Shashlik Restaurant

This is the best plave to have Beef shashlik. Beef shashlik was well marinated and served on a hot plate.  Having Burning Alaska the firey ice ceram cake was nice experience and the taste too. Service not that good. 

I gave Shashlik a try on a friday evening with my family.

The food was average at best. Certain portions of the meal, etc salad, was at the level of hawker fare. Other choices, such as their signature soup dish (i forgot the exact name), were pretty decent. 

Service was atrocious. Food took about 1.5 hours to arrive, despite repeated reminders and pleas. Desert took another 30 minutes after we were finished with our main course. The staff were inattentive and displayed poor service. 

i highly do not recommend this restaurant

Tucked away in a hidden corner, the entire shopping centre looked abandon and left behind in the ever-changing Orchard Rd. Despite going on a Thurs night, the restaurant had quite a fair number of patrons.

Much raved about Beef shashlik lived up to my expectation, thou didn't impress much when it came plainly on a hotplate. Was well-marinated and just nice at medium rare, didn't require any sauce to go along with. Tried borsche soup too, good but nothing beats the beef shashlik, if you r a steak lover.

5 of us shared 2 desserts - burning alaska  and another banana+ice cream dessert (forgot the name). Burning alaska was interesting, ice-cream cake set on fire with burning rum poured over it. They cooked the banana dish on the trolley and the fire caught the attention of ALL the patrons around our seats. I was so afraid the waitress would burnt the hair of another lady just beside the trolley!

My colleagues warned me to be prepared of poor service, don't expect 5-star hotel service. Saw some young faces, so probably they injected some new 'blood' in their service team that made the overall service surprisingly pleasant.

Here's a quick nom nom food review, though this restaurant is not a quick bite kinda place. In fact, the history of this place is rather interesting. Firstly, I've never been to any Russian restaurant in Singapore before. I remember asking a Russian I've met in the states before on what they eat normally, and she told me meat dumplings and stew. I suppose that's about right. Actually it'll be so cool to try real authentic Russian cuisine in Russia!

The next best thing is the localized version of it. Story has it that it was actually "set up in 1986 by 9 Hainanse migrants in 1986 after being laid off at Russian restaurant Troika, the menu remained the same for the past twenty years." (from a HGW review by stargirl). In today's lexicon, this will be called FUSION. Tucked away on the 6th floor of a shopping mall that should have stayed in the 80s', it can be qualified as a hidden find or word of mouth kinda place. The place was quite packed for a Sunday night with families, almost 90% full at dinner time.

It was in fact an interesting experience to observe the restaurant. 80% of the servers were senior citizens. They move around however with a kind of practiced dignity and years of experience served up alongside the meals pushed around in trolleys (good idea). The smell and sizzling smoke from the hotplates and the flaming desserts in an air conditioned place is however not that welcome, if you will imagine them sticking on you after leaving the restaurant. Once again bad ventilation has dampened the restaurant's environment and discouraged any lingering after eating.

But the food itself is pretty good. In fact, for the money spent, it was really not too bad considering that it is the Orchard belt that we are talking about, albeit tucked away in a long forgotten and retro building just beside Wheelock. We were served free buns which are absolutely yummy. It was warm, soft and chewy with just the right amount of sweetness. Lather it up with SCS butter and it's like having breakfast on clouds. We then ordered the borsch soup, which was what this place is famous for. Someone on twitter commented that it has become too salty over the years, but when we tried I thought it was acceptable. The taste itself is very complex (if you compare it to soup spoon's). There's the hint of beef, and the cabbage and a myriad of other veggies made it taste homely yet.. rich enough, without it being too thick or overpowering. Definitely a great appetizer for the main course.

