Barcelos @ Novena Square 2

Located at Level 2 of Novena Square 2. We were there at about 1+pm, and there was a  sign that states something similar to "Please wait here before seated." So we waited, but no one bothered to attend to us. Hence, the advise is just to saunter right in and be visible, and request to be seated. At our point of visit, Barcelos was probably just one fourth occupied.

We went in a party of 6 pax, so we were seated at some remote corner. This area has lower chances of a service staff passing by. Anyway, we ordered a family pack (1 chicken with 4 sides @$49.95++), and a quarter chicken meal (1/4 chicken with 2 sides @$13.90++). For drinks, we ordered soft drinks and iced-lemon tea (@$2.25++).

straw

ice lemon tea (non-refillable)

serving plate

We were asked to choose the marination sauce to have for the chicken. So we chose all 4 sauces (tangy lemon, mild peri, veri peri and supa peri in ascending order of spiciness level). For side dishes, we ordered spicy rice, potatoes with sauteed mushrooms, potato wedges and salad. The side dish serving was good! Quite substantial.

potato with sauteed white button mushroom

potato wedges

salad

All the side dishes were good but the spicy rice was not up to expectation. It was not spicy and it was a tad too dry! It looked like briyani rice but minus the moist and fragrance.

family pack chicken (behind salad bowl), with flags to denote marination sauce

peri sauce family line-up

I prefer the mild peri sauce mixed with veri peri. Tangy, and spicy. Yums! The chicken meat was tender and flavourful. Even the breast meat was good! The meat was firm and slightly moist.

potato wedges, salad, sauteed potato mushroom, spicy rice and chicken with peri peri sauces

Ebiboshi Shotengai @ Illuma

Ebiboshi Shotengai is located at Level 4 of Illuma Bugis. It comprises a cluster of foodshops and you can get oden, shabu-shabu, noodles (ramen,udon, soba), teppan, tonkatsu, sushi and sashimi, kushiyaki and desserts amongst them. Of course, the other attraction is its automated ordering system using a pen-like electronic device.

Japanese food-street decor

interesting ceiling lights

The interior of the shops are cosy, but depending on where you are seated, you may end up with smokey and oily smell...

The service crew are generally helpful, and all beginners will be taught on how to use their ordering device.

point electronic device to such labels, and you will hear corresponding responses

The menu looks extensive and it has almost everything that you can find in Japanese foodshops. We ordered sashimi (salmon, maguro and hamachi 3 pieces each) + mekajiki (4 pieces), oden with curry rice, deep fried salmon curry rice, beef teppan, kani (crabstick) salad and yakitori set (5 pieces).

napkin

cute dainty plate

sashimi

kani salad

The sashimi was alright except for the maguro which has 'veins' and that made it rather chewy.

my favourite hamachi

dipping sauce

appetising salad

The food quality is somewhat similar to other Japanese food-street concept eateries in Singapore. I find that it was somewhat ok, but nothing quite stands-out.

oden with curry rice

beef teppan

yakitori

I had the yakitori as mains, and discovered that the meat sticks were better than the bacon wrapped ones.

meat yakitoris, the mayo one was tasty~

bacon wrapped (asparagus/enoki)

There were ample seats, and the place was quite empty on a Sunday evening.  We paid $28 per pax (there were 4 of us) for the food and green tea. Didn't order any desserts as we were stuffed.

La Cantina In Venezia @ Changi Village Hotel

Located at Changi Village Hotel at Netheravon Road. The hotel looked spanking new amidst the laidback charms of Changi Village. On the day of our visit, the hotel car park was full. Waiting for a lot, proved futile and in the end, alternative parking outside of the hotel was the only solution.

We got the outdoor seatings, and the wind was blowing extremely strong that night. It felt almost, like a mini typhoon. Almost.

menu

It offers nice view of the sea and the golf course.

golf course view

hotel pool

sea view

While awaiting for the rest of the group to arrive, we were served with warm bread with olive oil balsamic vinegar dip.

olive oil balsamic vinegar

bread

We ordered carpaccio (beef) for starters. Do have the service staff repeat your orders, because the carpaccio order nearly turned into a cappucino instead! A friend ordered mushroom cream soup, as she doesn't take beef. For mains, we had lobster pasta (special of the day), crabmeat pasta (linguine al granchio), risotto porcini (mushrom risotto) and scallopine al vino bianco (pan-fried pork loin in white wine sauce).

mushroom soup

carpaccio

carpaccio close-up

The mushroom cream soup was really creamy. The mushroom taste was rather subtle though. The beef carpaccio was light and enjoyable. 

lobster linguine

risotto porcini

linguine al granchio

scallopine al vino bianco

The main courses, sadly, were rather disappointing with probably one exception, crabmeat pasta. The mushroom risotto does smell and look better than it taste! The rice was hard, and lacked flavor. The lobster pasta while enjoyable, was a little too salty. And, the person who took our order said the price of this special of the day was about $35+. Imagine our shock when the bill came up to ~$44+ (excluding service charge) for this dish! 

The scallopine dish was a letdown as well. The overcooked pork loin was sour and tough when cooked with the white wine sauce. Not sure if this is the intended outcome. The accompanying vegetables (carrots and zucchini) and potatoes tasted better than the meat. Can you imagine? It's like the sidekicks did their job, but the main cast just didn't rise to the occassion. Overall, the scallopine was heavy handed in salt seasoning as well. 

The only saving grace was the linguine al granchio which has robust flavors, and was up to expectation. Blame it on the weather or strong wind, but as the pasta was cooled down at a much faster rate, and hence, the dish became quite 'heavy' (jelak) after a short while.

Ambience was good, but do choose your food wisely. Expect to pay about  $40-$50 per pax without drinks.