[Media Invite] Dinner at Brewerkz Microbrewery & Restaurant

30 Merchant Road #01-05 / 06 Riverside Point, Singapore 058282

Tel: 6438 7438

Website: http://www.brewerkz.com

No stranger to Brewerkz surely, in fact I just visited earlier in the year (review here) for brunch, so now I am back for dinner, a different experience. This was a media invite attended by representatives of Hungrygowhere, IvanTeh, Purple Taste etc, to try out the new items on Brewerkz'  newly-revamped menu.

Always happy to be back at Brewerkz, serving good-portioned American-styled food and making high quality craft beer.  They have incorporated some Asian dishes into the menu, especially for the upcoming Jubilee SG50, such as this Satay Seafood Angel Hair Pasta which I'm excited to write about shortly.

Anyway, since we could not decide on which beer to have, we decided to go for the Beer Sampler set (SGD$13.00 for 4 glasses x 90ml).  We had the full array of 14 types of beer since there were 5 of us sharing; and the small shotglasses were all placed on top of their respective descriptions.

Amongst them, there were Golden Ale, Hopback Ale, Wheat Beer, Jubilee Lager, Pilsner, Lemondrop Pale Ale, Steam Beer, Irish Red Ale, Black Raspberry Ale, Brown Ale, India Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout, XIPA and Black Pig.      I know, what interesting names, right?

Additional order - Stem Glass of Black Raspberry Ale

My personal favorite was Black Raspberry Ale, a strong fruity flavour that won the usual fruit beers, because there was a strong body to it like fruit wine.  The other impressionable ones were the Golden Pale Ale, light and smooth, and I had it during past visits;  the Lemondrop Pale Ale because there was a somewhat odd undertone to it;  Jubilee Lager because it was sweet and special for the upcoming SG50, as well as Oatmeal Stout, which tasted exactly like pure black bitter Kopi-O!

We started with Soba Noodle Salad (SGD$23.00) which consisted of lots of greens, cherry tomatoes, teriyaki chicken, wanton skin and Asian Vinaigrette dressing, all tossed in a large glass bowl.  The vinaigrette was great - all the right notes of sour and sweet flavours perking the crisp greens up; the teriyaki chicken strips were tender, and I absolutely dug the wanton skin topping the salad.

Next, we were treated to the Chipotle Pork Belly Satay (SGD$  ), holding a class of its own, with succulent meat balanced by its wobbly fatty parts, giving the satay a chewy-ness that was both tantalising and pleasing to the palate. Dipped into the traditional satay sauce, this made for a very tasty "atas-version" of good Chinese roast-pork (燒肉) on a skewer.

Following that, the Buffalo Wings (SGD$18.00), where you get to choose from Mild, Hot or Fiery.  Look at the well-moistened chicken wings, slick on the outside, but tender on the inside, a good palate-lover to reckon with. I should be able to take the hottest level, but we did not get to try that.

Moving on, the Tasmanian Mussels (SGD$25.00), served in cream sauce and served with warm, crispy Focaccia Bread.  Fresh, springy mussels extracted from their shells, soaked nicely with the scrumptious cream sauce that made it nearly juicy; swishy upon contact with the teeth.

For mains, we dug heartily into the 3 Big Pigs (SGD$90.00), the ideal platter for pork lovers, to go along with Beers with. This serves up to 4 pax, consisting of Kielbasa sausage, baby back ribs and crispy pork knuckle, with mashed potato by the side. I loved the crackling skin of the pork knuckle, that alone was so good, I couldn't get enough of it.

As for the ribs, the pleasant smokey notes complemented the sweetness of the marinated ribs, setting beautifully over succulent meat; the sausages had a firm, bouncy outer layer opening up to well-grounded meat stuffed within.

Now, onto my favoritest of the evening -  Satay Seafood Angel Hair Pasta, a limited time only item, comprising of red snapper and soda cuttlefish in rich homemade satay gravy.  You know, the tangy and thick peanut gravy used in satay beehoon or for dipping satay? This was marvellously spicy, flavour infusing deeply into the seafood items as well; tossing the springy strands of pasta in, made this an incredibly delicious dish, fulfilling all criteria of textures and taste.

The Cowboy Burger (SGD$24.00) - succulent and juicy beef patty topped with crispy bacon, incorporating all the hints of smokiness, beefiness and lusciousness all into one bite.  Burger lovers would swoon at this amazing creation.

To upgrade to roasted mushrooms, sweet potato fries or truffle fries, simply top up SGD$2.00 for sides (you may also order a la portions at SGD$11.00 each).  We tried the Sweet Potato Fries - saccharine, crispy sticks that gave a unique alternative to the usual fries.

We also tried the Wagyu Burger (SGD$28.00) with American cheese and sauteed onions. It was tender enough, but surprisingly we found its lower-priced counterpart to be a better fit in terms of taste and texture.

For this, we paired with Truffle Fries, emanating rich aroma of the truffle oil from sniff to savour, making for a great accompaniment to any mains.

Desserts finally made their way to us.

The first one was Warm Brownie (SGD$14.00) - a large square of rich, indulgent and sweet brownie topped with vanilla ice-cream and honeycomb, slushed with hot stout-fudge sauce. The texture reminded me of mud totally - every bit as sticky and firm, only smoother, and a thousandfold more palatable. The use of honeycomb added a refreshing touch.

I am a honeycomb lover in every aspect, but I am unsure if the brownie needs anymore sweetness to it though...

Next up, Oreo Ice-Cream Cake (SGD$14.00), hard on the fork but melty on the tongue. Fans of cookies-and-cream flavour will find this completely delightful. Not only did I enjoy every morsel of this darling, I thought it was very gratifying to find the layers of chocolate coating on top, and beneath the ice-cream cake too, holding it intact and adding to the taste.

The final item we tried was the Chocolate Fudge Cake (SGD$14.00) served with marshmallows on the side, pure luxuriously chocolatey, moistened, with a tenacious-ness to its taste and texture, cliniging long to the tastebuds long after we swallow it.

I thought the very-American desserts were the perfect finish to a satisfying American meal paired with beer. It was relaxation and enjoyment at its best - no wonder the entire restaurant was filled with cheers and laughter!

Thank you for the fabulous recommendations and hosting, Adora and Brewerkz, as well as appreciation to Hungrygowhere for the invite.