It’s that time of the year again: Park Hotel Alexandra’s The Carvery is once again having their annual protein punch-up in the 2018 edition of The Great Meat Feast, going on from Sept 28 to Oct 21.
Moving away from last year’s pork-focused menu, The Carvery is going back to its all-beef roots, due to feedback from previous guests. This time around, Executive Chef Ian Hioe has handpicked new meats and cuts from various farms around the world, from the Niigata prefecture in Japan to the northern Uruguay department of Cerro Largo.
“We specifically chose beef with unique origins, curing methods and in a variety of steak cuts for The Great Meat Feast 2018, to showcase the nuances in texture and flavor,” said Chef Hioe.
The highlight this year, he points out, is the cut of Yukimuro snow-aged wagyu beef. Only available on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the course of the culinary event, the wagyu beef takes on an extra supple texture due to an ancient aging process that involves the cut matured in a giant cellar full of snow — a “natural refrigerator” of sorts. The low-temperature and high humidity yields an ultra-tender meat.
Nonetheless, there are other beef brackets to look forward to. Take the Australia-origin Tajima wagyu for example, which will have beautifully marbled (but common) cuts of tri-tip, chuck roll and bolar blade that will undergo different methods of cooking for patrons to enjoy. One method that’ll make its copious cameos on Instagram would be when the chef sears the cut right on top of a salt slab.
Tomahawk steak lovers would probably be happy to have a smoky black Angus sourced from Australia’s acclaimed Beef City plant, which will be cooked dirty-style — directly on hot coals in a wood-fired oven. Those who favor something cleaner can dig into black Angus cuts from the Ana Paula farm in Uruguay, where free-roaming, grass-fed cattle result in leaner meat.
It’s just a pity that patrons are still getting slender slices of the delicate meat for each portion — it would be nice if the meat is handed out in thicker chunks… this is, after all, meant to be a feast, right? Let us feast!
As always, the vast array of salts, butters, and sauces are on hand to provide limitless variations to the meat-eating experience. Aside from the beef roasts, diners can also have a breather with other entrées such as The Carvery’s rotisserie chicken, sous-vide egg with grilled asparagus and truffle salsa, pasta dishes, cheese, salads, and many other dishes included in the buffet.
Price-wise, it’s pretty reasonable at $78 from Monday to Thursday, and even at the slightly higher weekend cost bump at $88 on Friday to Sunday. Solid stuff, carnivore friends. Solid stuff.
FIND IT:
The Carvery is at Park Hotel Alexandra, 323 Alexandra Road, Level 7
6828-8880. Mon-Sun 6:30pm-10pm
MRT: Queenstown
Reader Interactions