The annual Tenderloin Fest is back at Jack’s Place outlets across Singapore and will run from September to October. 

The Tenderloin Fest is a culinary tradition paying homage to Jack’s Place signature tenderloin steak, the pinnacle of premium Grass-fed New Zealand beef that is renowned for its exceptional tenderness and rich flavours.

I was at Jack’s Place earlier this week where I tried their new Tenderloin Fest introductions. 

Tenderloin steak main meals 

One of the new additions and highlights for this year’s Tenderloin Fest include the Roasted Tenderloin Tail ($60++) which is a sharing option for two pax.

It is served paired together with Cajun sauce, tender and fluffy baked potato and a medley of herbs, pickled cherry tomatoes and seasonal vegetables. 

This one is what I had as main course. My tenderloin done-ness was prepared to medium. The meat was extremely soft and tender, which I really enjoyed.

The natural flavour of the beef was mild and subtle and when paired with the Cajun sauce, I thought the combination went very well together. The sauce did not overpower the beef. Rather, it complemented it nicely.

There was apparent herbal notes in the cherry tomato which was somewhat mild and supposed to bring out the natural flavour of the tomato. I personally enjoyed the mildly pickled tomatoes.

The seasonal vegetables were good to add a crunchy note to the meal as well as a variety of textures. 

Other available options 

Other new options also feature the Carpetbag Steak ($33.50++), a popular dish in Australia and New Zealand during the mid 20th-century, will also be available. This is stuffed with a fresh oyster, resulting in a luscious medley of flavours.

As well, other returning favourites include Jack’s Special Steak ($32++), Fire Steak ($31.50++), Black Pepper Steak ($31.50++), Sambal Steak ($31.50++) and Creamy Mushroom Onion Steak ($31.50++).

Tenderloin combos include the Bacon Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter ($32.50++) and the Ultimate Turf and Surf ($33.50++) for seafood and meat enthusiasts.

The Tenderloin with Escargots au Beurre ($33.50++) consists of a fillet with escargots in garlic and herb butter sauce and will appeal to fans of escargot.

Comes with baked potato 

All tenderloin meals come with a signature baked potato completing the steaks. Customers can upgrade their potato to a Loaded Baked Potato for an extra $1. The new options are a Truffle and Mushroom Baked Potato and Cheesy Corn Baked Potato.

We tried both the Truffle Mushroom and the Cheesy Corn potatoes. 

The texture of the potatoes are soft and melt when you sink your teeth into them. But at the same time, they hold their shape together on the plate and are not mashy.

The Truffle Mushroom Potato is served with cheese, mushroom and truffle oil. The truffle flavour here is quite strong. I do like truffle myself, but if you are not a fan of truffle, it can feel a tad overpowering. The cheese and mushrooms are a nice topper and I think they complement the truffle flavour well.

For the Cheesy Corn Potato, this potato is loaded with cheese and corn as the name suggests. The few pieces of corn wedged in the centre of the potato was quite nice. However nacho cheese is used rather than real cheese. The flavour of the nacho cheese was quite strong. I think that if real cheese was used, this could have complemented the potato better. 

Yummy appetisers 

To start off your yummy tenderloin meal, Jack’s Place also offers a selection of appetisers at $9.90++ each with every order of a tenderloin steak. These are Escargots in Shells with Garlic Butter, Scallops Bienville, Lobster and Crab Stuffed Mushroom, Meat-free Chargrilled Pieces Salad and Crispy Sampler Platter.

I tried the Scallops Bienville, Lobster and Crab Stuffed Mushroom and the Chargrilled Pieces Salad.

The Scallops Bienville was quite nice. This is described as scallops baked on shell  with mushroom sauce and parmesan cheese. I thought the combination of textures and flavours was tasty and delicious. 

The mushroom notes and cheesy flavours paired very well with the scallop and is very yummy. 

However a couple of bites of the scallop had some crunchy notes. I’m not sure whether this could have been due to the presence of some “sand” left behind. Nonetheless it was still very tasty. 

The Crab Stuffed Mushroom consists of cheesy mushrooms baked with lobster and crab. This too, was a winning combination according to my taste buds. 

The mushroom flavour was quite apparent and I could detect it immediately when I popped this into my mouth. 

At the same time, it paired well together with the cheesy notes. The lobster and crab didn’t have much flavour on its own so I couldn’t really detect this. But the overall taste and texture combination was still delicious. 

For the chargrilled pieces salad, this consists of soya and wheat pieces with a smoky taste mixed with crunchy greens, pineapple, kidney beans, cherry tomatoes and yuzu vinaigrette dressing.  

This is a light and refreshing salad. The crunchy notes from the lettuce and other vegetables pairs nicely with the sweet yet sour notes from the pineapples and the smoky notes from the chargrilled pieces. 

As well, the yuzu topping is light yet refreshing and does not drown out the natural flavours of the salad ingredients. It is the perfect complement in my opinion. 

Dessert

Finally, ending the meal on a sweet note, dessert was Nutella Banana Cupcake that combines rich Nutella frosting with light and fluffy banana cake.

For this dessert, I was looking forward to it because I love both Nutella and banana cake. It looked very pretty when it arrived and I could see that a lot of work had definitely gone into the plating and the design of the cupcake. 

In terms of the taste, I felt that the Nutella flavour was slightly overpowering. As for the cupcake, I could taste mainly Nutella. The banana flavour wasn’t very apparent and was rather weak. 

I felt that the combination of the two flavours could have been balanced out better, so that one would not drown out the other. Nutella and banana is a good combination though and I feel they do work really well together, when done right.

For the texture, the cupcake was light and fluffy but at the same time, it was a tad on the rough side. It could have been smoother and more refined. 

This can be eaten either on its own or a scoop of Gelato can be added. 

Beverages 

Promotional beverages that Jack’s Place recommends to be paired together with your tenderloin meal are Yuzu Mojito, Trapiche-Oak cask Chardonnay, Trapiche-Oak cast Malbec or Erdinger Dunkel beer. 

The Yuzu Mojito comes in both cocktail and mocktail form. We had the mocktail.

When this drink is served, it looks very pretty with the yellow yuzu bits at the bottom and blends into a transparent colour at the top. To drink, you will need to mix them together. In terms of the flavour, the sour notes of the yuzu are definitely apparent. 

It is sweet and very refreshing to the palette and there is a substantial level of fizz. It reminds me of a yuzu flavoured soft drink. 

Conclusion

 Tenderloin Fest meals are available at all Jack’s Place outlets across Singapore. Find the nearest one to you and enjoy.

Furthermore, if you are a steak lover, loyal diners can earn a Tenderloin Fest stamp for every order of a tenderloin steak. Every four stamps will entitle you to $10 discount off your next purchase.