老爸老妈要吃饭 Feed the Fam

If iSteaks had more outlets all over Singapore, I think I'd stop patronising Astons forever. Though slightly pricier, the quality of food and the variety of sides that iSteaks offers is way better than Astons. Between the two, I had a much more satisfying meal at iSteaks.

This place serves a great variety of meats in different serving sizes, and each main comes with a choice of 2 sides (you select from a long list).

NZ Striploin Steak 250g $19
This was so very juicy. Once you bite in, the juices come flowing out, and the meat lover in me did a happy dance. The meat was flavourful, well-marinated and not too chewy (we got medium rare). The small bits of fat that trim the slab just melt in the mouth. The 250g was just nice for a boy with a big appetite.

NZ Ribeye Steak 200g $18
While less thoroughly marinated than the Striploin, this was still very tasty, and the meat was tender. Great serving size for the average girl with a healthy appetite. Best part of the steaks was that there weren't excessive bits of ligament or fats that you sometimes get, which shrink your serving size to depressing amounts.

Each of the sides were enjoyable. I was pleased to see Sauteed Brussels on the list. It isn't very common in Singapore to see places serving up brussel sprouts, but iSteaks definitely does theirs well-enough to encourage more diners to eat this overlooked vegetable. The Creamy Spinach was oh so very creamy and cheesy - awesome for cheese-lovers, but others might find it slightly jelak. The Mac & Cheese was pretty normal, but good enough for a side dish. Now the best of our choices had to be the Spinach & Sesame Salad. The sesame dressing was so fragrant, I wanted to run into the kitchen and beg them to tell me what brand it was just so I can cart bottles of that stuff home.

The diner's a great spacious place and well-ventilated, and service was quick. We visited slightly before dinner hours, and it was already decently full. There was a long queue outside just as we were leaving, so do try to avoid the dinner crowd if you can!

This monster of a plate comes with a huge mound of rice, two big bowls of curry, 1 pork katsu, 1 chicken katsu, chicken karaage, tempura ebi, 1 hard boiled egg and 1 potato croquette, all for a price of $19.80.

While the karaage was pretty decent, it was the katsu that I enjoyed more - the breading soaks up the curry for that super shiok mouthful.

The croquette was surprisingly tasty, and I wished that we could have swapped out the ebi for that instead.

The serving size was pretty big and even when shared amongst two, by the end of the meal we were stuffed (and we still had a big pile of rice left over!).

Also, because all of the toppings were fried, it got a little too jelak by the end of the meal. There is only so much fried food one can take in a single sitting! I'd say that this plate could even be shared amongst 3 people.

Overall a plate of decent quality curry rice for that price point.

This dinner at Elemen was so good, it didn't matter at all to the meat-lover in me that I was eating vegetarian cuisine.

We had the 8-course set (the 5-course set is only available on weekdays) for $32.80++, which is a great deal for the quality of food that you're getting. For each course, you get to pick from nearly the full range of dishes they have available in that category, so it's a great deal if you're looking to give a few different dishes a try.

The set my partner and I tried consisted of:

1. Appetiser Platter
- The black sesame tofu in sesame dressing was my favourite. So fragrant and great fusion of flavors.

2. Breadsticks served with a dip

3. Salad
- I selected the Mushroom Salad, which wasn't so much a conventional salad, but rather a generous serving of juicy, delicious chunks of braised mushrooms, served with a slightly out-of-place side of mixed greens, sitting in the same mushroom sauce. It felt odd to me, eating raw veggies with an Asian gravy, and I frankly preferred to have it with the breadstick dip.

4. Soup
- Their Tomato Bisque was hearty and made for a nice change of flavours.
- The Truffle Mushroom Soup had a stronger truffle fragrance than I expected, perhaps due to the generous lashings of truffle oil. Mushroom flavour was rather muted in comparison.

5. Apple Cider Vinegar shot
- Loved that they served this refreshing shot as a palate cleanser after that hearty soup.

6. Main (approx $15.80 if you order it ala carte)
- The Truffle Mushroom Pizza is a definite must-try! The cream, cheese, mushrooms and rocket leaves on the thin crust pizza base came together so well. When the dish first came i first worried I wouldn't like it because it looked plain compared to the toppings-heavy pizzas I tend to prefer, but this turned out to be more than enough. The toppings are few but super flavourful. The pizza crust texture was beautifully done as well - the edges were crispy, while the centre was soft. The portion size is also definitely more than enough - I was 'donating' slices away and still felt that I had more than enough for myself!
- I loved their Mushroom Risotto as well. Maybe because they use more unrefined grains, but the texture of the risotto was a lot more complex and wholesome. None of that mushy porridge-like consistency I expected, which was a lovely surprise. The mushroom flavour in this was strong without being overpowering, and the mix of flavours and textures came together excellently.

7. Dessert
- The osmanthus jelly was fragrant but frankly a little forgettable.
- The star dessert has got to be the Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Gelato. The lava flowed beautifully, and the chocolate flavour was slightly muted, which I liked, but those expecting a decadent rich chocolate flavour might be disappointed.

8. Drink
- I had their Sea Salt Coffee, which was well balanced. The foam was thick and creamy, and the coffee was strong and fragrant.
- Their teas smelled great but were comparatively lacking in flavour.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable meal. I loved nearly every course, and deeply enjoyed how the ingredients of each dish were thoughtfully selected, demonstrating Elemen's focus on serving healthy and nutritious food.

The only area of improvement I would have liked to see would perhaps be a greater variety in the dishes offered - there were a number of mushroom and truffle dishes, and I would have liked to have my interest piqued by a wider range of foods and flavours. I'll definitely be back to try out the other mains soon!