| Great setting and fresh seafood!
Disclaimer : came here last night on invite by restaurant via Hungrygowhere reviews. So it was a complimentary meal to try out a new menu.
Ambience :
The place is tucked away on an edge of Sentosa and nestled within a garden path that leads to the restaurant. The restaurant faces the sea and in the evening is quite enchanting and romantic. Blue is the predominant team and interior furnishing is more like a nicely decked out cafe along the USA coast.
Service :
Service was generally good and we got to meet their Chefs who were clearly very enthusiastic about the new menu.
Pricing :
I have to say the prices of the new menu are very reasonable and make Barnacles a very value for money place based on the quality of food they are serving. Of special note is the Beef Cheeks which are going for just $20 each. That is already a full main course portion.
What we ate. Will start with the best dishes first! :
1) Braised Beef Cheek.
As mentioned above, this is seriously a high quality dish. The cheeks were braised to melt in your mouth softness and the red wine reduction sauce was an excellent complement and brought out the beefy flavours even more. Chef Joanne said she used 2 glasses of red wine per dish. I think she is onto something good here. More over, at just $20, it is very cheap. I remember eating something similar at Equinox that cost a few times more with smaller portions.
2) Seafood Platter on Ice
What can I say, the last time i ate something so decadent was back when my cholestrol was still low. I must say Barnacles version is more generous than Mezza9. We had Alaskan Snow Crabs,Lobsters, large clams, some sea snails stuff, prawns and oysters from Britanny. All were very fresh and cooked to perfection then chilled before serving. For $199, I think quite a good deal as it can feed 4 quite well.
3) wok fried white bait.
This was very well executed with a slight chilli base and the chef used pretty enormous pieces of white bait. Very addictive! We could not stop.
4) Yuan Yang Tofu
The tofu was soft and well fried with a good wok smell. But it is similar to what we can get in other Chinese Restaurants, so ok.
5) Yin Yang Squid and mayo prawn
This dish again was decently executed though it tasted just like any other good seafood place.
6) Sichuan Hot & Sour Soup
This was i think the least well made dish of the night. Portions were good and it was served piping hot. But the sour taste was a little overpowering and the overall flavour not so ideal.
7) Fried Rice Seafood.
This was normal fried rice. I would not say so spectucular.
All in all a pleasant evening with HGW friends and made some new friends too. Will definitely go back to Barnacles to makan but I think would eat from the Western menu more.
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