My main course was beef shashlik. In case you're wondering, shashlik just refers to speared meat that's cooked on a skewer. It was removed from the skewer when it's served on my hotplate and it went sizzle sizzle for a full minute. The russian salad was served separately. At first it looked kind of pathetic for 25 bucks, but after eating, decided it was just nice. The beef itself was really really juicy, tender and full of beefy flavour. My medium was also just right, very bloody on the inside but the meat was not cold. All in all it was about $30 per person with free buns, a soup to share, and a main dish each. My friend's beef stroganoff was served with very nicely flavoured butter? rice and the beef soaked in the gravy was also tasty.

Tried their cherry flambee dessert the last time I went to the place, and it was really good too but too much this time for 2 people. Maybe 3-4 people will be a good size for their desserts which are interesting to watch.

Very good! Now if only we can remember to go to this place whenever we are in town and need a nice fulfilling dinner...

For more pictures and reviews, visit my blog at petitconnoisseur.blogspot.com!

Shashlik Restaurant is like a time capsule. Set up in 1986 by 9 Hainanse migrants in 1986 after being laid off at Russian restaurant Troika, the menu remained the same for the past twenty years. The old-school decor is, too, as dated as the stern and efficient staff who roll out the dishes on wooden trolleys around the restaurant.  

Shashlik is famous for their Borsch ($7++ for an a la carte portion), and it's not difficult to see why. Ladled out at the table from a tureen sitting on a creaky wooden trolley, this tangy tomato-based soup came with a generous portion of soft cabbage shreds, as well as chunks of beef, carrot and potato. An optional dollop of sour cream added a delightfully creamy edge to the beefy Borsch!  

Instead of crusty loaves, soft and fluffy bread rolls ($0.50++ each) are served here. Dished out piping hot from the steamer, these sweet buns are perfect on their own, spread with SCS butter, or for mopping up the remains of a delicious stew.  

One of the favorites here is the oxtail stew- only available on Wednesdays as part of the set lunch ($14++), which also comes with the soup of the day, dessert and a cup of coffee or tea. Though inexpensive, oxtail is no less worthy than other cuts of beef if prepared well, as with the case at Shashlik. Flavorsome and gelatinous, the deliciously tender oxtail was served in a rich and hearty sauce along with boiled frozen mixed vegetables and potato chunks.

The restaurant is also known for its namesake, shashlik. Available in beef, chicken, lamb, pork and even prawns, the version here consists of grilled skewered meat served on a sizzling cast iron plate, and accompanied by Russian salad or boiled frozen mixed vegetables and fries. While tender and succulent, the Shashlik of Chicken ($18.50++) should be eaten quickly as it continues to cook on the hotplate. I also felt that the meat could also have done with more flavor as it was served without a sauce.  

The Spring Chicken (Whole) ($17++) was another well-executed main course. Though it was not as juicy as some other fried chicken dishes I've had, this was barely greasy. And there's no faulting the crisp and fragrant golden-brown skin or the moist and tender meat! Though the fries were of the frozen variety, they were properly crispy outside and fluffy inside. To my relief, the accompanying coleslaw was not soaked in mayonnaise, but was instead lightly crunchy and brined in a vinegar mix.  

The set lunch includes a boring wedge of watermelon to end off the meal, but do order one of the restaurant's specialty flambéed desserts anyway. I simply could not help but look on with interest as my order of Cherries Jubilee ($16++) was prepared right in front of my eyes. Firstly, a pat of butter was melted in the pan, followed by the addition of dark sweet cherries and a splash of kirsch that ignited in flames. A dollop of cream was stirred into the sauce before the whole fiery concoction was ladled over icy vanilla ice cream. While the menu states that the dessert is meant for two, the Cherries Jubilee was so delicious, I regretted not ordering whole serving for myself!

Have been wanting to try this for sometime after all the raves about it from the people around me and finally got to try it today!

The good

The shashlik beef was so good! we had it done medium and oh.. it just melts in your mouth! thinking about it just makes me drool! The bread we had was nice, served warm and chewy and when butter was applied, it melts.. yumyum! The shashlik pork was nice and tender when it was hot but became kinda tough over time. The baked alaska of cos has an interesting presentation and was quite refreshing to eat.  

