Hippopotamus

why the name hippopotamus i wondered? well, maybe it was in reference to the size of their main courses! when my family went there, we only ordered ONE main course for all of us to share. and that gave us the opportunity to try all the other interesting items on the menu as well (:

okay this is pretty odd but i'll start with the main course first! haha. look at those gorgeous slabs of meat! this was the heart of sirloin ($79.90), a hearty 750g of meat! :O it is meant to be shared among 2-3 diners, but honestly, that would be just wayyyy to much! we had it cut into five portions instead, which was just nice for us. a fabulously smooth piece of meat, we chose medium so it was slightly pinkish inside without being too raw. i think i got the section with all the fats though! so it was a great exercise for my jaw, doing all the chewing. hahaha.

 

it came with 6 types of sauces on the side, barbeque, bearnaise (some sort of buttery creamy sauce, sinful but yummy!), stewed shallots (like caramelised onions, sooo tasty!), peppercorn, roquefort cheese (i was really curious about this cos it looked delicious, but guess what? it's BLUE CHEESE) and sea salt (awesome for dipping!).

 

and 6 side dishes! seriously, this alone was enough to fill 5 tummies. haha. the sides were fries, potato gratin (i really liked this cheesy, potato-y dish!), green beans, baked potato, ratatouille and basmati rice (lightly fragrant, a surprisingly tasty dish on its own).

and now let me rewind all the way to the front again. every meal kicks of with a yummy bowl of chips. or rather, bowlS of chips. i dunno whether there was extra charge for chips, but they just kept refilling our bowl until the appetizers came. and you know how i can't resist these crunchy savoury goodies when they're in front of me, so i kinda stuffed myself quite a bit with these before realising i should actually save my stomach for the proper food. they were really salty though! perhaps it would have felt better if they cut down on the salt. otherwise, the mixture of flavours in the seasoning was yummy. (:

we were also served a basket of bread rolls. they looked pretty interesting! it's not so clear in the picture, but they looked kinda greyish in real life. i was a bit suspicious of it haha. but they tasted wonderfully soft when they were nice and toasted. when they got cold, they weren't nice at all though.

i have to say that i had a really hard time ordering food when i was at this restaurant because there were just so many yummy things on the menu, and many were recommended by a food blog i had visited. for appetizers, i knew the the french onion soup ($8.90) was a must-try, and it really lived up to expectations! warm slurpy food for the soul, with the aroma of onions wafting out of it, a beautiful layer of melted cheese on top, and bread in the bowl. two thumbs up! xD

the shrimps potato twists ($12.90 for 6pcs) didn't seem very spectacular though. they looked interesting enough, pretty cute don't you think? but basically they're just prawns wrapped in strings of crispy potato. i suppose the effort put into making this dish (if it's handmade?) is the thing that counts.

the squid sticks ($8.90) sounded really interesting! and they totally reminded me of cheese sticks (if only they had the oozy cheesy taste to it). squid covered in a fine layer of crispy crumbly breadcrumbs, nice and chewy and served with sweet chili. goodie!

okay yes i realised this post is getting awfully long. now on to desserts! :D this was again a very difficult choice to make! too many yummy looking things xD the two desserts i tried were WONDERFUL. really. truly. :D the warm chocolate cake ($10.90) looked tiny. it was, considering how yummy it was, we couldnt have enough of it! we just attacked it and in 2 minutes it was gone. haha! warm, slightly crusty on the outside. poke your fork into the soft spongy interior of the cake. dig in slightly deeper, and out oozes the warm chocolate lava. omgosh!!! this is totally chocolate heaven xD the warm chocolate paired with cold vanilla ice cream was the perfect combination for an immensely satisfying dessert!

my other dessert was the chocolate hazelnut cake ($8.90) which i loved for the mixture of two of my favourite flavours and the LOVELY CRACKLY BASE  of the cake! :D the top of the cake was sprinkled with a hazelnuts, followed by a few alternating layers of spongy cake and delightful hazelnut cream (? paste? sauce? i dunno what do you call that! haha), atop a firm cookie-like base. omgosh. heavenly!! :D

last thing before i'm done! i have to recommend their sangria hippo ($9.90)! i think it's a really interesting drink with all the fruits and everything inside it! looks so pretty doesn't it? i think the fruits really made a lot of difference in adding a unique flavour to this drink (:

yupps, a wonderful meal at this restaurant! :D and i have to say that the service staff are really attentive and friendly as well, so A++! :D

Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill 

Marina Square #01-204

Tel.: +65 6338 5352

Daily 11am-10pm