These restaurants both respect and modernise the traditional art of wood-fire cooking
Nothing beats the drama of a cut of meat sizzling on a wood-fire grill, releasing all its juices and mouth-watering fragrance. Wood-fire cooking is one of the oldest cooking techniques in the world, but primitive it is not—it takes a lot of skill to master the unpredictable open fire, ensuring a perfectly cooked cut that carries the dominant smoke of the burning wood every time. These days, wood-fire cooking is an art, and many of Singapore’s finest restaurants wield the paintbrush expertly. Wondering where to go for powerful flavour? We rounded up the best wood-fire restaurants in Singapore, for your consideration.
Don’t miss: New restaurant alert: Tribal at the Mondrian Singapore Duxton offers a communal wood-fire experience
1. Butcher's Block
Situated within the storied halls of Raffles Hotel Singapore is Butcher’s Block, itself refined and elegant with a dash of energy spilling from its open-concept kitchen and impressive wood fires. Have a good look at the dry-ageing cellar on your way in as a prelude to your meal, which includes an impressive prime selection of large format steaks. The full-blood Wagyu OP rib, for one, is one of the most premium cuts you can get here, being dry-aged for 100 days in rendered beef fat trimmings for ultimate flavour.
To be clear, this is no steakhouse; for a full exploration into chef de cuisine Jordan Keao’s creativity, opt for the Imua tasting menu instead, which includes wood-fired dishes such as the 21-day dry-aged duck breast, which is hung over the fire to slow cook in gentle heat, and served with deep-fried duck tongue and a duck leg medallion.