Boathouse Fullerton: Best New Restaurant

February 14, 2010 | 29 Comments

Singapore Food Blog

I love a good restaurant. But if there’s one thing I like even more, it’s having good company for dinner together. Dining in a fine-dining restaurant is very nice, but it really depends on the people around you to make it even better. Sometimes we get lucky, it’s an extra bonus when we are dining with nice people, and it happens to be a very romantic restaurant.

Many people always ask me to recommend a romantic restaurant in Singapore, I’d like to tell them: so long you are with your other half, everywhere is romantic. But I can’t possibly do that can I? You want to know a romantic place for your first date, a romantic restaurant for birthday parties, a romantic restaurant for that special occasion, and like today, a romantic restaurant for Valentine’s day; it’s all about the ambiance.

Best New Restaurant

I’m very pleased to ‘stumble upon’ Boathouse, a newly opened Modern European restaurant at Fullerton Water Boat House. Chic decorations that exudes a laid-back and homely feel, gorgeous view that overlooks the Marina Bay area, elegant and simple furniture, oh I love this place.

restaurant in one fullerton

Fish Chowder Sea Bass Carpaccio ($15)

food blog in singapore

I had Wagyu beef on a couple of occasions before, but this was the first time that I actually had a Wagyu Beef Ribs. The first bite? It tasted just like pork ribs. The second bite? It’s definitely a lot better than the normal pork ribs. It’s a superior version, no it’s  wrong to even compared it with pork ribs. My dear, you are looking at the Wagyu Beef Ribs with Aged Red Wine Jus ($33).

The meat was so tender that it falls off the bone and melts in your mouth splendidly. Placed together in a plate, the wagyu beef ribs absorbed the aged red wine jus, and in turn the latter captured the essence from the long braising process. How good was it? Catherine wiped the plate clean with bread.

Ju had the Atlantic Pink Snapper ($25) instead of the Wagyu beef ribs. She mentioned that the fish was fabulously fresh, firm, sweet, and didn’t want to share it with us. An excuse to return? I’d think so!

I seems to be having a lot of pasta recently. Boy I’m glad all of them were good quality ones, and the Tagliatelle Wild Mushroom in Truffle Sauce (S$19) was no exception. Every slurp of the tagliatelle was intense, and so flavorful. Some might find it to be too salty and overpowering, but I thought that it was pretty well done.

romantic restaurant in singapore

The Caramel Apple tartlets ($15) were small. Fine, they were tiny. Initially the restaurant told us it was tasting portions, but after confirmation from a few friends who went there for dinner, they were still serve the mini apple tartlets for the full price.

Fifteen bucks for three mini tartlets and ice cream? I wouldn’t pay for this, and neither should you. Please do not order the apple tartlets until the restaurant made changes to it.

The mind is a funny thing. It always play tricks on you, and subconsciously conjured images of things that you wouldn’t want other people to see. Halfway through the meal, my mind decided to play a game with me. Like as though there was a remote control, it pressed the ‘play’ button, and memories of a very good semifreddo that I’ve before started to flash.

Reason #1 why the pastry chef here does not have a sweet tooth.

With the sourish fruit compote to compliment the White Chocolate Semifreddo ($15), it gave the impression of an anti-sweet establishment. Desserts, are after all, meant to be sweet. I tried the semifreddo on it’s own, and it was so good. In order to see the reasoning behind the inclusion of the fruit compote, I reluctantly had a taste of the semifreddo with the tart berries – well it wasn’t so bad, but I’d obviously prefer dessert to be sweet.

In my opinion, a good Panna cotta must have a firm yet wobbly-like texture. This one here was fairly competent, but under the limelight of the excellent semifreddo and creme brulee, the Panna Cotta did not make a statement.

Reason #2 why the pastry chef here does not have a sweet tooth.

The presence of the licorice reduction, with the Creme Brulee. I was told that the evil licorice was planning on taking over the dessert world, in a test-tube-like container.  Okay I exaggerated. You know, the guys (& some girls) who raise their eyebrow at the slightest mention of desserts? The licorice reduction would be perfect for them since it literally reduced the sweetness level, making me wondered why anyone would do that.

