I have always had a soft spot for The Fullerton Hotel. It might not be the swankiest or hippest spot around but this history stalwart shows no signs of losing out to the newest kid in town. On top of its beautiful neo-classical style, every occasion spent there has been filled with great, loving memories.
Last weekend, the hotel played host to another loving occasion - that of Vernon and Ee Ling's solemnization and wedding dinner. It isn't my first time attending a wedding there but it was my first time at The Roof Garden and The Straits Room. I kind of love how this space-starved Grand Dame has these nooks and crannies waiting to be discovered.
After the solemnisation at The Roof Garden, we adjourned to The Straits a Room for the wedding dinner. It is a stately room fit for dignitaries yet perfect for small, intimate gatherings and weddings. The meal was quite incredible; normally, I don't have much expectations for banquet meals but our 6-course Western line-up was a much-welcomed relief from the usual Chinese dinner.
One might typically rely on bread rolls to fill them up but by the time our main course arrived, it was clear that carb-loading wasn't the best idea. The warm mini bread rolls, consisting of soft dinner rolls, multigrain and rye, were really good; I would have found it incredibly difficult to stop at one, especially with lashings of Fullerton-branded butter, had I not been morbidly conscious of the delicate seams of my dress.
Dinner got off to a proper start with a refreshing, spritely platter, consisting of coriander-peppered king prawns, mango salsa and Mediterranean bulgar, drizzled with caviar vinaigrette. It was my first time trying bulgar and what an intriguing grain it was. And by "intriguing," I mean I am likely to try cooking it myself soon.
This mushroom soup knocked all the other mushroom soups out of the
ball park mushroom field. As soon as the plate landed in front of me, the truffle scent reeled me in like a helpless addict. Rich, savoury and intoxicating, I could only finished two-thirds of my soup before passing it onto my funghi-loving better half. The breaded mushroom crouton? Genius.
The olive marinara fusilli was good, considering how much I dislike tomato-based pastas. At least the marinara sauce tasted fresh and the olive slivers were a nice touch.
I had two bites of the champagne sorbet and mint berries before realizing I should not be consuming alcohol. I know it sounds weird to be raving over a palate cleanser but it was good enough to be served as a dessert.
For our mains, I opted for the miso cod while KW had the beef cheeks. Portions were really generous and this is when you would go, "Oh *beep*, I should not have helped myself to a second bread roll."
Unfortunately (a rare dull moment). KW's beef cheek was sinewy and dry - bewildering, considering it was sous vide-d (or sous "verde" accordingly to the menu). However, he enjoyed the Parmesan polenta and the hunk of foie gras was show-and heart-stoppingly good.
My beautifully-plated miso cod was crazy delicious. Delicate and flavourful, every forkful was delightful as before and despite my dress seams, I cleaned out the entire plate with little help. Even the mash, which I usually find meh, was a thing of beauty.
When our molten chocolate cake arrived, most of us were ready to wave our white napkins and surrender. Yet it was impossible to resist the dark force and moments later, you could see people either scrapping their plates or pausing to take breathers before going in for more.
Yes, it was that good and I especially loved how the cake to molten goodness was literally 1:1. Sensational.
It was a lovely celebration and even more so as Vernon is one of KW's oldest friends. This is surely one occasion that I would readily add to my list of good memories at The Fullerton Hotel.
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