A tad embarrassing it is, but I'd actually almost forgotten about the lovely meal that we'd had here.
And were it not for the fact that I was moving pictures around from one album to another on my phone, this meal, and the gorgeous scenery, might have gotten left behind altogether.
You know I always thought of Ce La Vi as a club, and nothing more.
Which, she is.
High up on the rooftop (aka ark) of the Marina Bay Sands, Ce La Vi is a clubbing hotspot for one to see, and be seen.
But then she's also a restaurant, and so what that means is that you'll see a whole variety of people from all walks of life dressed in all sorts of fashion lining up in the queue at the lobby of the hotel 47 (is it 47?) floors down.
We were appropriately dressed- casual smart, that is- in T-shirt and cardigan for me, casual T-shirt and cargos for my friend.
No one got denied entry because of dress, however.
Not even with gym shorts and sport sneakers, as I found out after when a guest got seated at the table right next to me.
Coming up here takes a bit of wait though.
But with a view like this, well, no wonder.
We were here for a sort of late dinner this evening, and because nearly every dish on the menu looked so interesting, we decided we ought to be (a bit) careful.
It would be too big a waste to have an occasion spoiled simply because you embarked on an adventurous route and ordered a dish you didn't like.
It wasn't easy.
Amongst all the offerings they had, there were familiar favorites like Prawn Toast, which over here they had it made with Crab Salad, Brioche and Calamansi.
There were dishes like Avocado Sushi Roll which included Nori and Japanese cucumber.
I was interested in the Tempura Zucchini Flower, because there was this thing called Furikake (which I've heard of), and Kizami Wasabi (that I figured was, really, wasabi), but mostly because I was keen to know how battered zucchini flowers tasted like.
But what we agreed to order was the A4 Miyazaki Wagyu Nigiri.
And let me tell you, the wagyu, glistening prettily under the lights with its own beef oils, was just so good.
It might have been the size, it might have been the way it was lightly torched, but mushed together with the super soft rice- also flavored with beef oils- the whole piece melted away at first bite.
So delicious was it that we wished we could have ordered more.
But then the Nagano Pork Chop arrived at our table.
Which was, by the way, a lovely surprise.
I had fully expected the pork chop to be served the way most pork chops are served- just the full piece of meat by itself.
But, no, this came neatly cut, ready to be shared by a group of two, three, or even four.
There was no need to concern ourselves over who would have to slice through the chop with knife and fork.
There were no awkward moments on who would do the slicing.
Both of us alternated, one slice to me, one slice to the other.
The flavors of this Nagano Pork Chop were unexpected.
I don't mean the pork itself- that was, well, pork- but it must have been of good quality, because it wasn't tough, it wasn't dry, it wasn't hard to chew. In fact, so easy it was to eat it that we simply forked it up and nibbled.
And it wasn't even just the meat that was nice.
The pork chop had been served with Yuzu Jus, and best of all, a salad that at first glance I had thought was broccoli but turned out to be a combination of Fennel, and Green Apple.
I never knew just how refreshing and tart the taste of yuzu with fresh green apple mixed with the warmth of meat could be.
But if I loved the pork chop, let me just say that I loved the Miso Mashed Potato even more.
The appearance might look simple, even non-descript, at first glance you may think what's so big a deal, but oh no, with the excellent balance of flavors between the buttered (I think it's buttered) potato and the amount of scallion oil, far from simplicity this dish of is.
I loved the texture.
It was smooth; smooth enough that were I not be seated at Ce La Vi, I would have licked it off the spoon .
By this time we were beginning to feel a little full, but then there was still dessert, which my friend and dining companion said was recommended and which we had to have.
So we ordered the Petit Four Box, and a perfect choice it turned out to be.
No easy choice, I tell you.
Amongst the choices we had to make included this rather appetising dessert called the Celebration Platter consisting of Tropical Mango, Strawberry Miso Tart, Madagascar vanilla ice cream, and Passion Fruit ice cream.
Then there was the Balinese Chocolate, served with fermented strawberry and feuilletine.
And there was a sorbet that sounded refreshing in the flavors of lime and salted lychee.
But the Calamansi Bon Bons, and the Petit Four box were something else altogether.
I was delighted by the Calamansi Bon Bons.
Shaped in the form of little round balls that reminded me of chocolate balls, these here were filled with a liquid core of lime zest and tangy citrus, so each bon bon gave you a refreshing burst onto your palate, as if you'd taken a huge gulp of frozen lime mixed with citrus juice at one go.
The Petit Four Box was a literal tower of three different boxes pivoted at one end on a stand.
First up on top was the Yuzu Meringue Tart, a set of 6 that came with the cutest looking tarts and a dollop of lightly sweet but very rich meringue that made me think I was eating fresh cream.
To eat this one bit first into the meringue, finished it up, and then afterwards tried to nibble one's way into the yuzu custard-like paste filling below.
After that came the Green Tea Passionfruit pate de fruit.
Which, although it looked like Rowntree's sugared pastilles to me, were incredibly sweet to such an extent that it was impossible to pop into the mouth, and instead had to eat it at a very, very slow pace, with very, very small bites.
The Pandan Choux- at the bottom of the box- held a better balance of sweet and savory though, and eating each piece made me feel like I was eating a small, cute, kid-size puff filled to the brim with rich, sweet pandan mixed with rich, slightly salty, coconut cream.
One of the best things about this dessert was the fact that it had been prepared with the notion that one might order from room service, or choose to do a takeaway to eat in the comfort of their room.
So that's what we did, ate three pieces of each, and had the wait staff put the rest in a takeaway plastic box which we then brought back home.
And, for the record, I nearly wanted to bring the whole tower of red colored boxes along with me back home also.