We celebrated the end of our leave with lunch at Clifford at Fullerton Bay Hotel. One of the main reasons I wanted to come here was because I’d tried the food at Lantern, which apparently shares a kitchen with Clifford. The (albeit overpriced) truffle fries at Lantern were so awesome that I really wanted A to try them.
They have a set lunch at Clifford, but the menu was pretty sad today because I think some places are now pretty full on with their festive menus, and Clifford is no exception. Needless to say, pumpkin and chestnut soup or roast capon roll is not how I want to experience Clifford, so we ended up ordering off the a la carte menu. We decided to share 3 starters and a main.
To start, we had the lobster and scallop carpaccio with black truffle. I was a bit surprised because from the description on the menu, I expected the lobster to be raw as well. Still, this was very good. Maybe a tad too acidic and I don’t think the truffles were strictly necessary, but a promising first dish.
A wanted the French onion soup, but this was very ordinary and watered down, and the cheese crouton on top was almost like an afterthought and not very cheesy at all.
At least the fries didn’t disappoint. The truffle oil was a bit inconsistently distributed, but the shoestring fries were great – really crispy on the outside and still soft and fluffy inside. This gets my vote for best truffle fries in Singapore. Plus they serve Heinz ketchup, so bonus point there.
Then the main arrived, and standards dropped again. We ordered the roasted cod with a saffron and chorizo risotto. The seasoning on the dish was way too delicate, and the risotto was a terrible let down. It was overcooked, mushy, and still flavourless despite the chunks of chorizo which should have given it some serious flavour.
Except for the carpaccio and the fries, the food here was quite disappointing. Plus I was quite unimpressed with the service. First, they gave us the wrong menu – the dinner menu rather than the lunch menu. Then we were served by a waitress who, while being very civil to us, gave me the distinct impression that she was rolling her eyes at us internally for (a) not ordering sparkling or still water, (b) not having wine, and (c) sharing our orders.
Poor service seems to be the order of the day at the hotel in general – my visit to Lantern was also let down by terribly slow and simply inept service.
A says:
The food was totally not worth the price.
Clifford
80 Collyer Quay
Fullerton Bay Hotel
Tel: 6597-5288
Breakfast: 6.30 am to 10.30 am
Lunch: 12 noon to 2.30 pm
Dinner: 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm
www.fullertonbayhotel.com/dining-en.html
2 comments:
I'm glad someone thinks exactly the same way that I do re my opinion on Clifford.
I tried similar dishes as the both of you - the scallop capaccio and the Duck Confit and was disappointed with both. Granted I agree that the scallop carpaccio was a good starter for me, it was a tad plain for me and in my opinion, the black truffles were did not help much aka they weren't necessary!
While I didn't order the cod myself, I was rather taken aback by the dish, largely due to the lack of flavours too! To each his own I suppose, I've seen at least 2 bloggers wax lyrically about it, but I fail to understand the reasons behind.
On the note of service (rather, the lack of), I have to agree with you completely!
I personally, won't be back, anytime soon.
Haha :) I think there are 3 who might be sharing the same views of Clifford.
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