Tucked within a row of shophouses in Telok Ayer, ASAP & Co. is a Muslim-owned steakhouse that specialises in house-smoked beef. Aside from smoking its meats before finishing them on the grill, what sets the eatery apart from other steak joints is its ‘beef mortuary’. Hmm, we’re not sure what to feel about this. 

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What is a beef mortuary exactly? Well, it’s just a glass-doored chiller displaying hunks of raw beef, plus a couple of cooking implements used to prep the meat. 

What’s the point of a beef mortuary (or rather, creatively renaming a meat chiller)? Owner Isrudy Shaik explains: “We decided to incorporate ‘The Beef Mortuary’ into the restaurant to provide customers with a unique glimpse behind the scenes”, adding that “the mortuary showcases where our meat ages and tenderises before undergoing the smoking process”. Simply put, the ‘mortuary’ is a holding area for butchered cow parts. 

Dry-ageing chiller

For the real job of ageing premium cuts of beef for better flavour, including Gold Fullblood Wagyu Beef from Australia, they are placed in a separate dry-ageing chiller located near the restaurant’s entrance for a maximum of 28 days.

Isrudy set up the steakhouse in 2020, following the success of his home-based biz The Smok Hous, where he sold smoked meats during the pandemic. Prior to opening The Smok Hous, Isrudy was in a completely different field - he was an art gallery coordinator at places like CarriageWorks in Sydney and the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art in Singapore. 

During his stint in Sydney, Isrudy tells us that he frequented his neighbourhood butcher shop, where he “would learn about the different meats and cuts”. From there, he began experimenting with smoking meats in his own barbecue pit, and continued doing so when he returned to Singapore during the pandemic. 

Customers “intrigued” by the beef mortuary 

Are folks spooked or fascinated by his beef mortuary? He replies: “Our customers are highly intrigued by the mortuary”. He adds that many take photos and videos of the ‘mortuary’ and they “find it both fascinating and unusual”. Those folks must be fans of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Chef’s Table

The ‘mortuary’ sits right behind the Chef’s Table, a communal table in the kitchen where customers can watch their steaks being cooked and carved.

Meats smoked with cherry, oak & apple wood

All the meats here are smoked with a “custom-built horizontal offset smoker” using a blend of cherry, oak and apple wood.

Here’s how the meat is prepped here - it’s first portioned out and marinated upon ordering, then smoked on the custom-built smoker briefly, and finally grilled on an Argentine-style Asado grill to finish.

Smoked beef cuts range from $37 for 300g of Hereford British Bred and Angus MS4 striploin, to $237 for 300g of A5 Miyazaki Wagyu rib-eye steak. There are also sharing platters for three to four pax, starting at $207 and going up to $387 for a ‘Royal Feast’, which comes with Stone Axe, Miyazaki and Jack’s Creek Rib-eye steak. Stone Axe Rib-eye

For something more wallet-friendly, opt for the restaurant’s burgers, which start at $23 for a smoked Black Angus brisket burger and go up to $28 for an Australian Wagyu patty. 

ASAP & Co. is at #01-01 Far East Square, 70 Telok Ayer St, S048458. Open daily 12pm - 3pm; 5pm - 11pm. Tel: 9101 7147. More info via their website and Instagram.

Photos: ASAP & Co.

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