The Place It has been a few years since I visited Butcher’s Block at Raffles Singapore and the restaurant is now helmed by Chef Jordan Keao from Hawaii. The interior of the contemporary wood-fire restaurant has not changed since its opening, and perhaps one common misconception is that it is a steakhouse restaurant as there are more than just steaks on the menu.  

Upon entering the restaurant, you can’t miss The Larder which stores whole carcasses and various cuts of meats, alongside bottled pickles and ferments. 

It is also an open kitchen concept where the best view of the kitchen is from the long chef’s table in the middle of the restaurant. The dining ambience is quite cosy without the fine-dining formalities, where there are also two private rooms.

The Food ‘Imua’ means ‘moving forward with strength and spirit’ in Hawai’ian, which encapsulates Chef Jordan Keao’s desire to put forth the finest – from the carefully sourced ingredients from around the world, to the team’s culinary expertise and service excellence. The latest IMUA tasting menu is available for lunch (S$168++ for five courses) and dinner (S$218++ for six courses) with wine pairings at S$118++ for five glasses and S$138++ for six glasses respectively. Ala carte menu is also available.

Wine lovers will love the extensive wine list here – an impressive collection of close to 300 wine labels from old-world wines to a curated selection of new-world and minimal intervention wines.  

I had the 6-course IMUA dinner menu and here is what to expect: 

Hokkaido Milk Parker Roll with Konbu Butter
For a start, delicious milk bread is served, complimentary for every table that orders the IMUA Lunch or Dinner Menu (S$16 for ala carte orders). I love the soft fluffy bread texture and it goes so well with the unsalted French butter mixed with konbu and furikake seasoning.

Snacks – Scallop I Parsnip blini I Kumquat kosho I Shiso 
A trio of snacks is served to kickstart the dinner tasting menu. This scallop snack features Norwegian scallop atop a parsnip blini, finished with kumquat kosho, scallop roe, puffed barley, and micro greens. 

Snacks – Korean BBQ I Wagyu tartare  
I then moved on to the Korean-inspired Wagyu beef tartare served atop kohlrabi; finished with N25 caviar, miso-cured egg yolk puree, white chive blossoms, and tied together with a strip of blanched chive. 

Snacks – Roasted beetroot tartlet l Taleggio l Macadamia
The last snack I had was the red beetroot tart layered with Taleggio cream, and finished with fennel blossoms and micro-planed roasted macadamia.

Smoked sashimi poké I Kukui nut I Ogo seaweed I Herb dashi
I am always up for sashimi and the Hawaiian influence here in the form of poké is not quite what you expect from poké bowls. Instead, you get smoked sashimi served with Kukui nut, seaweed, and herb dashi, capped with seaweed foam. It is first covered with a smoked filled cloche, and unveiled at the table when served. You get a strong hint of smokiness from the hamachi sashimi here where a whole hamachi is aged for up to 6 days. I also like the crispy texture of the charcoal-infused puffed rice in this dish.

Dry-aged duck I Black garlic l Grilled dumpling
The whole Malaysian duck is dry-aged for up to 21 days, and this dish also encapsulates the zero-waste philosophy of Chef Jordan where different parts of the duck meat is featured.

Dry-aged duck breast and crispy duck tongue are paired with a pan-seared dumpling topped with yuzu kosho aioli, pickled shallot, fresh dill, aramanth, mustard leaves, frisee, and garlic flowers. Served with black garlic puree and chive emulsion, I like that it showcases different textures and flavours of the tender duck meat.  

Mackerel l Starfruit curd l Hokkaido Yumepirika sushi rice 
Moving on from the duck, I had the Grilled Japanese mackerel laid on Hokkaido Yumepirika sushi rice. The unique part of this dish also lies in the accompanying star fruit puree and Swiss chard achar.

You also get a side of fish broth with the dish, a clear and comforting soup from drying and smoking the bones of the fish. 

Wylarah Wagyu Australian striploin Mbs 8-9 I Kabocha squash bone marrow purée
The beef in this course changes depending on availability from the farms. The Australian striploin I had is succulent and flavouful, drizzled with beef jus and paired with Kabocha squash bone marrow purée.

The garnishes by the side are delicious too, especially the crispy brussels sprouts leaves. Other garnishes include frisée, pea tendrils, shaved fennel, as well as red and yellow endives. 

Pumpkin pie l Burnt marshmallow ice cream 
For dessert, I had Marshmallow ice-cream topped with a five spice biscuit, roasted pumpkin puree, coconut mochi, and fresh passionfruit. The combination sounds random but to my surprise, I enjoyed this dessert thoroughly as the flavours gel well together.  

Petit fours 
Last but not least, the meal concluded with a trio of Petit Fours where you can expect the likes of Hazelnut chocolate bonbon, Lilikoi Pate de fruit and Charcoal macaron.  

Rants Nothing in particular.

Will I Return Again? It is great that the tasting menu at Butcher’s Block now offers a more varied selection of dishes instead of solely focused on beef. The Hawai’ian influences from Chef Jordan’s background is quite a refreshing change for me based on my previous impression of Butcher’s Block few years ago, and this is worth checking out if you fancy your meats done well.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

Make your reservations instantly at Butcher’s Block here.

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

Butcher’s Block 
328 North Bridge Road  
#02-02, Raffles Arcade  
Singapore 188719 
(Accessible via the North Bridge Road entrance) 

Opening Hours 
Lunch: Thursday and Friday, 12:00 to 2:30pm (last seating at 2pm) 
Dinner: Wednesday to Sunday, 6:00pm to 9:45pm (last seating at 9.30pm) 
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays 

Ranted by The Ranter