Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro - Go Lard or Go Home, Of Smoked Goods and Oysters Fests

Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro is having their annual World Oyster Festival, which is ongoing until the 25th July. Suffice to say, oyster lovers will love this.

They have a wide selection of 24 different types of these shellfish from all over the world, ranging from the little nugget ones to gigantic oysters. I am pretty sure that even the more discerning ones will find something here to their liking.

Greenwood Bistro has always been known for their fresh seafood and their yearly Oyster affairs have been extremely popular and well received.

Some of my personal favs from this year's picks include the NZ Pacifics which has a nice balance of briny and sweetness that resulted in a light creamy flavour and texture.

Oysters Galore

Brittany and the Royal Miyagi were also exceptional for their beautiful balance of flavours and sweetness. Among the 18 that we tried, the consensus was that the Brittany was the most balanced of all that was neither too salty nor too full bodied in taste and had a nice compromise between size and flavours.

Baron Point

Baron Point was the largest among the oyster selections here and it showed. Looking at the picture above, it seemed to have a beautifully contoured layers of oyster flesh that was as hypnotic as it was dazzling.

Whilst flavour-wise it was not the most sublime, I appreciated the fullness of the meat within and despite being a bit more strong on the oyster taste, it was still an utter joy to consume this with just a bit of the perfect accompaniment of tobasco and onion dip.

Smoked Platter

While the oysters were the highlight of the night, what really surprised me was how good their smoked food was. We were served a preview smorgasbord filled with pulled pork, octopus, mackerel and garlic that were all tastefully smoked with applewood.

The octopus, in particular, was meltingly tender and had that slight fruity smokiness that made it incredibly delicious. Likewise, the pulled pork was equally moist and soft and infused with the same applewood smoke, elicited a meaty sweetness that was so good that it had to be illegal to be sold here.

Smoked Pork Cheeks

My personal favourite dish of the night was this sinfully fatty plate of smoked pork cheeks with sliced apple and onion puree. The combination of pork, apple and onions is as classic as a flavour profile can get.

But what elevated this plate was the incredible smoking process that went into the meats and despite the fatty aspect of the dish, it was amazingly tender. Partly due to an extra sous vide process that sealed the juices of the meat and yet, gave it that comfortingly tender bite.

Yes, I am a lardy kind of guy when it comes to smoked meats and when it is done as perfectly as it is here, my motto has always been "Go Lard or Go Home!"

Alan, who used to run the Smokehouse in Serangoon Gardens is the man behind the smoked stuff and has moved into Greenwood Bisto to supplement their usual seafood fare. His philosophy is to bring some of this smoking brilliance to the fresh seafood to showcase the fact that smoke seafood is both viable and appealing to the mass market. It is.

Whichever the case, be it you are an oyster fan or seafood aficionado, or you simply love smoked foods, Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro should be your next destination.

For me, I particularly enjoyed Alan's cooking. Simple, straightforward but terrifically well executed and with a great sense of passion. He loves to engage his diners for feedback and share his know how with everyone.

Clearly, he is someone who loves to feed people. When you have someone like Alan in the house, you know you are going to be in good hands.

Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro
34 and 38 Greenwood Avenue