Decker Barbecue, Robertson Quay

For some reason, I keep thinking of Decker Barbecue as a "new restaurant" but blogs and articles about this grill restaurant date back to 2015. Perhaps that’s what parenthood does to you, you are stuck in a time warp while the rest of the world whizzes by.

Decker bills themselves as the “Asia’s First Authentic Texas Barbecue” - I can’t refute nor confirm that. According to their website, they have a custom-built smoker from Dallas, Texas that go up to 16 hours. There was much fanfare when they first opened. We were particularly intrigued as KW was grilling a lot too and it would be interesting to see "how professionals do it."

I guess we finally checked out what the hype was after three years.

Located in a tiny nook at Robertson Quay, Decker Barbecue is a t-shirt-and-shorts kind of place, replete with awesome and quick service. They sell their meats by weight, which means you could be easily fooled by the price per 100g and costs escalates really quickly.

We had their brisket, buffalo chicken and spare ribs. Unfortunately going during lunchtime meant the burnt ends weren't ready yet.

I’m going to start by proclaiming the brisket as life-changing. It was gloriously fatty in a melt-in-your-mouth way and I could not stop raving about while tucking in. I had recently made brisket myself and it in no way tasted like this. I even kidded to KW that I would get him a real professional smoker till he gently reminded me of Amazon’s shipping cost. Point taken. We ordered seconds within minutes and I would return just for the brisket.

I have to say the rest of the meal was so-so.

The ribs were irreproachably tender and flavourful but I pretty much prefer the ribs that come out of KW’s Weber. And I’m not saying this because I’m legally bonded to him.

For our sides, we had our obligatory greens - a kale & tahini salad and red cabbage coleslaw - both of which were serviceable, providing much respite from impending meat sweats.

There are pretty much 2 groups of mac & cheese fans - the first who can't get enough of creaminess and the second who appreciate a crunchy panko topping to cut the creaminess. I actually always make sure I add more panko to my mac & cheese, so no prizes for guessing which group I belong it. Their mac & cheese was creamy to the point of being too jelat. To my surprise (well, more like horror), the boys loved it, lapped it up and asked for thirds.

The jalapeno cornbread was tasty enough albeit on the dry side.

You can't really go wrong with buffalo wings but these came from some skinny chickies. A meatier cut would have really kicked this up a notch.

I don't mean to brag but after seeing “how the professionals do it,” I’m glad we can easily whip up moreish grub at home. That is, apart from the life-changing brisket. AHHH, I can still remember how good it is!