Oh well, that aside, I enjoyed the creme brulee very much.

Torched to a magnificent golden-brown, the underlying custard was naturally sweet. The contrasting layer of the cranky caramelized sugar with the beautiful custard: I’m in love with the creme brulee.

My middle name is dessert: apple tart with ice cream, creme brulee, panna cotta, and white chocolate semifreddo.

* * *

This is the second part of a series that I’m doing on the waterfront restaurants in One Fullerton. I’ll like to thank Fullerton Heritage, Sophia and Kannan of Boathouse for arranging and hosting this dinner.

BoatHouse is definitely one of my favorite restaurant now, and I will not be surprised if they are one of the best new restaurants in 2010. There’s a separate rooftop bar on the third floor called Prelude. Stunning, stunning place with an awesome view of the Esplanade and Marina Bay.

Prices range from $20s for pasta to $30s for a main course. For the superb location and wonderful ambiance, Boathouse is offering a very value set lunch; the 2 course set lunch is $22++, while I’d go for their 3 course set lunch at $29++. Most of the items on their set lunches are from the main ala carte menu which make it extremely tempting.

See you at the Boathouse Fullerton.

Restaurant Review
BoatHouse
#03-01 The Fullerton Waterboat House
3 Fullerton Road
Singapore 029415
Tel: +65 6538 9038

Boathouse is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore.

Category: # Restaurant Review, * Central Singapore, Dining Guide Singapore, Favorite Restaurants, Food Photography, Invited Food Tasting, Singapore Food Blog
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Comments

29 Responses to “Boathouse Fullerton: Best New Restaurant”

  1. caibao
    February 14th, 2010 @ 1:40 am

    white choc freddo looks like sexy tofu xD

  2. dawn
    February 14th, 2010 @ 5:16 am

    those desserts. my stars. I would eat dessert first, screw dinner. I know bad.

  3. LetsEat
    February 14th, 2010 @ 5:50 am

    I love the interior design very modern look, and the food looks amazing too, thank you for sharing

  4. Shirin
    February 14th, 2010 @ 6:57 am

    the ambiance really does feel serene from the pictures! (: and the creme brulee; i think i can feel my arteries clog up just looking at your pictures!

    happy chinese new year and valentine’s day brad! <3

  5. SamuelGoh
    February 14th, 2010 @ 9:28 am

    The food certainly looks good! but servings are so small (yeah, I know, ‘fine’ dining) I don’t think they can fill me up!

    I think for a romantic dinner, try having dinner up on the cable car at Sentosa.. it’s quite romantic.. at least until you start feeling seasick :)

  6. SamuelGoh
    February 14th, 2010 @ 9:30 am

    BTW Brad, nice to see your blog going well! It looks very good and the photos and write up are excellent :) Looking very pro now.

    I’ve started another blog but not about food this time, drop by when you’re free :)

    YD/Yummie dummieS

  7. myfoodsirens
    February 14th, 2010 @ 11:17 am

    Guess what, the apple tart we had was exactly that tiny size you had as tasting portion -_- $12++ for that is so worth it…

  8. FFichiban
    February 14th, 2010 @ 7:52 pm

    Wagyu beef ribs?! Gimme a 3kg rack of it KTHX!!!!

  9. The Little Teochew
    February 14th, 2010 @ 10:11 pm

    Yup, hands off my Atlantic snapper! Heh heh! Happy New Year, Brad! :)

  10. Life for Beginners
    February 15th, 2010 @ 12:04 am

    Fuhgettaboutdafood… the place looks gorgeous! :D

  11. harris
    February 15th, 2010 @ 12:09 am

    for the sake of everyone here, when i went last friday the food was sub par and the service was quite off (except a particular waitress who was excellent) and me and my blogger friends had no other choice but to talk to the manager.

    i suppose boathouse is ready for an invited blogger session but really not for the public. guess pple have to take your best restaurant label with a pinch of salt, sure the view is good, but food and service is important too.

