Hippopotamus has been around in the basement of Marina Square for as long as I can remember - way before the overhaul of Suntec City or the development of the Dining Edition. This restaurant of Parisian roots developed their range of meats and prides themselves on offering one of the most affordable steaks in Singapore. I supposed that they recently revamped their menu due to the stiff competition they face in the region with so many exciting dining options around. Let's take a look at some of the dishes!

The first appetizer, poached egg with red wine, was rather peculiar-looking and would entice the adventurous foodies. Upon the first impact, the poached egg melted into a yolk pool together with the red wine sauce. The strange thing is, I could hardly taste the tartness or fragrance of the red wine even though I could visibly see it. For me, the poached egg was too raw - perhaps another thirty seconds in the boiling water would be great. On top of that, there was no distinct red wine taste as promised. The bacon strips were a little incompatible with the dish too. Perhaps a sprinkle of black pepper would make it better.

The second appetizer was the tomato tartare with guacamole. My first impression was a positive one because the tiger prawns are so photogenic! The ensemble was a very juicy and refreshing one, with diced tomatoes, coriander, onions and lime. There was a dash of olive oil and to pair it with the guacamole avocado paste was quite lovely. It was a cool combination of flavours... in a good way.

The third appetizer, the french onion soup did not appeal to me that much in appearance and taste. It was rather nondescript with a soggy bread bowl.

My choice of the mains at Hippopotamus is the Hippo Cheese Burger, which was accompanied with fries and a side: potato gratin, as well as sauce: BBQ sauce. Other sides that you may select other than potato gratin includes the sauteed mushrooms, baked potato, steamed vegetables and fries. You can also choose other sauces such as bearnaise, shallots, pepper, mushroom and even sambal. The gratin retained potato as its star ingredient and had a thin coat of cheese and butter to flavour it. I liked it this way. The fries were crunchy and lightly salted.

The cheeseburger itself was relatively a disappointment - while the ciabatta buns were a premium choice for bread in burgers, the beef was quite tough to bite and did not live up to my expectations. It was too messy to eat as a whole unless your mouth is big enough and there was hardly any cheese to hold the burger together.

The beef skewer (200g) is a medley of the different cuts: sirloin, rump and hanger steak. Requested to be medium rare but it feels more well-done to the bite. 

The desserts performed better: the french toast nutella would have been pleasantly sinful if you are hungry enough. It was topped with a scoop of ice-cream which does not taste as premium as Haagen-Daaz standards but I love sweet treats so that didn't bother me too much.