An excellent dinner

Hubby and I went to the much raved-about Morton's The Steakhouse to celebrate my birthday. We had heard about its steaks and wondered if they were really that good.

Instead of making a statement with its entrance, the restaurant went against the norm with a nondescript-looking wooden door set along a dimly lit corner of the lobby, hidden behind a pillar. The ambience inside was cosy with dim lightings but suggesting a jovial non-stuffy mood. The reception was warm, staff immediately greeted me with a 'Happy Birthday' upon realising from their reservation system that we were celebrating my birthday.

We were led to one of the booth seats lining a wall; we were given one right in the centre of the room, according us an excellent view of the restaurant going-ons. To our surprise and pleasure, instead of leaving us to slide ungracefully into our booth seat, our server moved the whole table, enabling us to sit down with ease.

Not fancying any liquer, we ordered mocktails for pre-dinner drinks - Bull Sour for Hubby and I had Passion. After a short while, we had a preview of Morton's offerings when a waiter brought a whole trolley of raw meat and vegetables and proceeded to rattle off the whole dinner menu while displaying the full range of cuts. For appetisers, we decided to go with the Colossal Shrimp Cocktail and Lobster Bisque. We were recommended a single serving of Filet Mignon for each of us and we had Lyonnaise Potatoes and Sauteed Mushrooms as sides to go with the entrees as Morton's does not serve sides with their steaks.

The Shrimp Cocktail was not too bad, the shrimps were sweet, fresh and huge. I did not quite like the Lobster Bisque though as it had a bitter aftertaste although it was rich and thick. They were thoughtful enough to split the order into two dishes when informed that we would be sharing the soup. The complimentary Onion Loaf was delicious, with a wonderful aroma of warm baked bread infused with onions.

The steaks were excellent, done according to our preferences. It had a slightly charred look on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside. The mushrooms were pretty run-of-the-mill but the Lyonnaise potatoes were tasty, albeit slightly on the oily side. We were warned by our server that portions were going to be large but when the steaks arrived, they did not look too daunting. In fact, we thought we should have no problem finishing them together with the sides. How wrong we were! Halfway through, we suddenly became conscious of how our stomachs were filling up. So try as we did, we had to leave some of the sides unfinished.

We did not want to leave without trying some of the desserts and so we had the Key Lime Pie. I was also presented with a complimentary serving of the Morton's Lengendary Hot Chocolate Cake. The servers did the usual cliche thing of singing the Happy Birthday song but with a difference as they proceeded to snap a photo of Hubby and I, which was later given to me as a souvenir of our visit.

Both desserts were wonderful. The chocolate cake satisfied my sweet tooth while the tangy Key Lime Pie was a fitting finish to a great dining experience.