Lena

Let me start from the latest food adventure and if I have the time, to work my way backwards.

My girlfriends and I met up yesterday and decided to go for Italian food. We have been 'cooking' so much in Cafe World that we have funny cravings. Or at least I do. We checked out this new place called Lena at Bugis Junction. It was under the Ministry of Food (MOF) chain and had taken over what used to be Aji Tei. Aji Tei is under the Ajisen group of restaurants. This is all very Japanese, I know. It somehow just is.

I had quite high expectations of it for it looked promisingly crowded the last time I passed by that place. I was rather hungry when I arrived and my friend and I, while waiting for the final one third of the threesome, had gone on ahead to order calamari fritters and the portion was a little pathetic for $7.

Next, came our mains. I ordered a spicy Aglio Olio (they have spelt is as Agilo Olio on their menu) with bacon and mushrooms. It was an olive oil based pasta. The plate/bowl was very big (especially the rims) but the portion, not quite enough to satisfy the appetite. I don't think I was the only one who felt this way. I think my friend who ordered the chicken pesto also felt a little short changed. Well, I suppose their disclaimers about the photos in the menu being an example and may not represent the real thing is true then.

Back to my aglio olio: when it came, the proportion of the flatware and the pasta already sent funny signals to my brains telling my stomach that I will not be too satisfied after finishing the pasta.

Next, even before I stirred the pasta, I saw lots of water/soup. This should not have been. It showed that the pasta was not drained properly before being fried and/or mixed with the bacon and mushrooms. Either that, they had cooked the mushrooms for too long and it had produced water, as mushrooms tend to do. Either way, it made the already-not-crispy bacon more soggy. Well, I suppose I am picky about my bacon too, but I shall leave that part of the argument for another day.

Halfway through my pasta, I could see my friend still feeling peckish and I asked if we would like to order a pizza to share. We all agreed, ordered and waited, and waited, and waited. It felt like an eternity and I felt a little way too long, even for pizza. The least staff could do was to check in on us from time to time and not leave us on the lurch like that. We had to ask them to check our order for us before the pizza made its appearance. They were more interested in trying to sell us the membership card rather than care about our dining experience, I feel.

By then, I was full from waiting and the pizza did not go down that well as when compared to say, if I were still half hungry. The pizza we ordered was smoked salmon and it was actually not bad.

Water costs $0.50 and even though we asked for warm water, it was tepid. They were also not attentive enough to refill our water. My other friend had to call them on two occasions to come and fill up our cups. Service standards fail!

Even as one of the waitresses tried to sell us the membership card again as we were paying, she sounded mechanic and was trying to regurgitate everything that she had memorised. Either that or she had repeated herself too many times. We did not get the membership card, which was $10.

I do not think I will be going back there any time soon. Maybe for the pizzas but I think I will be able to find other choices and perhaps a better service experience?

p/s: check out the reviews of Lenas at the hungry go where website. Really goes to show that I am not that picky after all :)