One of my fondest experience of eating steaks in Singapore was when I tried out Wolfgang’s Steakhouse at the Intercontinental Hotel in Singapore. It was one of my earliest experiences trying out a porterhouse, a fine cut of beef that is dry aged for 28 days. It isn’t some beef from Australia but a USDA Prime Black Angus Beef. Yes, there are a lot of differences when it comes to the taste profile.
So when Wolfgang’s Steakhouse opened a branch here in Malaysia, I was ecstatic because I didn’t have to travel all the way to Singapore to enjoy it. Unfortunately, when the sign boards came up, it was smack during COVID, which delayed the launch of the restaurant. Finally, in July, the steakhouse opened, and I took a quick trip there to get some early impressions of the place. Here are my initial thoughts about the place.
I arrived with my family a little earlier than my booking time. The server asked us to wait in the open area as they prepared our table whilst we listened to a live band perform. After 10 minutes, they called us in and seated us in the middle of the restaurant. It was rather early, and we were the second customers there. I glanced through the menu and asked a couple of questions, but the server was really new and knew little (e.g. I asked about the sides that accompanied the dishes). To cut the long story short, he said that the salmon would come with sides, but it didn’t.
Porterhouse for Two
I ordered the standard porterhouse for two, some side dishes and salmon for my son. Food took a while to arrive, but when it did, it looked quite good.
The porterhouse arrived, sizzling hot (if you ever been to Peter Luger’s in New York, they have a sign in the kitchen that says every plate that goes out MUST be SIZZLING). This passed the first test. The porterhouse is always cooked at very high temperatures. Think about the region of 700-1000 degrees Fahrenheit or 500+ degrees Celsius. When I took my first bite, that was when it all went downhill.
Yes, the taste was bland, and the meat felt like it wasn’t dry aged at all. Heck, the steaks that I have been buying during the COVID lockdown periods had a lot more taste than the piece of crap that was served. Mind you, the steak was cooked well, medium rare, but I think they tried to push it out fast that they didn’t trim enough of the fats as some parts of the steak had too much unrendered fats. Still, I would like to think that this was part of their early teething issues and shall wait for another chance to give them an overall verdict. Seriously, for the amount of money you pay for this, it is severely underwhelming.
To me, a good steak can be eaten on its own without additional salt or pepper or any sauces. This piece of crap, made me want to add in additional salt, pepper and also their own table-side Wolfgang sauce. It was a stark contrast compared to my experience in Singapore and definitely one that made me regret driving 45 minutes up to Genting just to have a meal there.
Sides and Salmon
The salmon my son ordered wasn’t too bad, a large portion (for a large sum) but again, the taste was a little on the bland side. The sides were nothing to shout about, in Singapore, we had a large thick cut of bacon and crab cakes, but I shuddered to think that if they can’t get creamed spinach right, what else were the rest of the other sides? It reminds me of the typical Malaysian “bo-chap” attitude when it comes to both food and service. Again, I shall now give them the benefit of the doubt as early teething issues for a new restaurant.
Conclusion
If I ever go to Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Genting again and get the same level of service and quality of food, I think I shall ban that place forever. Not only are customers paying a premium for steak and ambience, but customers need to travel a long way up just to dine at the restaurant. Just based on the experience, I would rather have spent my money at Five Guys just across from the floor.
