It was a genuine surprise- I tell you- when someone told me that there was a good steak place at Serene Centre near the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden side of Botanic Gardens around the junction of Adam Road, Farrer Road and Bukit Timah Road.
It's not that a steak place doesn't belong to Serene Centre.
It's just that I always thought of the place as a 'hood hangout for the kids staying in the prime districts nearby.
After all for many years the most popular sign at the building was that of McDonalds, and if I'm not wrong, a well known ice cream outlet on either the first or second floor.
Whether it be the first or the second, I don't know, because- until now- I'd never been there.
There'd never been a reason to.
But today my friend wanted to try the steak at this place called FBG there, and so we went.
FBG, formerly known as Fat Belly, is one of those places that feels somewhat like a casual cafe with a dinner date vibe.
Maybe it's the layout.
Maybe it's the decor.
Maybe it's the place that it's in.
It can be either or- a place that you meet friends at, dressed in your regular supermarket outfit of Tshirt and shorts, or a place that you choose to dine in after a (date) hike through Botanic Gardens a short distance away down the road.
I think of it more as a cafe with a casual dinner vibe.
Because, really, that's what it felt like to me when we got there around 5plus on a warm Saturday evening.
The ambience didn't make me feel like I was underdressed.
Neither did it make me feel like I had to wear a face full of make up to dine there.
The formality- as so often required in good steak restaurants- was pleasantly absent, and I found myself settling quite comfortably amongst the vibes there.
It didn't even matter so much that we were perched on high chairs at the counter.
Because from there we got a chance to see the chefs work.
My companion had a marvelous time watching the way their stove (and the stove flame) worked whilst the non-chef me simply concentrated on the interactions between the chefs and the young (quiet-looking) wait staff.
That's not to say we weren't paying attention to our food.
Of course we were.
There's no way that you won't pay close attention to what you're eating when you've got a plate of Blue Swimmer Crab Cakes right in front of you.
Especially since their size, the way they're breaded, the way they're arranged, and even the hand chopped tartare sauce reminds you of the crab cakes you once had in New York and San Diego.
So it doesn't look like much here, but I loved how the crunch of the deep fried batter, and the soft, mushy texture of the crab meat that blended onto your tongue with each mouthful.
There was that bit of stringy texture which you always get when eating crab.
But there was also the soft, near-potato texture that sort of made the whole cake collapse in your mouth whilst complementing the batter and the slightly salty, slightly tangy tartare which you dipped your crab cake into.
I only wish there were three pieces, or four or five.
For the mains we placed an order of charcoal-grilled Wagyu.
I know it's wagyu- that I'm pretty sure, but offhand I can't remember which of the wagyu it was we ordered.
It might have been the 2GR Full Blood Wagyu MS 8/9, it might have been the Jack's Creek F1 Wagyu MS 4/5, or the Black Opal F1 Wagyu MS 6/7. I don't know what all these names mean- perhaps I should have asked- but if I'm not wrong, they kind of indicate which breed they are or where they come from.
Ours might have been either the Jack's Creek or the Black Opal, because, if I remember what the wait staff said, ours came from an Australian farm.
But whether it be from Australia, or elsewhere, I'm just gonna say that the meat was done very, very well.
Tender, easy to pick up, easy to cut, there was no need for me to saw my way through a chonk of beef. All I needed to do was to turn the blade very lightly on the slice, and a cute little bite sized piece came apart.
It does make a difference, I realized, when the fire is of the right consistency and the right heat.
You have the juices of the meat, you have the rich, robust, rounded flavors of the beef, and there's only just that slight char which gives it a neat, smoky taste.
The only problem, however, was that, having shared, we didn't count just how many pieces each one of us had and so we just kept eating and eating until there were just two left and we didn't know how much of the steak we'd each already had.
Neither did it matter how much we'd already eaten- it was all finished anyway.
Fortunately we had made an extra order of Truffle Shoestring Fries which were crispy, delicious, and hot when brought to our table, and we had a fine time nibbling through them as we wondered where in our tummies the wagyu had gone to when we were still kind of hungry.
Would've been lovely if we'd managed to order more of the other dishes on the menu, I would say.
Because, honestly, I wouldn't have minded a Grilled Broccolini or a Grilled Cauliflower Steak- they sounded so interesting- and neither would I have minded a mushroom fricassee (whatever it is) with Thyme, Shitake, Shimeiji and Button mushrooms.
If there come a chance, perhaps I will, that is, after I take a gander through the Botanic Gardens from the Cluny Road side.
After all, over here, the price, ambience, service, food, all seems to make better for a carefully planned post-workout, post-hike date rather than an impromptu "kitchen closed tonight, we eat out la" sort of dinner space.