Located on level 57 at Tower 3 of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, CÉ LA VI is a rooftop restaurant and bar that inevitably pairs your meals and drinks with breathtaking views of the Singapore city skyline. The menu largely comprises contemporary Asian items, which basically means some level of fusion. As such, I wasn’t too keen on dining here initially as I can’t really appreciate fusion cuisine in general. However, AMEX was running a promotion for $30 cashback with a $150 minimum spend, so I thought to give it a shot since my husband and I were contemplating which restaurant to bring his parents to for dinner.
To secure a reservation here, I had to put down a $50 credit card guarantee beforehand. Any changes or cancellations would need to be made at least 24 hours before the reservation time slot to avoid forfeiting this $50. Do note that a strict smart casual dress code is observed here as well.
- Our order:
- Iberico pork schnitzel with watercress, pomelo and brown butter ($45++)
- Truffle rice porridge ($30++)
- Baked cauliflower with celeriac puree and black garlic ($35++)
- Norwegian salmon with lemongrass foam and calamari ($45++)
- Pandan tiramisu with coconut rice pudding and soursop pandan sorbet ($25++)
- Spent: SGD$211.86
Upon arriving at Tower 3, the staff at the reception counter checked our reservation and showed us to the lift lobby. A couple of moments later, our lift opened up to the highest floor of the hotel on the same level as the famed infinity pool. It’s a good idea to time your reservation with the golden hour as it is a great vantage point to watch the sun set from. Alas, on the day we visited, we only managed to catch a glimpse of the setting sun just as the grey clouds started to gather.
The restaurant is a huge sheltered open-air space, with a breezy section closer to the outside and an air-conditioned section nestled further inside. It was mostly empty when we walked in, I suppose because our time slot was earlier than the usual dinner time. In comparison, the SkyBar is situated out in the open with alfresco seating and was bustling with more people.
When we were ushered to our table in the breezy section, we asked if we could shift one table forward so that we could enjoy a more expansive view with less obstruction. The staff murmured something about the timing and hurried off without further explanation. After checking with another staff, he told us he would get back on this, but he didn’t provide any update either. It was a pity to have our initial impression marred by this episode of unclear communication.
There was one staff who did stand out for the right reasons. Madeline was really friendly and animated, helping us to take photos and explaining the dishes to us as she served them. Unfortunately, apart from her, the rest of the staff were icy and distant.
We ordered four mains to share and the first one to arrive was the Iberico pork schnitzel. This received the unanimous vote for favourite dish of the night. It had a crispy (but not oily) batter and tender meat with just a tinge of sweetness that was okay for me (I typically prefer not to mix my savouries with sweets). The pomelo bits were an interesting addition.
Coming in at a close second was the truffle rice porridge, which was indeed fragrant with truffle and had a smooth consistency. Alas, because it had a rather pungent cheese flavour, I was unable to eat much of it. My husband and his dad enjoyed it though!
Up next was the baked cauliflower dish. I really liked the seasoning and char on the veggies, along with the celeriac puree and black garlic. It was so savoury and “umami” that it felt like we were actually eating meat.
The final main was the Norwegian salmon that turned out to be my least preferred dish. The fish itself tasted very mediocre. Also, through no fault of the chef, I really dislike lemongrass so the foam made from it was a huge turn-off. Every part of the dish was doused with it, making it an unpleasant one for me.
To round up our meal, we had a pandan tiramisu dessert for sharing too. I found it to be an intriguing twist on the classic tiramisu , with local flavours being swapped in and taking centre stage. It was delicious and well-balanced, with the creaminess of the coconut juxtaposing wonderfully with the sharpness of the soursop pandan sorbet.
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. This restaurant does have undeniably magnificient views of the surrounding cityscapes, and its open-air design draws these views into the dining area to be admired as you eat. In terms of the food, objectively speaking, it was generally pretty good. However, I’m not one who can really appreciate fusion cuisine so my personal experience with it was a hit-and-miss. The dessert were great though (: What wasn’t so great was that the portions were smaller than what would be needed for a filling meal and prices were exorbitant (even with the AMEX promotion, it didn’t feel like a particularly value-for-money deal). Also, I felt the staff could’ve had a warmer demeanour to create a more welcoming atmosphere.
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
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