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Singapore, August 8, 2010 JUST as the English have pubs, the Japanese their ramen shops and the Americans their diners, the Germans have microbreweries or brauhaus – their favourite spot for a satisfying meal and a beer. For hundreds of years, the brauhaus brewed its own beers and serves German food like pork knuckles, bratwurst sausages and Bayerische creme (Bavarian cream). There are six microbreweries in Singapore, although one of them, Archipelago Brewery Company, doesn’t serve food. Red Dot BrewHouse opened on Dempsey Hill in 2007, a realisation of the dreams of self-taught brewer Ernest Ng. While on vacation in South Africa in 1997, Mr Ng was offered a bottle of unlabelled home-brewed beer. Inspired, he bought a packet of ingredients to brew his own concoction. "I spent the next 10 years teaching myself how to brew beer by reading books. "I used to be a contractor, so I knew how to design and build the equipment," said the 55-year-old. He got his brewing equipment made in China and opened the restaurant at Dempsey in December 2007, followed by a second one in Boat Quay about two months ago. Sixteen new items were recently introduced to the menu, which features German fare like pork sausages, French dishes like beef cheek bourguignon (or a wine stew) and Italian spread such as caprese salad and pasta. The microbrewery also serves six types of beers, including a green beer infused with spirulina, a food supplement derived from algae. What we liked Mr Ong liked the wagyu beef cheek bourguignon ($30). The beef is braised without any sauce and served with French beans, carrots and whipped potato. He described the meat as "tender and soft". The pan-roasted sea bass drew ($28) praise from Ms Julian. The fish, which came with a bed of fish floss, was nicely cooked and not overdone, she said. "I also like that it came boneless and the fish floss removes any fishy taste the fish might have." Ms Julian, Mr Chew and I enjoyed the caprese salad ($15), a classic Italian dish inspired by the isle of Capri, off Naples. The traditional recipe calls for buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil, seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil. I like that the version here uses cherry tomatoes. The ultra-juicy, ultra-sweet little red balls justify the much higher prices, I’d say. What we didn’t The steamed mussels ($24) had a lot of promise but failed to deliver. The dish was steamed with chilli, garlic, coriander, white wine and onions, and served with garlic bread. Nobody could taste the wine in the gravy and, perhaps, the cooking method crammed its style. I felt the mussels would have done a lot better cooked in a creamy garlic and lemon butter sauce. The whisky chocolate-melt cake ($15) was another disappointment. It was touted as a rich chocolate truffle cake with a molten centre – laced with whisky too. But the panel and I couldn’t detect any whisky in the dessert. Mr Chew, a chocolate-melt cake fan, said: "The strawberry sauce is a distraction. Its sourness clashes with the chocolate’s sweetness. It’s also too dry and not warm enough."
Red Dot Brewhouse
33/34 Boat Quay
Singapore 049823
Tel: 6535 4500
