After one week of being cooped up at home, eating semi-solids and drinking soups for practically every meal, the kids, hubs and I are ready to feast again. We were invited to Beanstro at Ngee Ann City for a food tasting session on Wednesday, and we couldn’t wait to finally go eat something nice.

Beanstro opened a few weeks ago at Ngee Ann City, and is the second casual dining restaurant by The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf®, following its success of its first outlet at Marina Bay Sands. We arrived there at 6.30pm and was greeted by the restaurant manager, Steven, who came and made sure we were seated comfortably. Baby chairs were prepared for Nat and Becks, child-friendly utensils were provided, and warm water was served. Thankfully, we were seated outside the main dining area, and there was ample space to fold and park our twin stroller. I also had the pleasure of sitting next to three food bloggers, whose mouthwatering food trails (SG Food on Foot, Celestial Delish and GNineThree) never fail to amaze me, and had the opportunity to chat with them.

The menu at Beanstro is extensive I was warned by Steven that the portions they serve will be huge. There’s a selection of all-day breakfast, fresh salads, open-faced sandwiches, pastas, mains, dessert and hand-crafted beverages, and we were certainly spoilt for choice. I ordered their Breakfast Platter and roast chicken for the kids, and for starters, fatherkao and I ordered the soup of the day and the Seafood Velvet. Fatherkao also wanted some greens and coffee, so he got the garden salad and a cappuccino as well.

The Breakfast Platter arrived first, and the kids were quite excited to dig into some scrambled eggs. It also came with two grilled chipotle sausages, turkey bacon, mushroom ragout, buttered baguette and marinated cherry tomatoes. The turkey bacon and tomatoes were finished, the mushroom ragout was untouched, and the baguette was quickly chomped down by the baby. Ben said he didn’t like the eggs cos’ they were tasteless, and that he preferred mc-dees anytime. I tried what he had, and well, it was honestly not that impressive. To be fair, I would say it was decent; mc-dees’ scrambled in Big Breakfast tastes more processed. The one at Beanstro is nicely cooked but a little bland.

Breakfast platter ($18)

The soups arrived shortly after and the hubs had mushroom soup while I had a creamy seafood soup with scallops, cheese toast and a peach compote. We both found the soups a tad salty for our tastebuds, although I must say the peach compote in my Seafood Velvet was refreshing and reduced the saltiness quite a bit.

Seafood Velvet ($9.50)

Mushroom soup ($8)

The garden salad came next, and the portion was generous indeed. The salad tasted like, well, a salad, and it was a little odd to have edamame in the bowl.

Garden salad ($10)

The mains arrived after we finished our starters. The kids’ roast chicken that’s marinated in hickory came highly recommended by Steven. He even instructed the chef to separate the Cajun-infused mirepoix (a thick tomato-based sauce that tasted of bell peppers, onions and celery) in case the kids found it spicy. The tender roasted chicken came with sauteed vegetables and fries, which the children were glad to chomp on.

Roast chicken

The hubs ordered cod fish and it came with sauteed vegetables and mashed potatoes in seafood broth underneath. He loved the freshness and aroma of the pan-seared Chilean cod, although he found the sauteed vegetables really salty.

Cod fish ($26)

My seafood wrapped in cartoccio featured some really fresh lobster skillets, mussels and scallops. I was a little disappointed that the fettuccine was hard and the chilli padi overwhelmed the taste a little.

Seafood wrapped in cartoccio ($26)

Which made me look forward to dessert. Steven recommended that I try the Cherry Clafouti and Bread and Butter Pudding. I ordered the Classic Affogato for fatherkao who loves coffee in his dessert and the Berry d’treasure yogurt swirl for the kids.

Classic affogato ($6.50) & yogurt swirl ($6.50)

And indeed, dessert was the best part of our meal. They were done to perfection – my pudding and clafouti – the sweetness was just nice for me. Both fatherkao and I enjoyed these two best.

Bread and Butter Pudding ($9)

Cherry Clafouti ($10)

The kids loved their yogurt and slurped it beaming. The affogato wowed the coffee dessert lover too.

Happy kids! (priceless)

All in all, there were some hits and misses but Beanstro is great if you’d like a hearty meal, complete with value-for-money tantalising dessert and good coffee. The service is prompt and ever-willing to go the extra mile (more serviettes, more clean plates, more water, oops, dropped the cutlery again – you know what’s it like with kids!) and it’s a good place to chill out after getting some shopping done.

More details:

• Beanstro Takashimaya is located at 391 Orchard Road #B1-37 Ngee Ann City Singapore 238872. Operating hours: Monday to Sunday 8am to 11pm.

Disclosure: We were invited for a complimentary food tasting session by Beanstro. All opinions here are Motherkao’s own.