  12. Danny
    February 15th, 2010 @ 4:52 pm

    Really like this boathouse recommendation!
    Do check out your “favorite restaurants in Singapore.” link, it’s broken.

  13. Glenn
    February 15th, 2010 @ 5:32 pm

    Had dinner here on Friday with 3 other bloggers. A word of caution: The mini tarts that you had, were NOT Tasting Portions.!

    Moreover it was $12 for just ONE tart instead of 3.

    Perhaps like Harris said, they were ready for the blogger sessions, but not yet ready for the public.

    *Keeps in View*

  14. ladyironchef
    February 16th, 2010 @ 12:06 am

    caibao: I can assured you, they definitely taste a lot better than sexy tofu. lol

    dawn: I know right, me too. Desserts first. All the time!

    LetsEat: Oh yeah i love the ambience of the place

    Shirin: my photos don’t really do them justice, I think the real place looks even better! happy cny and valentine S!

    Samuel: Hello dude! yea the portions for fine dining are always a tad smaller. Dinner on the cable car has a time limit right? Like two rounds or something?

    myfoodsiren, harris & Glenn: My dear friends, I will definitely not pay 12 bucks for that small tart, but other than that, the other dishes that you had were ‘sub-par’ too? i’m not sure about that since everyone has a different definition of what’s good and what’s not. To me, the dinner was great, the ambience was awesome, i had good company and the food was not too bad. Note that I did not say ALL the dishes were good, some hits and misses, but all in all, I like the overall dining experience.

    And Harris, I think it’s pretty rude to say ‘people have to take my favorite restaurant label as a pinch of salt’. It is MY favorite restaurant, I certainly enjoy the dinner, so i don’t see any problem with it just because you all did not like the place. Anyway, thanks for the comments, i will update the part about the mini apple tart. Nobody should pay 12 bucks for a mini tart, it’s ridiculous.

    Ffichiban: 3kg? Oh yea i know all about yr appetite. HAHAH

    The Little Teochew: Happy new year Ju! see u soon : )

    LFB: yep! the perfect place to chill out and relax with friends

    Danny: OH YA! thanks dude, i just realize i insert the wrong link! haha

  15. harris
    February 16th, 2010 @ 12:40 am

    Hey brad, pity you took it personally. I think we all know pple’s take on food is subjective, and in fact every single review on any food blog should be taken with a pinch of salt. :)

    Cheers mate, I guess this is a wrong place to do boathouse a favour and avoid getting everyone’s expectations skyrocketed high. I was only looking to help the general audience understand that there are certain parts of the restaurant which were lacking. That you would take an innocuous act with such personal offense was a genuine surprise to me. My apologies of course, since you chose to take it this way. I hope boathouse took our comments in and gets prepared living up to everyone’s expectations soon.

  16. ladyironchef
    February 16th, 2010 @ 12:44 am

    harris: Don’t worry, we are good. I always tell everyone, not to believe everything that is written here. Because i know many people always tend to get their expectations up after reading my review, and it is sad when they went there then they found the food was good but just not as well as i had describe.

    Oh yeah, of course there’s still a lot of teething problems for the new restaurant to sort it out, and given time I’m sure the Boathouse will be a very good choice for dinner.

  17. harris
    February 16th, 2010 @ 12:46 am

    of course, it has a good view. good for drinks. cheers matey.

  18. SamuelGoh
    February 16th, 2010 @ 2:58 am

    Yoz Brad, yeah the cable car dinner is just to and fro. not too bad, i think it’s just enough time to finish dinner and enjoy the scenery because it goes extra slow.

  19. Angeline
    February 18th, 2010 @ 9:48 am

    I like boathouse! The ambience is great. Though the food is not quite up to what I expected. Perhaps i order the wrong dish. haha
    I’m alr planning to go there again soon. With my friends this time. :)

  20. yixiaooo
    February 18th, 2010 @ 4:54 pm

    I always tell everyone, not to believe everything that is written here. Because i know many people always tend to get their expectations up after reading my review, and it is sad when they went there then they found the food was good but just not as well as i had describe.

    - hey brad, what does that say about the credbility of invited reviews then?

