Burnt at The Barn @ The Starling (A Bad Experience in 2023)

Note : I wrote this post back in 2023, my annus horribilis. Indeed my lunch that day matched the sentiments of the year.

There is a new eatery opened many months ago at The Starling - The Barn.  Well, it looked interesting and I reckon the menu is something that might appeal to me and my brother.

I wanted to visit on my own but from the looks of it - sharing platters and alcohol, this place might be more suited for coming with company. 

And one day I decided to be brave and go it alone (as I always do).

There was a group of young people having a good time and I could see that they were enjoying their drinks. 

And then there were 2 or 3 small parties arriving after I took my seat.

I would say that I found the menu appealing.

Naturally, I gravitated to the Steak and Meat section. There was an item that I liked - Flaming Baby Back Ribs and I reckon I can finish the whole thing easy but shy lah to order on my own like that.

So I chose the Ribeye Steak and requested for it to be prepared to medium rare. As for drinks - highly predictable, I got me a Latte.

Service was very slow. But I was in no hurry. Then I saw that the big group of youngsters had ordered the Flaming Baby Back Ribs which was flambeed at the table.  From the looks of it, the quantity was not that much and it was really sparse to be shared among 12. 

One sip of the Latte and I was taken aback. It had a rancid taste. I have had many good lattes of late and I know what a latte should taste like. Then I took another sip just to confirm and yes, it tasted really bad. I reckon they may have used powdered creamer that had gone past its shelf life.

It took about 40 minutes for the ribeye to show up.

Giving credit where credit is due, it was properly medium rare, well seasoned and tasted pretty good. The black pepper sauce was more than decent.

The vegetables I am afraid was vile tasting. So was the mashed potatoes. It had an acrid rancid taste, not butter but some kind of oil. 

This was how I left - shocked, dejected and cheated.

I regretted the visit (and the waste of money) but how was I to know, right?

I should have gone to Pho Vietz.

Note : This eatery has gotten very good reviews on Google, so I was very unlucky when I visited.