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To find anywhere serving a good afternoon tea even on weekdays in Singapore is in itself noteworthy. But to sit down in such a relaxed setting — with a glass of 1688 Grand Rose Champagne in hand overlooking the magnificent view of Marina Bay in a comfy banquette— is cause for outright celebration. So is Mandarin Oriental’s Luxury September Bubbly Afternoon Tea.
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| Photo Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental |
The three-tiered set includes four kinds of special desserts that use champagne: champagne macaroons, a dainty champagne chocolate lollipop, chilled champagne and damas plum sabayon disguised as a fruit tart and a champagne cassis gateau snugged cosily in a purple chocolate wall.
Take a moment of break from sweets with the bottom-tier selection of savoury canapes that are at full blast with flavours and definitely not your average egg and ham sandwiches. Take for example the duck rillettes & foie gras canapé or the truffle-scented egg & chive petite sandwich. Both canapes take turn to perfume your palates with its strong aroma and balanced well with the red fruity notes of the Grand Rosé champagne.
Of course, there is no particular sequence between the 3-tier and one can jolly well hop back to the sweets which includes non-champagne selection like the Passion-Banana éclair. The Dulce De Leche Tart- a buttery shortcrust pastry with caramelized brown milk jam was so excellent that I would love to pack home a box of it.
You can’t get more British with the scones in two flavours: Lemon-thyme and Strawberry yoghurt, served in true style with authentic clotted cream, strawberry preserves and a grainy lemon curd. But just in case you might think that this is the end, there are two more courses to go.
The 4th course is a luxury platter which is a feast for the eyes. The ice cream cone is not a sweet biscuit but a savoury one, piped with Smoked salmon mousse. The Marinated lobster compression with Champagne aspic reminded me of the wacky creations by Heston Blumenthal while the Porcini mushroom tart with basalmic alioli lived up to its own name. It was bursting of umami flavour that left me curious about the amount of mushrooms used.
The last course is something hot from the oven—Duck Confit & Pistachio Puff and a Classic Chicken Pie.
With such a lavish spread, a cup of hot tea is certainly much desired. We had the Earl Grey French Blue—black tea with taste of malt and chocolate, and the Bouddha Bleu—green tea sprinkled with blue cornflowers. I am not a serious tea connoisseur but both are good, afterall they are from the old French gourmet tea company, Mariage Freres.
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| Photo courtesy of Mandarin Oriental |
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| Photo Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental |
You can also enjoy the champagne separately at $18++ per glass and $98++ per bottle at Axis Bar and Lounge, Dolce Vita and MELT ~ The World Café.
For those who are concern about alcohol, the Grand Rose is non-alcoholic. A very good healthy excuse to drink your time away, in this genteel and unhurried oasis.
Axis Bar and Lounge
5 Raffles Avenue, Mandarin Oriental, Singapore 03979
Tel: 6885 3500
10am to Midnight (Sun)
10am to 1am (Mon – Thu)
10am to 2am (Fri & Sat)
Special thanks to Ms Vernia and Ms Brockmann for the invite