  21. David Koh
    February 18th, 2010 @ 5:18 pm

    I have to agree with Yixiao there as well. I think invited reviews are really a disservice to readers. Just look what happened to the meals of my fellow commenters like Harris above.

    Invited reviews are too artificial. They know that the reviewer is coming and I’m sure they put in special effort so that everything is perfect. Something that they might not be able to do when normal customers dine because they can’t effort to lavish that kind of individual attention on everybody.

    Plus how bad can free food really be.

  22. ladyironchef
    February 18th, 2010 @ 5:29 pm

    Hello Yixiao and David: I didn’t know that both of you still ‘read’ my blog. haha. Anyway just to clear things up, when i say that I tell everyone not to believe everything I write, I mean that everyone has their own preference when it comes to food. It has nothing to do with whether it is an invited session, or pay-your-own.

    I know many instances after i blog and rave about a place, some of the readers went there and found that it wasn’t as good, not because the food wasn’t good, but rather they had a very high expectation after reading what I had written.

    The debate over invited review have always be there, some argue that the restaurant knows that the reviewer is coming and put in effort to make everything special. Some also say that because it is free food so there is a tendency for reviewers to put in a better word.

    Anyway, I have no wish to go into the long debate over invited reviews as most people already have made their points whether they are for or against it.

    All I can say is, when you blog, you do it with a conscious, i will never write something that is not true. There have been instances where I was invited to tasting sessions, but the food wasn’t good enough so i did not blog about the place.

    No matter who the reviewer is, and be it an invited tasting or pay-your-own, everyone should always reserve their own judgment and not take everything word for word.

    Have a good day : )

  23. harris
    February 18th, 2010 @ 11:16 pm

    I think an invited review is only good insofar as it prepares readers and prospective customers for what they may get to eat and experience, but like any other advertisement the food has been given extra attention to and service is definitely more personalised. It’s really a showcase. That said, it’s still no disservice to anyone as it gives a form of introduction to what this place has to offer.

    My only contention was with LIC’s labelling of Boathouse as “best new restaurant”, which I felt was premature and quite misleading because it was part of an invited review after all. Still, since LIC insists on qualifying it as his own perspective, which he is entirely entitled to, so did I have the right to object to such a glowing award of sorts to the restaurant. Tastes and experiences do differ indeed, but other than a blogger having to restrain from superlatives, the onus is also (if not, especially) on the restaurant to keep up with whatever it showcased to the bloggers. In fact, me and LIC’s exchange above was (at least to me) nothing provocative or hostile, we’re just sharing our different experiences.

    Understandably food blogs were previously seen as the “freer” press or source of personal perspectives on food. Ever since restaurants started using blogs to promote themselves however, readers need to differentiate between the personal food reviews and the invited paid-for reviews, the latter of which has a much higher likelihood to be biased. This explains why some bloggers title their invited reviews with things like “Invited Session:” or end off the post with “I would like to thank xxx for hosting the dinner”. It’s an indication that bloggers make in the hope that people will take that particular review with… yes, a pinch of salt.

  24. Sharon
    February 24th, 2010 @ 1:28 pm

    The Tagliatelle Wild Mushroom in Truffle Sauce looks good! Gonna try :) )

  25. Cooking Rookie
    March 12th, 2010 @ 5:56 am

    Great pictures!

  26. Isaac
    March 12th, 2010 @ 9:59 am

    The food looks amazing but I’m super curious where they get those spoons. Any ideas? Thanks

  27. ladyironchef
    March 12th, 2010 @ 10:07 am

    cooking rookie: thanks for dropping by!

    Isaac: Sorry no idea, will let you know if i find out

  28. Isaac
    April 5th, 2010 @ 8:01 am

    So this is a random question but. I love the spoon in the Panna cotta picture. Any idea where to buy them? Thanks

  29. Angel
    December 15th, 2010 @ 6:37 pm

    I am puzzled as to why there are no reviews at all on HGW for this restaurant. Seems like there are only a bunch of blogger reviews from the Heritage tasting session and then a smattering of brief mentions in the press. Is this restaurant for real? have you been back since feb?

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