Jurong Hilltop Restaurant

Jurong Hilltop Restaurant was an ad hoc dinner we had due simply because the other venue we had planned has been closed down (oh the horror!!) and so, since i traveled half of Singapore already to be there, I wasn't going to leave till I at least had a semi-decent meal. And since blogger friend FatPig was there to bring us up the hill, we persevered, climbed and conquered huge-O Jurong Hill for our little rendezvous.

I'll be honest, i would almost never have found the place had it not been for my friend. There was a long winding dark road up to the restaurant which simply isn't the kind of road i would willingly drive up for fun. And when we found it, i was surprised to see many people already there, which was quite a surprise as this location was, to me at least, an extremely ulu place. So maybe it serves good food @ a reasonable price?

Appetisers - The appetizers were pretty normal but served its intended purpose of whetting my appetite.

Stir Fried Venison with ginger and pepper ($16) - The venison was tender and sweet but i suppose its possible to have almost the same quality at normal zhi ca outside minus the show and having a lot more msg and oil. So, in light of health concerns, i'd prefer this one.

Pork ($14) - I found the pork a tad dry at first but later discovered some parts to be more evenly cooked than others. Still, a pretty nicely done dish (that means alot mind you, i'm not a pork lover)

Tofu ($8 for 2 servings) - A must-have staple dish for me. The tofu they have is of the egg bean curd variety which is decent, smooth and soft in texture but i can't help feeling its possible to get this from any grocery store outside. It certainly doesn't look or taste like it was made in-house nor does it feel imported but i may be wrong. Still, tofu is something i must have whenever its offered and this is passable.

Fresh Mushroom ($10 for 2 servings) - As the name implies, fresh mushroom is indeed fresh. Nicely done, succulent and tasty. Pity about the portion though, which was rather small after being split into 3 portions.

Bean sprouts Aka Dao *** - The filler section for the menu. You can't expect to be full after eating only the meats do you? And also, which teppenyaki would be complete without a good healthy serving of bean sprouts? This one was good as it didn't have the 'greenish' vegetable taste that happens when bean sprouts are not cooked properly. It was neither too salty nor too oily either which is very good.

Sirloin Steak Completed ($22) - From what i understand about the fire procedure, its very dangerous for the chef as his hands may have residue of oil and catch fire during the process resulting in severe burns. However, its supposed to be a necessary process to cook the beef to a suitable level of 'doneness'? Correct me if i'm wrong please. For the sirloin, the initial reaction is that its still a little tough maybe because it was slightly overcooked. It thus lacked the juiciness of whole steaks which i liked but in its cube form, this is still quite good. FatPig did comment that the meat wasn't really fresh though.

The meal came up to be about $85 for 3 people.

The place was pretty nice despite being found in an out-of-the-way location and i'm pretty sure its been there for quite some time given the number of people who willingly trekked there to eat. The food is pretty good and portion size was reasonable since it could be split by 3 people filling us up reasonably well. Its worth a visit for the experience and some nice Japanese Teppenyaki. The peace and quiet is also very much appreciated after the hustle and bustle of everyday life.