Garang Grill By New Ubin Seafood Tasting Session
15 Swan Lake Avenue
18 Tampines Industrial Crescent
Opening Hours:
Daily: 11:30am - 2:30pm (Lunch), 6:30pm - 10pm (Dinner)
https://www.facebook.com/garanggrill/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session, but I did pay the standard price during subsequent visits.
Attended with representatives from Her Pen And Fork, msginginly, Epicurious Caniggia, and Chubby Botak Koala.
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| Chilli Crab Rillette (SGD $12) |
Chiong Here For Bold Charcoal Flavours
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 5
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 6
Value for Money: 7
Budget about SGD $32++ per person.
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Established since February 2017 and operated by the New Ubin Seafood Group, the Garang Grill has opened for business as part of the New Ubin Village blueprint as of October 2020. As the charcoal grill concept of the group, the Garang Grill By New Ubin Seafood is helmed by head chef Cole Soo, who serves up delicious small plates using a $16,000 charcoal grill oven from Mibrasa - often regarded as one of the best charcoal grill ovens in the world.
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| Garang Grill By New Ubin Seafood Signage |
Ambience at Garang Grill By New Ubin Seafood is casual functional. Drawing on the coffee shop atmosphere it's in, the place is brightly lit, set against the background of an industrial space. Wide functional furniture is scattered around, and there's either a calm quiet or a noisy bustle, depending on the size of the crowd present. It can get rather warm despite the open area, as the ceiling fans aren't that powerful.
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| New Ubin Seafood Exterior |
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| New Ubin Seafood Interior |
Service at Garang Grill By New Ubin Seafood is efficient and transactional. Don't expect much interaction or product knowledge of the menu, as standards are casual and basic. That said, I note staff are efficient at seating guests and taking orders, and they clean up quickly when diners leave. If the management is present, they'll go around building rapport with customers.
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| New Ubin Seafood Counter |
Food at Garang Grill By New Ubin Seafood is Modern Singaporean cuisine, with a focus on barbecued / grilled items. The Mibrasa charcoal grill is famed for having the intense heat from charcoal flames in an enclosed oven, and it imparts a kiss of smoky aroma to plates, with quality of execution ranging consistently from decent to good. Portions are sized for communal group dining, and prices are cheaper than before. Budget about SGD $32++ per person.
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| Garang Decor |
The Garang Meat Yakitori (SGD $12) features juicy tender skewers of boneless chicken yakitori, coated in a sticky glaze of teriyaki sauce. Has lovely smoky sweet savoury salty flavours. Served with crisp juicy leeks with vegetal sweet flavour, and a hint of smoky notes from the heat of the grill. Good!
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| Garang Meat Yakitori (SGD $12) |
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| Garang Meat Yakitori |
The Crispy Pork Jowl (SGD $12) lives up to its name, with the pork jowl / pork cheek having a juicy crunch to texture. With a balanced ratio of fat to lean pork meat, this has delicate savoury salty smoky flavours that are so enticing. Chef says these are sous-vide for half a day, coated in a special flour mix, deep-fried, then finished off in the grill. Served with a thick, rich miso-infused gula melaka / palm sugar dipping sauce, for added sweet savoury salty flavour. Highly recommended!
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| Crispy Pork Jowl (SGD $12) |
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| Crispy Pork Jowl |
The Garang Prawn (SGD $15) features deshelled prawns / shrimp, coated in a light spiced batter, deep-fried, and served with a sambal mayonnaise. The prawns / shrimp are juicy with a delightful bite, and hold light sweet spice savoury flavour. But the sambal mayonnaise was rather muted, with light milky spice flavour. Worth ordering!
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| Garang Prawn (SGD $15) |
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| Garang Prawn |
The Chilli Crab Rillette (SGD $12) reimagines the classic chili crab with chunks of deshelled crab in a thick tomato, sambal rempah, and butter gravy. The result is a bold sweet savoury spicy flavour, with notes of crab and tomato being more prominent. Served with crisp deep-fried mantou buns, which have a light bready sweet flavour and pair nicely with the dip. Good!
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| Chilli Crab Rillette (SGD $12) |
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| Chilli Crab Rillette |
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| Chilli Crab Rillette |
The Togarashi Corn (SGD $9) has juicy chunks of corn on the cob, roasted and sprinkled with house-smoked sea salt and a dash of Japanese togarashi powder. The result is an irresistible combination of vegetal sweet salty spice flavour, so yummy. Highly recommended!
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| Togarashi Corn (SGD $9) |
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| Togarashi Corn |
The BBQ Pork Belly (SGD $21) features premium duroc pork belly rubbed in Cajun spices and grilled to perfection. I loved the bouncy juicy crunch to texture, but the muted savoury smoky flavour lacks a salty note. A little more seasoning would have been better. The rough sweet potato mash isn't as sweet savoury as I'd like, and the crunchy colesaw is just passable. Could be improved.
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| BBQ Pork Belly (SGD $21) |
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| BBQ Pork Belly |
No expense has been spared with the Argentinian Striploin (SGD $38), a 200g cut that is known for its tender juicy texture and rich meaty savoury salty flavour. Grilled to a medium rare doneness, this was let down by the lacklustre sides of rough sweet potato mash which ended up being overly watery, and a crunchy colesaw that was just decent. Could be improved.
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| Argentinian Striploin (SGD $38) |
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| Argentinian Striploin |
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| Argentinian Striploin |
Loved the L.A. Galbi Beef (SGD $18), which was served with a bed of iceburg lettuce and green chili. The bone-in, Korean-style beef short ribs are marinated in a sweet savoury salty ganjang / soy sauce, and pull away easily from the bone with a juicy tender fatty chew. So delicious, especially when paired with the chili. Highly recommended!
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| L.A. Galbi Beef (SGD $18) |
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| L.A. Galbi Beef |
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| L.A. Galbi Beef |
The Carbonara (SGD $12) was unusual in that it's served in a claypot, as it's meant to retain warmth. Otherwise, it's done to how a heartland Singaporean would expect, long soft slippery spaghetti pasta noodles tossed in eggs (without cream), having mild milky sweet savoury flavour. I personally would have preferred an al-dente texture. The garnish of house-smoked pork belly pancetta are thick and juicy chunky, bursting with bold meaty salty savoury flavour, really lifting this dish. Worth ordering!
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| Carbonara (SGD $12) |
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| Carbonara |
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| Carbonara |
The Sticky Date Pudding (SGD $9) is a pretty good rendition of the classic dessert, with a soft spongy sticky date pudding rendered from red dates, having a mild fruity earthy sweet flavour. A smooth creamy scoop of salted caramel ice cream with milky salty sweet flavour is served alongside, and a thick creamy salted caramel sauce with salty sweet flavour is drizzled over. A crunchy biscuit crumble with buttery sweet notes completes, lending a nice contrast to texture. Good!
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| Sticky Date Pudding (SGD $9) |
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| Sticky Date Pudding |
The Garang Grill By New Ubin Seafood is a great place for casual dining and relaxing with family and friends, particularly for those who like snacks and finger food with drinks. Am planning to return for more!
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CONVERSATION