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2012-12-11
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So we were back to Little India to settle some wedding stuff (see our Royals the cafe review for details on our first trip to City Square). Heading back to City Square, we could not help but ask, "How on earth did we, during our first visit, miss the signboard next to the escalator on the second floor that literally shouts "no GST, no service charge" on complete set meals for lunch at Barbacoa??" Furthermore, the said signboard was literally (again!) a stone's throw away from Royals the cafe! Ye
So we were back to Little India to settle some wedding stuff (see our Royals the cafe review for details on our first trip to City Square). Heading back to City Square, we could not help but ask, "How on earth did we, during our first visit, miss the signboard next to the escalator on the second floor that literally shouts "no GST, no service charge" on complete set meals for lunch at Barbacoa??" Furthermore, the said signboard was literally (again!) a stone's throw away from Royals the cafe! Yeouch!
Anyway, we didn't miss it this time round and obeyed the signboard with total, foodie, compliance - thus venturing into the welcoming arms of Barbacoa. True to its namesake, the sight that greeted us was a decor reminiscent of an outback grill place - complete with framed photos and memorabilia of a bygone era, oak tables, chairs, and even the walls, and a large one-piece glass pane that lets you peer into the highlight of the place: the grilling stations with grinning chefs dishing up grinning-licious servings of meat. Since the wife had some food prior to our entry, it was left to the husband to sink tooth and claw into the victim of the day - a 250gm sirloin steak (medium rare).
Being a rather sleepy weekend, we were one of two pairs of customers (with the other pair already enjoying their meal by the time we arrived). Therefore, it didn't take long before steak and me the twain did meet (see picture).
Ever being the bovine lover, I realised that unlike my usual steak adventures, the visuals came before the scents did this time around - an experience I have had only encountered in Botak Jones (see our BJ' American Diner review) and Lawry's. Nonetheless, the nose eventually picked up (no, it was neither runny nor ran into any obstacles that afternoon) a subtle smoky scent which affirmed (apart from the grill marks) that it was 103 percent flame-grilled. Beautiful! The rich and thick red wine vinaigrette greens dressing complemented the robust aroma of the steak rather well too. And to top it off, a generous serving of comely brown pepper sauce with which to dip your chips in - yay!A careful dissection of the meat found it to be leaning more towards medium than medium rare, but its forgiving taste, well, forgave this fault. Perhaps it was the errand running that lent itself to my merciful mood, since normally, I would have exhibited a frown or two at the least.
The end result was a meal that was hearty from start to finish (two glasses of iced water washed it down rather nicely). Although I rarely ever frequent Little India these days, I would probably look forward to another helping of Barbacoa's steak the next time I'm in the vicinity. Maybe the wife'll let me indulge again then (for a price of 15.50 SGD nett you get the sirloin with a rather shallow bowl of soup and a scoop of ice-cream for dessert), tee-hee...
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