Sizzling Stonegrill (Aeon Mall Bukit Indah)

Review Rating: ⭐⭐ (Below Average)

Address: 61, Jalan Indah 15/2, Taman Bukit Indah, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia
(Located within Aeon Mall Bukit Indah)
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VtsMMzYhksmYS9gy6
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)

Grilled Ostrich = RM40.90

(Set comes with Fried Rice and Corn)

Service Tax 6% = RM2.45

Click here for the Full Menu and Receipt 
(Opens in a New Tab, Price is accurate as of Posting Date)

This was an Interesting Restaurant I found as I was exploring Aeon Mall Bukit Indah. Its themed and designed to look like some Caveman's Jungle House 🛖 and the Stone Exterior they use for the "Wall" really is made of Stone. 🪨 I'd reckon the Renovation for this Place isn't cheap. 🤔💵 From what I understand, this Restaurant has been around for a Very Long Time in this Mall even, but its so Cleanly Maintained that it looked Very New to me. 👍

The Staffs are Polite, but they do not smile, but thats because they're really Busy. 🤔 Although not much Customers in the Morning, by 1.00pm on a Friday Afternoon, the Place is actually Full-House. 😳 Interestingly they have a 2nd Level at this Place to be able to house More Customers, but for some reason the 2nd Level wasn't opened when I went. 🤔

The Main Gimmick for this Restaurant is that the Foods are served up in Boiling Hot Stone Slabs. 🪨🔥 Not a Particularly New Dining Concept if you've eaten from such Places before. 🤔 Its basically a Slab of Hot Stone thats heated Very Hot with Meat being Grilled onto it. 🪨🔥 It took 3 Mins for the Grilled Ostrich to serve up which was both Impressive due to how Crowded it was at that time, and also very Alarming as you will read in my Review. 🤔

Grilled Ostrich = RM40.90

(Set comes with Fried Rice and Corn)

The Set as you can see consists of an Ostrich Steak with 2 Sides. 1 Carb and 1 Side Veggie. You have the choice of either Fried Rice or French Fries for your Carb. 🤔

When it was first served up, my Eyes Widened in Shock when I saw the Meat already placed on the Hot Stone being Half Grilled! 😳🔥🥩 Immediately my Culinary Senses kicked in that shocked me to Action! 😳

Why I was so Shocked at how they Presented this Dish like this. 😳

The Reason why I was so concerned is because for Most Diners who are Unfamiliar with Cooking, they will most likely be thrilled with seeing the Meat sizzle on that Hot Stone. 🤔 And because the Meat looks Raw on the Hot Stone when first served up, Most Non-Culinary Saavy Casual Diners will probably just let the Meat slowly cook on the Hot Stone until it becomes Visually Fully Cooked. 🔥🥩

THIS IS A BIG MISTAKE! 🙅‍♂️ DO NOT LEAVE THE MEAT TO COOK BY ITSELF LIKE THIS! 🔥🙅‍♂️

If you were to leave the Meat on the Hot Stone to grill until it becomes Visually Fully Cooked, this Whole Meat would have been Overcooked 🔥 and you will have Wrecked and Wasted this Dish completely. 🔥🔥🔥 (Unless of course a 100% Fully Cooked Steak is how you normally like your Steak to be done)

How to Properly Cook this Ostrich Steak

Because Appearance-Wise, Ostrich Meat looks similar to a Red Meat, 🥩 and judging from the High Heat emitted by the Hot Stone, 🪨🔥 here is what I would recommend you to do instead:

1) Once the Dish is served up, DO NOT TOUCH THE MEAT, and leave it alone for about 10 Seconds. 🕑

2) After 10 Seconds, try your best to flip the Meat to the Other Side. Because the Meat may be stuck on the Hot Stone, you might need to pry and scrape it off the Hot Stone abit. 🪨🔥

Once Flipped, leave the Steak alone and don't touch it for about 2 Minutes. 🕑 After that, you can then scrape the Meat off the Hot Stone to enjoy. 

Optional: If you want, after taking it off the Hot Stone, 🪨🔥 you can leave it to rest on your Plate for 1 Minute before consuming but this is not really Necessary.

3) If you have done the above steps correctly, what you should end up is a Just-Nice Medium-Rare Doneness Steak 🥩 which I feel is the Best Texture to enjoy Ostrich Meat. 👍 If the Meat Colour is Too Red for you at this point, feel free to let it Grill for maybe 1 More Minute at the Most. 🕑

Fwah...after all that Drama, so how does this Ostrich Steak Set actually taste like? 🤔

The Gravy on the Side is a Strong Robust Black Pepper with a Very Robust Oregano? Herb Base. 🌿

Rich and Robust with an Elevated Spiciness. 😋

Amount of Fried Rice given is Acceptable for the Price, 🍚 although I find the Taste to be Pretty Meh. 🫤

Hardly Salted, the Taste of this Thing is like those Low Budget Fried Rice that you'd normally get for a Cheap Company Lunch Catering type of Fried Rice. 😅  Acceptable, but Unremarkable.

