Dinner at Clifford Restaurant @ Fullerton Bay Hotel

Fullerton Bay Hotel, a gorgeous, luxurious hotel restored from the old Clifford Pier, with its arched ceilings and carved pillars, was one of the places I explored exceedingly. I had high-tea at their Landing Point, and drinks at Lantern Bar, but have yet to dine there.

Hence, decided to try it out someday, at Clifford Restaurant. The exact venue is 80 Collyer Quay, Singapore 049326 and the number to dial is 6597 5288. Clifford Restaurant serves French cuisine infused with a contemporary flair.

With its lavishly furnished interior - think gilt mirrors, dark expensive wood, ornate furniture, and scented candles, this place hits one like a movie setting. Everything was glossy and perfect, a mixture of contemporary high life with hints of vintage. The wait staff were polite and professional as well. We loved the ambience itself already - even before being escorted to the tables with crisp white tablecloths and plush seats.

While waiting, we were served the bread basket, filled with hard rolls that were fragrant, tasty and went really well buttered up. So we indulged while engaged in muted, intimate conversation like what the other diners there were doing as well.

The Leaf Caesar Salad with Chicken came next - romaine leaves, foccacia croutons, bacon bits, white anchovies, shaved parmasen and dressing. The chicken was tender and tasty infused with the flavors of the salad and dressing. It was a good salad, but nothing out of the ordinary, really - very few restaurants could go wrong with Caesar Salads, I guess.  The romaine leaves were fresh, but that was expected to be so, the croutons crunchy, the dressing sweet; I would have preferred it more if there were slices of hard-boiled eggs...

The main courses came next.

First there was the Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks in Red Wine - with beans and baby corns. The beef  was utterly tender, so tender it was almost buttery soft - my god, I've never eaten beef this delicious; it was smooth and the red wine flavor was gentle, just hints of it. Even the accompanying vegetables were cooked soft and tasted delicious in the gravy. This dish was heaven.

Then my Honey Truffle Glazed Suckling Pig dish came - the cracklingly crispy skin concealing exceedingly tender, juicy flesh beneath it was heavenly to the bite - all the flavors of the pork itself, mercilessly bathed over with black truffle, Parsnip puree and cipollini - it was literally an explosion of goodness in the jaws. 

Every bite was slowly savoured over glasses of Red Wine, every moment of dinner was incredibly romantic and enjoyable. Good food, excellent service, epicuran ambience - what is there not to love about this posh place?

We spent SGD$100.00 each on our meals here, but every cent was worthy of every bite. I would definitely be back for more.