Hippopotamus

The hubby looked at me askance when I suggested going to Hippopotamus for lunch one weekend: "What, eat game meat?!?" Not quite! Hippopotamus, a chain restaurant from France, specialises in steaks, and in fact I had eaten there twice on my visits to Paris, with favourable impressions.

Our starter of beef carpaccio (part of a set at SGD19.50), drizzled with olive oil, served with a sprinkling of capers and basil leaves. A refreshing start to the meal, even if raw beef doesn't have any particular taste. Hippopotamus serves up more esoteric and hard to find (in Singapore) fare like bone marrow and beef tartare too, which I did not spot until we were midway through our mains. Definitely ordering the bone marrow (memories of a particularly pleasingly feral marrow abound) on our next visit!

The Hippo Classic Burger (the other part of the SGD19.50 set), was pretty decent too. A generous slab of minced beef patty, juicy and not overcooked, with minimal garnishings and sauces. I spread my choice of sauce (roquefort! I love smelly cheese!) on the patty and chomped down.

Our other main of beef skewer (SGD 21.50), with a spread of different cuts: sirloin, rump steak, skirt, and hangar steak. This was fairly good, although of course in a different league from Morton's. I liked the choice of sauces and side dishes (you get a choice of 3 sides for each main, including ratatouille and potato gratin), and we were pleasantly surprised that the green beans were actually french haricot verts.

A very value-for-money mid-range steak restaurant, and definitely trumps the experience at Aston's.

Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill
#01-204/205 Marina Square