COFFEEHOUSES are so last century, and more and more hotels these days are doing without one. The new Amara Sanctuary Resort in Sentosa is one of them.

In May, it quietly opened Shutters and billed it as an international restaurant - although, like a traditional coffeehouse, it serves a breakfast buffet and a selection of hawker fare such as nasi lemak and laksa for lunch and dinner.

The rest of the a la carte menu is divided into a Japanese section comprising mainly sashimi and sushi, and a bigger section of modern Western dishes.

It is one thing to call yourself a restaurant but it is another to get others not to see you as a coffeehouse.

Shutters would have succeeded if not for a few judgment lapses. There is, after all, a lot going in its favour.

The new sister hotel to downtown's Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar Road is a beautiful piece of property. Designed by Japanese architect Masaki Miyake, its sprawling grounds are filled with a creative mix of gardens, restored colonial buildings and modern glass structures.

Shutters is housed in one of the latter, a glass-enclosed rectangular block hugging a slope above the hotel lobby.

In the day, it's a bright, cheery room and dim lighting at dinnertime casts a romantic glow over the wood-panelled floor and classic wooden furniture laid out in front of a modern open kitchen.

The Western section of the menu stands out with interesting combinations such as angel hair pasta with Kuruma prawn and spicy mentaiko sauce, and cempedak creme brulee. So for my dinner last week, I decided on a four-course Western meal.

The cooking showed a lot of potential, with some very good dishes. Even for those with problems, they were minor and could be tweaked easily.

What was evident was that the chef paid a lot of attention to flavours and the freshness of the ingredients.

My starter of confit of scallops ($22), served on a bed of crunchy seaweed, was delicious with a sweet sour sauce that perked up the delicate taste of the shellfish.

I was happy, too, with the lobster consomme ($16), whose watery appearance belied its robust flavour.

Do also check out the angel hair pasta item ($24). These skinny noodles are getting very popular with upmarket Western restaurants, and the version here should go down well with Singaporeans.

The prawns were very fresh, and the cod roe sauce was just spicy enough to get the palate tingling.

The main courses were less perfect though. The smoked duck breast and duck leg confit ($38) tasted okay, but the skin on the leg was pale and soft. I like my confit to spend a little time in a hot oven just before being served, which is when the fat gets sizzling and fragrant.

Similarly, the slow-cooked lamb rack ($48) was nicely undercooked so that the meat was still juicy. But the rim of wobbly fat weighed it down. The piece of roasted foie gras accompanying the meat was wonderfully seared though.

Dessert choices were scanty, with just the creme brulee, a baked apple and banana in filo pastry, and a fruit platter.

The creme brulee ($12) was a dream. The cempedak, a slimy pungent fruit on its own, tasted wonderful when blended into the custard of cream and eggs.

The apple and banana in filo pastry ($15) was great too, with the soft, sweet bananas balancing the tartness of the apples.

While the food is more than decent, the restaurant should drop some of its less classy practices if it wants to be taken seriously.

Its bread rolls looked and tasted like they came from a supermarket's frozen section. Both they and the accompanying mini-packs of butter screamed coffeehouse.

And the background music of 1990s hits by the likes of the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls brought back memories of, well, hotel coffeehouses.

SHUTTERS
Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa,
1 Larkhill Road, Tel: 6825-3866
Open: 7 to 10.30am (breakfast), noon to 3pm (lunch), 6 to 11pm (dinner)
Food: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: *** 1/2
Price: Budget $80 to $90 for a three-course Western dinner. Local hawker dishes are below $30.