Thursday, August 23, 2012

Lago Restaurant at Boat Quay

So, we had 3 places reserved for my birthday dinner, thanks to my generous CEB who had offered to let me celebrate at any place I wanted.
Well, I wasn't in the mood for miniscule portions so I cancelled our reservation at Forlino in the afternoon. Red meat also didn't tickle my appetite the least so I decided to go to the place with the "Best Pepper Crab" according to my sister. I figured that given her lifestyle (fine-dining on the regular), we couldn't go very far wrong.
So, I called Lago to confirm the reservation I made 1 week ago and what do you know, they didn't have a record of it. No matter, they assured me that a table for 2 would not be a problem.
We made the mistake of parking at UOB which was all the way to the other end of Boat Quay. Lago is nearer the South Bridge Road of Boat Quay. The boss/manager was an aunty with a sling pouch across her body and she was a jolly friendly soul who gave us drinks (soft drinks) on the house when she heard it was my birthday. And that's where the good part ends.
So, the food right? She recommended kangkong which was the first dish to be served. I can find no fault with the cooking but it certainly was far from lip-smacking delicious. It was severely overpriced at SGD12 given the lack of quantity!
Even worse was the sambal stingray. It certainly tasted fresh but I think the restaurant has a darn lousy cook. Nevermind the size - smaller than 2 of your palms joined together - but the method of cooking was far below average. The fish was fresh but not juicy, just bland...and slices of onion heaped on top with some lemon slices did nothing for the dish. IT sucked and it cost SGD22.
Now, we came here for the crab and let me tell you, although the crab was huge (2kg right?), it was crap. It took forever to come which led my CEB to wonder if they had run out of crabs and had to go get one from another restaurant. After he took a couple of bites, he had his answer: It was probably defrosted. I am not so sure - it seemed to me that the crab was severely overcooked - barbequed to the point where the meat was all tough and tasteless instead of succulent and fleshy. It was truly again to me, an absolute horrific waste of SGD100 eating this dish. We would have done so much better at Jumbo or No Signboard.
The only thing good about the restaurant was of course, the view we had dining facing Fullerton Hotel where there was a local band playing next to the hotel. Then again, this view could be had from anywhere along the river on this side. And not at such a steep cost. The total bill for the 3 dishes above came up to over SGD150 (There is no GST payable but there is service charge of 10%)
The Slog Reviews: 1/10. The 1 point is for the service by the Aunty. This place, it deserves the one star it got on Hungry Go Where (Click here). I don't blame the (quality of the)food so much as the cook(s) who display an appalling lack of skills for a restaurant where so many tourists frequent by pure bad luck. I am not returning to this place. Ever.

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