Monday, January 20

Fat Cow, Camden Medical Centre

The idea of putting the words “mother-in-law” and “fat cow” within the same sentence would typically amount to bloodshed and anarchy; this explains why I am extremely relived to report, we went to Fat Cow for lunch upon my mother-in-law’s suggestion and the only blood we saw was the blush pink of a medium raw Wagyu steak.

I love how beef is the common denominator among all the meals we have with my in-laws. We don’t cook it at home often so whenever beef is involved, it always feels like a celebratory meal.


The actual ala carte menu is more substantial than what you would find on their Facebook page.


In case, you have never googled the restaurant, Fat Cow is housed under Camden Medical Centre, which seems oddly appropriate and convenient for the centre’s target audience. So what’s the big idea? Well, Fat Cow is a Japanese steakhouse slash meat atelier that “serves luxurious bespoke meats tailor-made to every individual”. Yes and after the meal, please call your shirt maker to re-take your measurements. 

Say whuuut?


I loved the many different sake glasses that were served. My mother-in-law had the prettiest cup - given how much lunch was, we should have asked to take home the glass cup. 


Our cold starter, a baby spinach with sesame dressing, was pleasing but something that wouldn't be too hard to replicate for a home cook. Which means, yes, I will Google for the recipe very very soon.


Three slices of char-grilled sweet potatoes, sweet with a tinge of smokiness, were picked off quickly. 


The beef marrow cutlet and onsen tamago was by far the most impressive starter. Unctuous and decadent without overdoing it, thanks to the zesty soy and citrus broth. 


I don't know if it is just me but I find it hard to resist crab cakes whenever I see them on the menu. However, this crab cake wannabe was more of a cream crab croquette. 


The crab and cream ratio might have been way-off for a crab cake but the crisp and light panko crust was exemplary. 


We ordered three steaks to share and the Japanese Ohmi A4 Ribeye Wagyu was easily the prized cattle of the lot. Every mouthful was a melange of fatty meatiness... Why hello, you fat cow! is seriously a compliment in this instance. 


Because you are eating a cow which gets massages and its eyebrows trimmed, you got to show it a decent amount of respect and not tear into your steak like a barbaric caveman.


Some of us preferred the Japanese Saga A3 Sirloin that had more of a pronounced beefy flavour. Bring on the Gaminess of Throne! Nah... not really, this was fatty enough to conceal any full-on gaminess.


The Austalian 45 Day Dry Aged Sirloin was char-grilled and served with an onsen tamago over a bed of rice in a claypot. I was trying not to get too excited over the saucy rice action but this was a total set-up for food porn. 


If I were a millionaire, this would be my weekly source of comfort food. Chopsticks were essential for the sole purpose of etching out the charred rice bits. 

Frankly speaking, desserts were underwhelming, compared to the starters and mains. As $18 a pop, they were all pleasant but not something you need to save space for.


Shaved ice with green tea ice cream, azuki and peeled orange rind. Pleasant but not a show-stopping by any stretch of imagination.


The facial-advertisement-worthy milk custard pudding was pleasant too but I expected the pudding to be hot instead of cold.

Azuki obanyaki and peach sorbet. Each component was pleasant enough but it didn’t make any sense to lump peach with red beans and pancake. Unless I missed the memo that peaches and azuki are the latest IT couple.

Hmm, actually I would advise you to take your money and walk 10 minutes down the slope towards Dolcetto for a much more satisfying finish - plus you get to work off some of that beef too.

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