Tired of always meeting up with your friends at yet another Orchard Road eatery or at City Hall? This restaurant is somewhat off the beaten track, and it's not somewhere that everyone will have been to. It's name is Barossa, and is situated in Esplanade Mall. As a general guide, it's near the performance area that looks like a sailboat and is facing the sea. I had the luck of stumbling upon this place due to Visa's aggressive 1-for-1 lunch promotion and hence everything here was both good and cheap. The ambiance here was awesome for 2 reasons. Firstly, the sea breeze. Although not as strong as the breeze you would expect at East Coast Parkway, it was certainly decent and a welcome change from our air-conditioned enclaves. It also boasts a view of Marina Bay Sands and the buildings surrounding the bay. The second reason? The reception here sucks. It's not an understatement - Your mobile data and phone reception just dies here. Want to get away from work? This is the place your boss can't contact you. Your partner will definitely appreciate it, as you can have a meaningful and engaging conversation uninterrupted by smartphones, which is the norm today.
Barossa has Archipelago beers on tap, which goes well with the food in general. However, I don't really fancy having beers in the day so I usually stick to their coffee, which is documented below. On with the food!
Seafood Bisque
On the day that I actually bothered to document the soup I was having, it just so happened that they replaced the usual mushroom soup with Seafood Bisque. This soup is definitely not for everyone, as the seafood taste is VERY strong, and it might leave an unpleasant aftertaste for some. Love the breadsticks though. They soak up the soup well and are tasty even on their own.
Beer Battered Fish and Chips, Gourmet Beef Burger
I lost my picture of the Gourmet Burger, so we'll have to make do with this shot of the Fish and Chips. The beer batter is extremely evident which I found very enjoyable. The portion of fish is also large, considering that they were running a 1-for-1 promotion. Their fries were also chunky and fried well. There was a good variety of greens in the side salad, and the dressing complemented both the fries and the battered fish well.
The most outstanding part of the Gourmet Beef Burger is probably their patty. Their sesame seed bun tastes like your regular commercial bun you can get at McDonalds, but their beef patty is certainly a class above. Although I wouldn't say its the best beef patty I've had, the quality of the beef was good and the beef patty was well done, not too raw and neither was it overcooked. The same fries accompanied the burger, but there wasn't really a side salad to speak of.
I like how their dishes were served on wooden boards which made it extremely classy. Be warned though! The baking paper that accompanies it does catch the wind so sometimes it's annoying, but top marks for presentation.
Blue Mussel Aglo Olio
Simple Spaghetti tossed in olive oil and cheese, accompanied by mussels. I was pleasantly surprised as the dish was much tastier than it looked. I was worried it would be bland, but that was not the case. The cheese was a nice addition, as was the garlic bits which made the dish more fragrant. The mussels were fresh and to my liking.
Branded Coffee! Heh. It costs just a $2 top up for this cup of goodness. While it isn't the strongest coffee around, it's very smooth and tastes like filtered coffee although it's pressured. The sugar cubes were yet another classy touch that I liked, and hot milk is served at the side even without a prior request for it. Overall doesn't have a super strong coffee taste, but does provide a nice "kick" for those (like me) who need caffeine to function. Or not to be so grumpy. Either way, this coffee is a nice add on if you're not having a beer.
Barossa serves good quality food, and it's certainly a nice place for lunch and dinner. At night the ambiance is fantastic, but the prices are not so accommodating. The lunch promotion is definitely worth it, although I am not entirely sure if they're still running it. That being said, they're usually victimised by the Singapore F1 Road Closures so I expect to see promotions by then, if not earlier, as their lunch-time can be fairly quiet without people from the nearby workplaces. They also serve an all-you-can-eat beef buffet, so that might be of some interest to those meat-lovers. I would certainly drop by for a beer by the bay if I was in the area at night as the ambiance is nice and the sea breeze really relaxes you and makes you feel like a towkay, if only for the time that you're there.
#01-11
Esplanade Mall
8 Raffles Avenue
