We were there for an early dinner before attending the movie preview of 'Before Midnight' invited by OMY.SG.
I waited at the entrance.
I was quickly ushered to a table for 3 quickly and presented with menu right after.
We ordered The Ultimate ($7.60) and Cafe Caramel ($6.40).
The Ultimate has got bits of coffee bean in it. Though it was served with the whipped cream but the level of sweetness was still well-balanced.
The hot Cafe Caramel was another good choice. I enjoyed the comforting sweetness though could not taste much of the caramel.
Then, decided to order a portion of Deep Fried Calamari Rings with Garlic Dip ($9.00). Surprisingly, this was the best dish. The batter was not too thick but amazingly crispy.
It still tasted nicely crispy even after left it for a bit.
It tasted nice when had it with the garlic sauce though the supposedly garlic sauce has got little garlic taste. It was served with a portion of salad.
Another side order was Classic Quiche Lorraine ($7.50). The eggy and the cheese taste were not too strong. It served with a portion of salad too with a vinegar based dressing. Part of the quiche tasted of this dressing too. I thought it might be the worst dish of the night but got surprised later.
The main was the 200 grams Ribeye Steak ($25.00). I wanted the doneness to be at Medium. It served a bit too soon and too fast, right after the Fried Calamari Rings. The appearance of the steak did not look charred. It did not have a bit of smoky taste too.
When i cut the steak, it was too raw to be done at Medium. It was likely to be at Medium-Rare instead. It was served with mushroom sauce but the mushroom sauce has got no distinctive taste.
This was the worst steak that i ever eaten.
Another main was Lamb Shank ($24.00). It was a decent dish. The texture of lamb shank was soft and not overly mushy. It was cooked well to omit the strange taste of lamb.
It was seated on a pile of mashed potato but this pile of mashed potato tasted a bit too dry with no taste of butter.
Dessert was Tiramisu ($10.00) to be shared. This ended up to be another disappointment. The texture of Tiramisu was too dry and ended up tasting like cake. There was a slight liquor-coffee taste but this was concentrated only right in the centre
Though the standard of food was disappointing but the customer service though a bit laid back initially but was pretty attentive later.
The speed of serving the foods was a bit too fast as well. The Fried Calamari Rings, the Classic Quiche Lorraine, the Ribeye Steak and the Lamb Shank were served almost at the same time only difference in minutes. Though they are not fine dining restaurant but they should be mindful as it would not be likely for us to eat the main and the starter at the same time. It would be appropriate for them to wait for us to finish the starter first before serving the main. If they really must do so perhaps it would be better to prepare the customers first.
We were seated at a small square table meant for 2 with an additional chair added. The table was a bit too small for all the foods mentioned earlier with 2 drinks.
On a side note, Steven Dason - the Restaurant Manager approached my table 3 times through the dining session. He came to check on the food when it was just served. He came again to offer to get us some plain water to dilute the sweet aftertaste of the coffee. He came again after we done eating. I told him the steak was rather raw when it supposed to be done at Medium.
The total bill is $105.30. An expensive and not so memorable dinner. I had read many good reviews about Beanstro and these were the invited reviews for food tasting. That somewhat explained why there is such a difference in the standard of food?
BEANSTRO
391 Orchard Road #B1-37
Ngee Ann City
SINGAPORE 238872.