Romantic Dinner - The Cliff @ The Sentosa

Away from the bustle and hustle of the city, the Cliff restaurant is at a quiet corner of Beaufort Hotel at Sentosa.

Beaufort Hotel

The alfresco dining area is at a balcony platform which overlooks South China Sea, supposed to boast a nice sunset view in the evening while romantic illuminations from the ships during the night. It was cloudy that evening and we only managed to catch a glimpse of sunset skies.  As the dining area is besides a lush forest with tall trees, a large portion of the sea view was kind of being blocked.

Scenery from Restaurant

Nonetheless, still liked the casual yet comfortable settings - long wooden tables and benches with back and comfortable cushions, modern rustic settings with ceiling fans ventilating the area. The relaxing settings at the balcony is very different from the formal impression from the posh impressive passage over water at the entrance.

Dining Area

Table Setting

Contemporary European cuisine is served here. Before the meal start, there were some small sized offerings being served. Understand that these are known as amuse-bouche, French term which literally means "mouth amuser". These are complimentary greetings from good restaurant, aimed at exciting dinners' palette and also to showcase chief's creativity. There were some kind of thick creamy soup in the small cups, small toast with paste-like chopped tuna decorated with some rosemary and a jelly.

Amuse-Bouche

Bread is being served as usual. Had always loved bread from western restaurants and always need to constraint myself not to eat too much. There are a variety of bread offered here, however couldn't really appreciate the few we had selected nor the curry powder that is supposed to go with the bread.

Saw lots of fresh oysters in their glass kitchen when we pass by the entrance.  Decided to get their Tasting of Oyster with 5 different preparations.

• Umami - dashi pearl, oba granite and seaweed
• Sour - lapsang souchong vinaigrette and citrus fruits
• Bitter - Sorrel juice and salted sago
• Salt - smoked ham and shrimp floss
• Sweet - Strawberry espuma, coriander and balsamic jelly

Oysters
Rating: 4/5

Each of them was unique in taste.  The bitter and sour preparation were quite nice. Have a bit of reservation for the sweet taste initially, but the strawberry foam combined with coriander actually goes well with the oyster. Had high expectation for the salty preparation but it was quite disappointing as the shrimp floss just seems weird with the oyster.

Main course is Tajima Wagyu Beef @$125. Tajima are black cattle originating from the Hyogo prefecture and was described as one of the highest quality beef in the world.  The chef recommend medium rare for the steak, slightly charred on the outside and very tender and juicy inside. Usually when beef is a bit rare, it can also get slightly chewy. But this medium rare wagyu beef was very moist and tender. For the first time, I enjoyed the fresh meaty taste of the inner beef  more than the strong seared charred taste on the outside.

There were few small pieces of foie gras, soft, creamy texture with rich flavour. But its soft and too small in size that the first few slices just slipped down my throat before I can savour it. The sides were good too, crispy-fired fragrant truffled potato, asparagus, zucchini and carrot.

Tajima Wagyu Beef
Rating: 4.5 / 5

My dining partner ordered a Ibérico Pork @ $62, strip loin, rib roll, apple-sauerkraut purée, potato dumpling and cabbage roll. Black Ibérico pig origin from Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain), usually known as Spanish pig, supposed to be special for its marbled fat like Kobe beef. It wasn't really that amazing but we do like the rib roll. The apple-sauerkraut purée was quite special too. Sauerkraut is pickling process similar to how kimchi are made, the puree is quite refreshing with a tinge of sourness.

Ibérico Pork
Rating: 3.75 / 5

The Cliff Lemon Tart @$20 - textures of lemon, gin and tonic jelly, tonka bean ice cream and yuzu sorbet. The ice cream and yuzu sorbet was nice.  The others was quite new to us - meringue, small tiny gin and tonic jelly with gold pieces - interesting but couldn't really appreciate them especially at such a price.

The Cliff Lemon Tart
Rating: 3.5 / 5

It was very kind of them to offer a complimentary cake for our birthday celebration. We wouldn't have ordered the lemon tart if we had know of the complimentary cake earlier.

