To conclude the fourth and final guest chef of the year, The Cliff at The Singapore Resort & Spa Sentosa welcomes Chef Alyn Williams, who has a deep, sexy voice, and won UK’s Best Chef of the Year 2012, and whose eponymous restaurant is awarded a Michelin star. From 13-16 Aug, he showcases his signatures in a 6-course dinner menu ($188+, additional $55+ for free-flow wine), and, on 17 Aug, hosts the Sparkling Sunday Champagne Brunch ($149+ with alcohol/ $109+ without).

Though in tiny portions–I felt like bak chor mee after the meal–the food had finesse: they were clean, bright, and distinct. They were complex, but not in a complicated way of not knowing what you’re eating; they were complex in that every dish had a spectrum of evolving flavors, but each taste came one after the other distinctively.

I especially admired the summer dish, scallops cooked in two ways: pan-seared, and the other, made into a puree and solidified, texture similar to a sous vide squid. The watermelon, topped with Moroccan spiced-almonds, ricotta cheese, and local “live” prawns, had a scope of flavors, refreshing and savory, that both complemented and contrasted with the scallops. .

What time is it? Sorry, not Tiger time.

The other dish that I loved was Chef Williams’ signature, foie gras semifreddo. Nope, not a dessert. It came with a lively lemon curd–still not a dessert–and hazelnut crumbs, and coffee. Very playful to transform a coffee-and-dessert into a palate cleanser before a meat.

Miso-glazed red snapper, seaweed butter, beach vegetables

My last favorite on the menu was the caramelised–‘coz he’s British, so British spelling–white chocolate panna cotta, topped with honeycomb and passionfruit. Yes, finally dessert. The crunch broke the monotony of smoothness; the refreshing tartness neutralized the sweetness. I wanted to request for 10 more. But paiseh lah.

The only dish that I didn’t like was the bbq young lamb loin and shoulder: over-salted, and had a tad much of an overpowering pungent spice–was it cumin? But as whole, this was a refined dinner that only an experienced chef is capable of. I enjoyed it very much.

The Cliff Restaurant

2 Bukit Manis Road, The Singapore Resort and Spa Sentosa, Singapore 099891
T: +65 6371 1425
6.30pm-midnight (last orders at 9.30pm)

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.

ps: Thanks, Marlene, Candice, Abigail, and Karen, for the invite.