Fancy eating a perfectly cooked steak? Edwan checks out a new kid on the block and is pleased with the offerings.

Good news! I can now tick ‘eat steak in a swamp’ off my to-do list. It was a rather pleasant experience, and one I wouldn’t mind going through again. Good food in a good place; that’s hard to beat. So, steak in a swamp: done! But let’s back up. No, I wasn’t actually in a swamp. That’d be weird. It just so happens ‘Toowoomba’ means swamp in native Australian Aborigine, as the poster on the wall says. And instead of a wet bog with mosquitoes flying around, Toowoomba Meats and Deli is perhaps one of the nicest looking places you can go today to enjoy a steak.

Toowoomba Meats and Delis is a steak-house owned by Perfect Fresh and Frozen, a local purveyor of meats, mostly imported from Australia. Their schtick is that all of their products are guaranteed Halal from reliable sources. Toowoomba is apparently their latest restaurant, situated in the brand new Platinum Mondrian commercial building along Jalan Genting Klang. It’s easy to spot from the main road; a few steps away from Overtime Sports Bar. If you’re wondering what kind of place it is, think Las Vacas or Ayers Rock; it’s essentially a meat shop that cooks for you.

The first thing that struck me as I stepped in with my colleague was just how clean and bright everything is. This led to a very cheerful, friendly atmosphere. There weren’t that many people around the day I visited, maybe it’s because of how new the place is. The restaurant is furnished with wooden furniture and decorated with high-contrast posters that mostly talk about meat. As with a lot of modern restaurants, the kitchen is visible to see behind glass panels. You can actually watch the chefs cook your food there and then. Of course, there’s the ice-box and meat-case where a selection of high-quality beef and lamb, all Australian and Halal, is ready for you to buy. The ice-box also contains seafood products such as salmon.

"A beautifully cooked piece of meat!"

Now on to the meat of the matter, pardon the pun.

We took our seats. On each table a sparse menu is laid out. This is the type of menu I love: it only lists down what is being sold and at what price. Simple, straightforward and easy to understand. They also have a blackboard menu just behind the cashier counter. Toowoomba offers a selection of steaks, mainly striploin and rib-eye, which come in three varieties: grass-fed (the cheapest), grain-fed (middle-ground) and Wagyu (for the minted!). Notably, I didn’t see tenderloin on the menu. Also on the menu are lamb, chicken, burgers and salmon. However, on that particular day, the selection was pretty limited, perhaps due to supply issues.

No matter, as I always think that a steak-house should first and foremost be judged on steak. So we ordered the Grain-fed Rib-Eye Steak with Mushroom Sauce, and we asked for it medium-rare. For those who’re not too sure, just ask any of the friendly, English speaking servers, or take a look at the window at the rear of the restaurant: they conveniently put a temperature range for beef doneness. We added an order of Rack of Lamb with Mint Sauce, and a Grilled Salmon. All of the dishes come with mashed potatoes and a side salad.



The first plate of food to arrive was the Rib-eye steak; I appreciated how the kitchen paid attention to presentation and didn’t just slap a hunk of beef on a plate. The steak sported gorgeous grill marks and I was happy to see that it wasn’t resting in a pool of beef juices, which meant the kitchen knew to rest meat before serving it. Salivating, my colleague and I cut into the steak, and the meat yielded easily to the knife. Inside, it was perfectly juicy and medium-rare from edge to edge, the color a deep, warm red, and was brimming with an intense, savory beefiness that only an expertly cooked rib-eye steak can provide. Each morsel was a morsel to savour, a treat for the tastebuds.

Next, the salmon arrived, again showing the zig-zag of the grill. Salmon is all too easy to dry out, but this wasn’t the case here. The fish was still moist in the middle, with a hint of pink. The salmon was served with an excellent lemon-butter sauce. The sour notes of the sauce danced easily with the rich, oily salmon in what proved to be another example of expert cooking from the kitchen.

Finally, the server brought us the lamb rack. These weren’t the trimmed (or ‘Frenched’) lamb racks, so had plenty of fat cap, which proved to be a blessing as the racks were cooked well done. But thanks to the copious amount of fat, the meat was far from dry, but juicy and very… lamb-y. The best bits were the caramelized edges of the fat, which we delighted in gnawing off the bone. The side dishes were a perfect foil to the main items; the mash potatoes were creamy and didn’t taste like the powdered stuff, and the sauces that accompanied the steak and lamb were great compliments to the meats. The small portion of side salad was dressed simply with a vinaigrette and was effective as a palate cleanser.



Within a short time, we had emptied all three plates, leaving nothing but scraps of gristle and bone behind. Had Toowoomba lived up to its attractive façade? Most definitely, and it didn’t cost all that much, considering the three dishes we ordered. The final bill came up to RM110, and I think that’s pretty good value for a beef-salmon-lamb meal for two people. If expertly cooked steak is something you’re into, this place should definitely be on your list. And since they’re new, now is the time to come, while the place isn’t that crowded and the kitchen can show what it’s capable of. Because trust me, an expertly cooked steak, like the one I had here, is one of the great pleasures of life.

And of course you too, will get to say you’ve eaten steak in a swamp.

More Photos To Drool On

Foodster's Verdict

Toowoomba Meats and Deli

                   

See More Delicious Videos

Latest 10 Posts Yeung Chow Chinese Fried Rice Wed, February 22, 2012 Recipes Hoofed Tue, February 21, 2012 Where To Eat Bawal Power Thu, February 16, 2012 Where To Eat Pajeri Nenas Wed, February 15, 2012 Recipes Food Bloggers Top 10 Picks : Romantic Restaurants Tue, February 14, 2012 Features Ayam Masak Merah Wed, February 08, 2012 Recipes Favourite 5 Intimate and Romantic Bangsar Restaurants Sun, February 05, 2012 Features More KL Romantic Restaurants Sun, February 05, 2012 Features Big Tree Lin Kee Thu, February 02, 2012 Where To Eat Top 5 Romantic Restaurants in Subang Jaya Thu, February 02, 2012 Features