Mia's Review: Coffee Bean Beanstro

"What, Coffee Bean Bistro? You mean they started bistro line? I didn't know that!"

"No, not bistro. It's beanstro. BEAN-stro."

"Okay.... What?"

Set up just like a CBTL cafe with better chairs and tables, it may be hard to notice that it's a Beanstro and not just their usual cafe. To be honest, CBTL has never been on my favourite list, ever, for I'm really not a fan of their coffees. So, will the Beanstro impress me?
Hmm, we'll see.

And of course, no coffee for me, thank you very much. I'll go for a cuppa tea!

 For starters, we got a few 'finger food' snacks for sharing while we waited for our tardy queen to arrive.

 Hand-cut Calamari - $9
Well, what can go wrong with a basket of well batter, deep fried squids? Near to nothing!
The batter wasn't exactly very crispy and the squid wasn't exactly tender-chewy enough, but it was still packed with flavour to make this basket of fried squid pretty addictive.

Mozzarella Fritters - $7

I didn't really get to eat this, because the waiter came and sneakily cleared the plate even though there's still 1 whole, untouched fritter left on it. And yup, he didn't even bother to ask if he can clear it. Just reached in, grabbed the plate and left while we're engrossed in chit-chatting.
BAD SERVICE, CBB, BAD SERVICE!
Erm, any refund of the (perhaps) $2?
 But according to the rest who has eaten it, it's still 'not too bad' for a cheese lover.

Morrocan Lamb Casserole - $16

A pair of lamb Marquez in tomato stew done Moroccan style, overlaid with eggs and baked in a hot plate!

Well, sorry for the bad picture. CBB is quite a bad place to be taking pictures due to backlight in every corner and every single angle.
But this dish is really delish! However, the serving is pretty small and if it's not for the 2 slices of toasted baguette and with the calamari, I might have left the place hungry. I can't really say I understand the point of adding 2 eggs on top of the dish, for it doesn't complement ANYTHING imo. Well, it might have been for the toasts, which were better off being paired with the tomato stew to begin with. So In the end, I pretty much gobbled down the runny yolks first (I really cannot imagine the taste of it getting mixed into the rest of the stew) before moving on with the rest of the dish. The lamb cubes were tender and savoury, and the tangy tomato stew simply brought out more of its flavour.
 If you're a lamb and tomato lover like me, I really recommend that you try this!

Bangers and Mash - $18

Oozing with cheese, grilled chicken snail sausage on Idaho mash with caraway sour cabbage and onion gravy.

Classic Eggs Benedict - $17

Two softly poached eggs built on toasted Vienna with chicken ham, lime vinaigrette mesclun and hollandaise sauce.

Frankly speaking, I won't say that they're very affordable but the food quality is definitely there for a cafe (even though beanstro's concept is meant to be a casual dining restaurant, I still view CBB more as a cafe), and it makes the penny a little more worth spent. Service wise, really... please train up your waiters and remind them to NOT clear off non-empty plates WITHOUT asking the diners if it's alright to do so.
That was just plain rude. It's appalling.

Coffee Bean Beanstro Takashimaya is located at Ngee Ann City B1-37

For more information, visit their website HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo