 3pm, 5.30 - 11pm

Sat: 5.30 - 11pm