The Place Located in the hip and busy enclave of Telok Ayer Street, Moosehead has been a resident restaurant here for the past three years, strategically located right opposite Telok Ayer station on the Downtown Line. The three year old Mediterranean restaurant has a new head Chef, Scots-born Chef Seumas Smith, who previously held stints in various Michelin star restaurants overseas and Esquina in Singapore. There are also some minor tweaks to the restaurant’s interior, but we were glad that it has managed to retain that eclectic and hip street vibe amidst the changes.

The Food The serving size here at Moosehead leans towards small plates, with a focus on Mediterranean style yet infused with global influences. Along with the new Head Chef, the menu has also been revamped lately, with a long list of new items, while retaining some classic old favourites such as the Crispy Spiced Pig’s Ears; Cauliflower with Garlic Miso, Leek Confit; Meze Board; Bacon-wrapped Char-grilled Dates.

We started off with some of the veggie-centric dishes, like the Fried artichoke with ricotta, pickled lemon and radicchio (S$15), Beetroot with sumac yoghurt, spiced ponzu and almonds (S$14) and the classic Cauliflower with garlic miso and leek confit (S$14).

The beetroot dish has hints of Mediterranean from the sumac yogurt, Japanese element from the ponzu and a tinge of spice as a tribute to the Asian flavour.

There is a reason why the Cauliflower with garlic miso and leek confit remains on the new menu. This is our favourite of the lot, which surprised us given we are not huge fans of cauliflower. The best bit was the garlic miso sauce, so good.

The other crowd’s favourite is the Bone marrow with Ortiz anchovy and garlic on sourdough (S$10). Bone marrow is one of those sides which we can’t do without, discounting that fact that it is such a sinful dish. The version from Moosehead is sliced into small pieces atop the freshly baked sourdough, instead of the usual presentation within the bone. The overall flavour was one full of umami.

Two other new sides we tried were the Char-grilled broccolini with hoisin aioli and roasted peanuts (S$9) and the Bone Marrow Mash Potato with Bone Marrow Reduction (S$9). The char-grilled items on the menu at Moosehead uses the Inka oven, evident in the broccolini which spotted a nice smoky texture and flavour for us. Interestingly, this strong oriental influenced dish reminded us of our “Zi Char” dish from the hoisin sauce and the roasted peanuts condiments.

Can mash potato be any more sinful with the Bone Marrow Mash Potato? Sinfully addictive.

The sides set the bar high for the mains but thankfully it didn’t disappoint us. The Pork belly with apple, roast turnips and cavalo nero (S$31) is one of the best we have had in awhile. That first bite of the ultra-tender meat sealed it all, not to mention the interesting play of flavours with the marriage of apple, turnips and cavalo nero.

The Braised beef cheek with celeriac and wild mushrooms (S$32) was good, but the surprise factor was less as compared to the pork belly. There was no doubt that this was very tender as well, which you can’t go that far off for beef cheeks. The differentiating factors from other renditions lie in the use Japanese mushrooms and that sauce it was braised in, so good.

On desserts, two new items on the table are the Almond cake with yuzu crème fraiche (S$10) and the Roasted white pear with citrus yoghurt and pistachio (S$12). Simplicity is key for desserts due to the size constraint in the kitchen, but it also proves that you don’t need to create fanciful desserts to be good. The almond cake resonated well with us for its moist texture. Our only gripe was that the yuzu crème fraiche came a tad too sweet for us, otherwise this is perfect. Comparatively, if you are looking for something more refreshing, go for the Roasted white pear with citrus yoghurt and pistachio.

Rants The small space means you need to reserve well ahead of time to avoid disappoint. And you might want to avoid the tables near the kitchen since it is designed to be open concept.

Will I return again? Moosehead has an interesting concept from its décor to its dishes. Most of the dishes we tried surprised us on good notes, with an interesting play of ingredients. The pricing is competitive for a restaurant in CBD, which we found well value for money. In short, this is easily one of the best meals we had this year.

Make your reservation instantly at Moosehead here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 4.5/5

Moosehead
110 Telok Ayer Street
Singapore 068579
Tel: +65 6636 8055

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday:
Lunch: 12 pm – 2.30 pm
Dinner: 6pm to 10.30 pm
Saturday:
Dinner: 6pm to 10.30 pm
Closed on Sundays

Ranted by The Ranter