There is also complimentary shuttle service from the hotel to HabourFront/Vivo, you can just check the timing at the concierge.

The Cliff at The Sentosa,
A Beaufort Hotel
2 Bukit Manis, Sentosa,
Singapore 099891
Tel: (65) 6371 1425
Opening Hours: 6.30pm – 12.00am (last orders at 10pm)
Reservation Recommended: Yes
Dress Code: Smart Casual

China Street Fritters @Maxwell

China Street Fritters 中国街五香贯肠 at Maxwell Market.

This stall has been around for a long time, offering traditional Ngoh Hiang and Guan Chang
There is not much variety but the standard 7 dishes - sausage, egg slice, meat roll, liver roll, century egg, bean curd and fish ball. They also offer fried bee hoon to complete the meal.

The egg slices ($0.7) are my favorite, every bite is filled with rich egg fragrance and taste. It's even better when you dip it with the starchy sauce provided.

Their sausage or Guan Chang ($2) is also nice. It is usually made with marinated lean pork stuffed into a casting (not sure if its pork intestine or synthetic), boiled and cut into thin slices to serve. Won't describe it as succulent but it's definitely not dry. As you chew further, you will enjoy the meaty taste.

Their liver meat roll ($0.8) is quite unique as well, its liver pieces combined with vegetable wrapped in beancurd skin. The has a rich liver taste, you will like it if you love the taste of liver.

WuXiangGuanChang
Rating: 4/5

The fried Bee Hoon was quite nice, soft rice vermicelli, appropriately seasoned and not too oily. It goes well with the chili provided.

China Fritters are traditional Hokkien Ngoh Hiong. Unlike Teochew Wu Xiang Guan Chang, they do not have the white crispy prawn cracker

Maxwell Road,
#01-64 Maxwell Food Centre,
Singapore
Tel: +65 9239 6464
Opening Hours
12.00pm – 8.00pm
(Closed on Mon)

Lao Ban Soy Beancurd 老伴豆花 @ Maxwell

After spotting 2 office ladies carrying 10 packed tubs of Lao Ban beancurd under the hot sun and hearing my colleague's description of how good it taste, I had been wanting to try their handmade Tau Huay.


Decided to go to the branch at Maxwell as the main stall at old airport road is a bit out of the way. 
Glad that the queue was quite short, maybe because its already late in the evening. However, almond flavour was sold out and we only manage to get the original flavour @$1.50.

Lan Ban Beancurd @Maxwell Market

The chilled Lao Ban beancurd was yummy! Its soft, silky smooth like a jelly or pudding. It is creamier and smoother than the traditional beancurd. Unlike the traditional beancurd which is sweetened with sugar syrup, Lao Ban beancurd itself is already flavourful with the ingredient malt mixture and coffee-mate. The beancurd simply melts in your mouth with soy bean milk bursting out. The taste is more of milky with only slight soy bean taste, it will be perfect if the soy bean taste is richer. 

Textures of Beancurd
Pic 1: Slight tension on the surface
Pic 2 : First scoop showing the soft jelly-like center

Yummy Beancurd
Rating: 4.5/5

Lao Ban bencurd is so famous that there are lots of article and information on this tofu custard, you can even find recipes contributed by internet users which claimed to be as good as Lao Ban's. 

Lao Ban beancurd had started their chilled beancurd around one and half year ago and created a hype that many other stalls follow. All claimed to be the best, using 100% pure soy bean with no soyabean powder or coffee mate. Will find a chance to try the other stalls like QQ Soya Bean Curd and 51 Soy Bean.

Maxwell Food Centre

Maxwell Road #01-91 

Mobile: 8299 8211 

51 Old Airport Road
#01-127 Old Airport Road Hawker Centre
Mobile: 81812201

Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 1130am- 800pm (or sold out)
Closed on Sunday

http://www.facebook.com/Laobansoya

Sol Tasca @ Fullerton RiverBoat

Bought Sol Tasca's festive set lunch deal from BigDeal at $19+ for our gals' gathering.