The Corn Side-Veggie Dish tasted like some Thawed Frozen Product tbh. 🌽

Limp and Sad, Ugghh I didn't even bother to finish this. 😅

The Quality of the Ostrich Steak itself

Finally, we come to the Actual Main Star of the Show. 🥩

The Ostrich Steak itself is a Thick Chonky Boy that is about 250g give or take? 🤔 It was peppered with a Decent Amount of what looks like Oregano Herbs. 🌿 Because this is a Red Meat, Medium Rare feels like the Right Texture to eat Ostrich. 🥩 Juicy and Meaty. Shiok. 😋

Compared to the Overly-Velvetted Zi-Char Styled version of Ostrich that I ate the other time at 三楼海鲜园 San Low Seafood Restaurant in Taman Pelangi, this is definitely a Much More 原汁原味 Original Taste of the Meat. 😋 Zi-Char Style is not the Optimal Way to eat Ostrich.

The Closest Thing I can describe Ostrich Meat is that it is a Good Quality Tasting "Beef" 🐮 that also doesn't exactly taste like Beef. 🤔 Even though Ostrich is a Bird, it doesn't taste anything like how a Poultry should taste like. 🤔 Ostrich Meat is a Good Quality, Very Lean, Zero Fat, Zero Gaminess, almost Beef-Tasting type of Meat. 🐮

In fact, I feel Ostrich Meat is such a High Quality Meat, I actually do not recommend to dip it in that Black Pepper Gravy 🙅‍♂️ because I feel the Gravy is too Overpowering and will completely takeover the Original Taste. 🤔

Enjoy Ostrich Meat for what it is with as Little Seasoning or Sauces. 👍 This is a Good Quality Tasting Meat. People who have eaten Ostrich Meat before will know what I mean. 👍

The Most Disappointing Aspect of this Dish. 🙄

What I am Most Disappointed however, is how the Steak came already Half-Grilled on the Hot Stone when it was presented. 🪨🔥 Its too easy for Customers who are not Culinary-Saavy to Overcook and Completely Destroy such a Good Quality Meat. 🤔 What this Restaurant should have done is to serve the Raw Ostrich Steak (with a Slab of Butter) 🥩🧈 separately and maybe have some sort of Guide or Instruction for Customers on how best to Grill this Meat.

Even if the Customer is Culinarily-Saavy, there were No Proper Tools provided to be able to flip and cook the Meat easily. 🤔 Just giving the Standard Dining Cutlery is barely adequate for the Job. 🙄 Because they also didn't provide any Oil or Butter, this caused the Steak to stick on the Hot Stone too much and it was challenging to pry off even after 10 Secs. 😅 So you can imagine how much worse it will be if a Customer were to leave the Steak to just cook all the way? Sure Burnt beyond Recognition 🔥🙄

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Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

At the Price of RM40.90 (S$12.50) is not particularly cheap, but for this Grilled Ostrich Set I feel it is still a Decent Price to pay, simply because Ostrich Meat is a High Quality Tasting Meat. 🥩😋 If you really dissect this Set, the only item worth the money is really only the Ostrich Meat itself 🥩 (and the Decent Tasting Black Pepper Gravy) 🍯 Both the Fried Rice 🍚 and the Corn 🌽 felt like Fillers. 😅 They were Very Basic and Unremarkable.

The Ostrich Steak is really the Only Item of Value. 🥩 Paying RM40.90 (S$12.50) feels like a Reasonable Price for a Roughly 250g Exotic Meat like this. I'm saying this is a Reasonable Price because I can't even find Raw Ostrich Steak for Sale in Singapore 😅 (at least not from Online Shopping Platforms that I've checked) and even if I could find one, I highly doubt its gonna cost only S$12.50 for 250g because this is considered an Exotic Meat in South East Asia at least. 😅

What I am most disappointed is how the Steak was presented. 🫤 Serving at the state it was in without at least providing a Guide or Instructions to Customers who are Not Culinary-Saavy, is quite irresponsible because its so easy to Completely Overcook and Ruin such a Good Quality Meat with the way they served it. 🫤

In my Opinion, the Best Way to enjoy Ostrich Steak is to have it Medium Rare where you will be able to enjoy a Very Juicy and Original 原汁原味 Taste of the Meat. 🥩😋 That said, if you are someone who prefer your Steak 100% Cooked, don't let me stop you from how you enjoy your Steak. 😅

I'm really Conflicted with this Place. 🤔 On one hand, I have no issues with the Pricing and Taste for this Ostrich Steak, 👍 I also have relatively no issues with the Overall Customer Service even though they're too busy to Smile. Its how they served this Steak that really made me Shake my Head. This could definitely be improved. 🫤

Don't let my Score deter you from this Place. As far as I know, this is the First Place I know in Johor Bahru where you can actually enjoy Ostrich Meat at its Original 原汁原味 Taste and at a Relatively Affordable Pricing. 🥩🤔 If you were to come to this Restaurant, try to use my Cooking Tips written in the Main Review to properly cook this so you can really enjoy it at its True Potential. 😋

Have you eaten Ostrich Steak before? Do share with us in the Comments below! 😄