AF Hospitality Group— the same people behind A Mano and Ramen Ron— offer a sneak peek at their contemporary steakhouse concept opening in December 28, 2023
The boards are still up concealing AF Hospitality Group’s latest F&B concept, but we admit that the excitement around it is truly catching. Founder and owner Amado Forés’ typically unflappable demeanour is replaced with wide smiles and enthusiastic chatter as he introduces to our select group what he describes as “a childhood dream come true.”
Steak and Frice is Forés’ unique reinterpretation of a steakhouse derived from his memories growing up, travelling and dining out with his family. It is one part Parisian steak frites bistro and one part New York steakhouse, with “a touch of English tongue-in-cheek sophistication” as their information sheet imparts. However, what truly gives this steakhouse its soul are the one-of-a-kind twists from Forés’ food memories that make the menu so charming and, ultimately, quite enjoyable.
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The starter of cheese pimiento puffs is a wink at gougères (a bistro staple), this time with the nostalgic flavours of the sandwich spread of our youth. Forès grew up eating it and credits his aunt’s nanny whom they all fondly call Lola Fem for the cheese pimiento recipe. With that burst of creaminess enhanced by the familiar flavours, one is tempted to keep munching if not for the gentle warning that there are more dishes to try. Prudently, I only took a few bites of the salted honey Parker House rolls that were airy and buttery beneath its shiny brown exterior.
A steak dinner usually calls for Caesar salad, and Steak and Frice's version is as straightforward as it gets, if not for the giant slab of bacon it comes with. They will slice this table side for you to save you the trouble, perhaps because you will need all your energy tucking into what comes next. The main event, as the restaurant’s moniker simply expresses, is steak served with heaping portions of French fries and rice. Thin batons of potatoes are fried perfectly crisp and seasoned simply with salt, while the rice is stir-fried in steak fat and seasonings which give it an incredible beefiness and umami profile. Again, this idea is plucked from Forés’ childhood memories of dining with his family in a famous yet highly traditional New York City steakhouse and therefore, understandably, does not serve the Asian staple. “My aunts would have to smuggle their rice into Peter Luger (Steak House) in Tupperware containers,” Forés recalls with a smile.
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