Getting to the restaurant at Fullerton Waterboat House was difficult, especially under a hot sun.
It's not at the Fullerton Waterboat house main building, but you need to walk down a flight of stairs hidden by the bushes. Took me some time before I managed to find the way to the restaurant at the Esplanade Bridge that link one Fullerton to raffles place.

Sol Tasca @ Esplanade Bridge

Took a while to cool down on the high seat chair with a glass of ice water and slight river breeze. Believe it will be a much cooling and nicer setting especially with the bridge lights and cooler breeze in the evening or night.

Dining Area

SOL Tasca's festive 4 course set lunch

Cream of Wild Mushroom
The soup was ok, it was a bit salty and the scent of truffle oil was a bit overpowering for me. Could have been better if there are less salt and truffle oil.

Cream of Mushroom
Rating: 3.5/5

Rocket Salad with Smoked Duck Breast, Cherries and Hazelnuts Oil Dressing
Quite nice especially for those who loved the rocket salad.  The duck breast was not dry, quite succulent with the smoked fragrance.

Smoked Duck Breast Rocket Salad
Rating: 3.75/5

Pan-Seared Turkey Breast with Chestnut Stuffing, accompanied with Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables And Cranberry Sauce.
Meat being too dry is always my worry for Turkey, but it turned out to be quite juicy and tender. The cranberry sauce also enhanced the flavor of the turkey. As for chestnut stuffing, the portion is quite small that I can't really recall much about it.

Pan-Seared Turkey Breast with Chestnut Stuffing
Rating: 4/5

Almond Crusted Salmon Supreme
My friend ordered their salmon, which is served with crushed potatoes, vegetables and saffron cream sauce. The salmon is very tender and very fresh and nicely crisped on the outside. The almond and cream sauce was good too.

Almond Crusted Salmon Supreme
Rating: 4/5

Warm Chocolate Almond Pudding with Triple Chocolate Ice Cream
The warm chocolate pudding was topped with some crushed almond and it was like a lava cake with soft, gooey semi-liquid chocolate at the center. The ice cream was quite delightful too, wondering if its movenpick ice cream since they have an ice cream freezer selling movenpick ice cream right outside their restaurant.

Dessert
Rating: 4/5

Quite a kind gesture for them to call in the morning to inform us that the salmon was not available that day as their salmon supply is not delivered in time.  But its quite disappointing that they are not prepared  to provide alternatives to the salmon, especially when the deal menu only have 2 options - turkey or salmon. Luckily their salmon finally managed to arrive in time for our lunch.

Understand that there will be live band performances Wed - Sat, starting from 8pm.  Lighting under the bridge, live Spanish  music and occasional breeze, think it can be quite an alfresco dining experience at night.

More Deal Reviews at http://monsoondeal.blogspot.com/

3 Fullerton Road,
#01-04 The Fullerton Waterboat House
Opening Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 10.30am – 11pm
Friday – Saturday: 10.30am – 12am (last order at 11.30pm)
http://sol-group.com.sg/soltasca/

Dessert @ Ah Chew, Bugis

After lunch at Yu Kee duck rice at Bugis, we walked down the Liang Seah street to Ah Chew for dessert.

They offer a variety of desserts, both traditional and modern, serve hot or cold.

Dessert Bar

Menu

We tried their Yam with Sago @$3.20. We can immediately smell the yam fragrance and taste the yam when we only have the sago in the first scoop. You can find generous chunks of yam at the bottom of the bowl. Not too sweet, just nice!

Something that I don't like is the ice cubes added to the dessert if you want it cold.  As the ice cube is not fully melted, it kind of affected the texture of the dessert.

Yam with Sago
Rating: 4/5

Service was prompt. Seats are a bit cramp. They have expanded and converted the shop next door to their dining area.

Ah Chew Desserts

1 Liang Seah Street,
#01-11 Liang Seah Place,
Singapore
Tel: +65 6339 8198

Mon–Thu : 12.30pm – 11.30pm
Fri : 12.30pm – 12.30am
Sat–Sun: 1.30pm – 12.30am
Sun : 1:30pm - 11.30pm