The so-so

The borsch soup was pretty decent too for someone who doesnt like soup. The shashlik lamb was quite overpowering for those who cant take the strong smell and taste of mutton. The shashlik prawns was pretty forgetable too. The banana flambee was too sweet for my liking even though i have a pretty sweet tooth!

 

 

 

For photos and more reviews, visit http://littlemomentsofmylife.wordpress.com (:

When i stepped into this restaurant in Far East Shopping Centre (not Far East Sqaure! This is the super ulu shopping centre which no one really goes to), my first reaction was, "EWW". :/ Now, this is not a good first impression at all. I was overpowered by a strong smell of...something undesirable. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it was something along the lines of a milky/cheesy smell. But...the food was good! (:

The meal kicked off with a nice bun for each of us. It was piping hot, fluffy and soft. Tear a small piece, spread on some butter and into my mouth it went.

What's this?! Haha, this was my reaction when my dish arrived in front of me. After opening the paper and deflating the packet (it was deceivingly huge...i realised it was actually just all air -.-), i uncovered my Fish en Papillotte ($22).  The sauce was tomato-based, and there was a generous amount of it, enough to accompany every mouthful of fish i took. The fish meat was nice and soft, no bones and NOT fishy which made for a simple meal, that left me feeling satisfied and healthy.

The grilled salmon steak ($21) seemed a bit hard after my delightfully soft fish (i think they might have over-grilled it a little), but it was tasty nonetheless!

The steak garlic ($25) was nice! The dish was so aromatic and every mouthful of the steak was bursting with the flavour of garlic. Heavenly!

It took a long while for us to be served our food. at first we thought they had forgotten our order, but it came eventually. 

My parents mentioned that Shashlik was really popular back then (not sure how 'back then' though) but the setting of the place was indeed self-explanatory. It looks rustic and exhibits a certain kind of 80s charm. Most of the service staff look rather old too, and I guess they've been working there for really long. In any case, this was all part of the charming experience of dining at this restaurant which is famous for their steak (although not many youngsters will actually know about it).

I would definitely recommend the Shashlik beef fillet, because it's their specialty and it deserves to be so. I've never tasted steak that was well done AND so tender at the same time. The price is also reasonable for the quality of their steak.

Highly recommended, especially if you decide to bring your parents there because they would definitely have heard many good things about Shashlik!

ok, this one is really not about the food. I had the beef and lamb shaslik and borsch soup. The soup was yummy ... the beef shaslik was not bad, but the lamb was chewy.

The quality of the produce is clearly that would have been well received in the 1970s/80s, but is a bit cheap for what they're charging today. That said, it was quite packed nevertheless when i was there on a public holiday evening.

The ambience is also clearly showing its age ...and while it used to be famous for its very "aged" staff... most of them have since retired i think and there are a bunch of middle-aged matronly types. Service itself was OK ... nothing terrible, but nothing stellar.

All said, don't go there for the food - go for the atmosphere! The trolly carts come to the table where your shaslik is assembled... taken off the skewer and placed on the heated hot-plate... and then served with your side of veggies or fries etc.

If you order baked(bomb?) alaska ... the bring it to your table, ignite it and set your cake ablaze (neighbouring table ordered it).

Another table ordered an irish (or was it russian?) coffee... and they roll the trolly to the table, and "assemble" the coffee there... setting the alcohol ablaze in the glass... then whisking the coffee toghether and adding another alcohol. Very charming ...

It's like going for dim sum because they still do the trolly service as opposed to going somewhere where everything comes from the kitchen.

Given how long Shaslik (30+ yrs) has been around, and split from Troika before it (1970s?)...  you'd think only old fogies go there. Not true - the couple at the next table was probably in their late teens or early 20s.

I give it a '9' for charming, not for the finishing of the place or the place!

I chanced upon this restaurant on a wednesday afternoon and decided to try the promotion item, the oxtail set.

I simply love the oxtail set and its borsch soup with sour cream!

The oxtail is so tasty and soft to bite!

Its a must try!

Do take note of the dress code when you are there.