In a fit of generosity, DC decided to take me out for dinner at The Cliff on Sentosa for a nice meal. Given that it was a weeknight, the place was already fairly full, with all the coveted balcony seats overlooking the sea already reserved and enough people so that we had company at the next table. It was a very dimly lit restaurant, hence its reputation for being a very romantic place. I can imagine many a marriage proposal taking place at the balcony seats. Unfortunately, the dim lighting also meant that the photos came out at even poorer quality than my norm.
The warm bread was good: crisp and crusty on the outside and soft and yielding on the inside. I liked how they paired it not just with olive oil but also with a vaguely Arabian spice mix with paprika as the main spice. It was fun dipping our bread in the olive oil and then the aromatic powder.
We were given an amuse bouche that DC really liked. I’m not so keen on molecular gastronomy type bits and bobs, especially the bursty green blob on the spoon (it was a reconstructed olive), but I liked the toast with some experimental spreads on it. Can’t remember what it was, perhaps they’ll take the idea further and turn it into a bigger dish for the menu proper.
For starters, I had Belon oysters ($13 each). Belon oysters are one of my favourites as I love this particular blend of sharp minerality finished off with a good dose of brine. I wanted to order two because of the prohibitive price, but DC persuaded me that three made it right. And he was right, three is just right for enjoying the taste enough and not overdoing it. DC had an oyster soup that he said wasn’t worth mentioning, so I won’t.
My main course of barramundi with pickled fennel and prosciutto floss and broth ($68) was overpriced. The crispy skin was well executed and that was about all I liked about the dish. I found the fish a bit overcooked, which was a travesty considering this is a signature dish. Overdoing a $68 fish is a bit much. As to the rest of the dish, I felt that the flavours were oversaturated. The prosciutto broth that the fish sat in was too salty against the sharp briny fennel pickle. It made the dish off balance. How to fix it? First, get the fish cooked right, darn it! Then dial down the salt in the broth and moderate the pickle slightly.
DC’s pork dish ($62) was much better. They served the usual pork belly with crisp crackling that was perfect, which for a restaurant like this is merely a passing grade. To push for a better mark, they had to one-up the competition. They did. They were daring in serving the pork loin so pink it was almost red in the centre and this was tender, juicy and very flavourful. The piece de resistance was the savoury popcorn on the side, which I slowly picked from DC’s plate as the dinner progressed.
We shared a dessert of The Cliff Lemon Tart ($20). This is the one thing that I would go back for: the many presentations of lemon. There was lemon meringue, lemon sorbet, lemon cake, lemon everything. I can’t even name all the various textures, temperatures and tastes of lemon in that dish. It was a lovely way to end the meal.
Would I go back? Yes, with a reservation at the balcony seats next time. I would order the oysters, the pork and the lemon tart again. And I would enjoy the impeccable service. There’s something about this place where all the staff are invariably warm, gracious and inobtrusive. It’s the best service at any restaurant in Singapore.
The Cliff
The Sentosa – A Beaufort Hotel
2 Bukit Manis Road, Sentosa
Tel: +65 6371 1425
Opening Hours: 6.30pm – 12.00am (Last order at 10.00pm)
And the next contender is Osia. DC decided to pamper me for lunch. This was something like two months later, so please don’t think I eat like this every day. My first impression of Osia wasn’t that good. When we stepped in, there was this horrendous drilling noise from the renovation next door. This went on for quite a while until I asked if they could get the neighbours to at least stop for lunch. Our server at first said that they wouldn’t stop and I had to suggest that he ask them to do so before he trotted off. Thankfully, that worked and we had a much more tranquil meal after that.
On to the food. We had the set lunch ($35 for 2 courses and $45 for 3 courses). DC had the tuna tartare starter and was dismayed by the small portion. I liked the freshness of the dish and its bright flavours, enjoying the contrast of soft tuna chunks against crunchy vegetable. It was well executed, a classic dish.
The same could be said for my veal carpaccio. There was nothing to fault in the fresh produce and good flavours, yet nothing in the starters that took things up a level.
It was my barramundi that did exactly that. This is what The Cliff should have made of its barramundi. The fish itself was done perfectly – with silky, flaky and tender white flesh and nicely crisped up skin. The tomato salsa under the smooth potato mash was what made it soar. Aside from chopped tomatoes zinged up with chopped shallots, there were also little morsels of preserved lemons. The restrained use of tangy, salty lemon added an unexpected yet very familiar dimension to the dish. I also liked how the asparagus was presented not in spears, but in pretty yet practical, easy to eat rolls.
DC liked his hanging beef tenderloin with mushroom risotto but I was too caught up with my fish dish to thoroughly enjoy a bite of his. It was decent, that’s all I recall.
Then we shared a dessert of Valrhona hot chocolate soup, a signature dish. When it arrived, I had difficulty figuring out where the soup was, because it was blanketed under a layer of crust and icing sugar.
We had to break through the top to get to the chocolate below. It was more of a chocolately custard that baked into a crust at the top. Though it wasn’t quite as dark as I’d like it to be, it is definitely a crowdpleaser and goes well with the vanilla bean ice cream. What really surprised me was how after a few spoonfuls, the black pepper started coming through and it really made the dessert sing. No wonder it’s a signature dish.
Osia
8 Sentosa Gateway Resorts World Sentosa
Tel: +65 6577 8888
Opening Hours
Lunch: 12:00pm – 3:00pm (Daily)
Dinner: 6:00pm – 10:00pm (Sun – Wed, Last order at 9:45pm)
Dinner: 6:00pm – 10:30pm (Thur – Sat, Last order at 10:00pm)
Verdict? I like both, with The Cliff winning on the inventiveness, especially its lemon dessert, and on the wonderful service. Osia wins on its consistency in terms of fresh produce and well-executed dishes; it’s also much more affordable with its lunch time set menus. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with Osia’s service, I just found that the staff could have been slightly more proactive at making sure we were comfortable.
eat. drink. cook. travel. 