If you are in town and looking for a spot for the afternoon tea, or after-meal dessert, there's an additional option now in the form of 1872 Clipper Tea at ION Orchard. Located at basement 4, the shop which used to only sell tea bags and tea leaves, has added chiffon cakes to the menu of their mini sit-down cafe.
Apart from the chiffon cakes, the menu consists of tea beverages (tea latte anyone?), cream puffs and scones.
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| 1872 Clipper Tea Menu 1 |
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| 1872 Clipper Tea Menu 2 |
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The new range of chiffon cakes consist of the flavours including matcha, yuzu, strawberry, hojicha, Earl Grey. The cakes are apparently co-created by 1872 with Dulcet & Studio exclusively.
My favourite was probably the Earl Grey, which came with a cream cheese frosting. The cake is made with earl grey tea leaves from 1872 (of course) and the hints of earl grey was balanced with the sweet-savoury creaminess of the cheese.
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Lychee Litchi mocktail; Earl Grey Cream Cheese Chiffon Cake
A close second for me was the yuzu, which had a refreshing lightness to the cream in the center. It also comes with a cute vial of lemon essence to pump up the sweetness if you like, according to your taste.
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Left: Yuzu chiffon cake; Right: Strawberry chiffon cake
For drinks, my pick was the Royal Tea Latte ($5.80). Think your milk tea with a layer of milk foam, more floral tones from tea and less sweet.
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| Left: Royal Tea Latte, Matcha latte, matcha chiffon cake |
The matcha latte was slightly too sweet for our liking, so order elsewhere if you must. What's more interesting were the mocktails, which are nitrogen-infused. These are done live by the counter, so you can see these happening all in front of your eyes. The Lychee Litchi (see above 2nd picture) mocktail was pretty good together with the cakes.
Scones
Another surprise were the scones, which came buttery, crumbly with clotted cream and jam. These were served warm and probably was my favourite side to go with the tea. It's very English to do so in any case.
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| Scones (2 for $6) |
Tea Puffs
These are actually cream puffs that have been named tea puffs. Of the six varieties, my favourite went to the earl grey and houjicha puffs. Overall, pretty decent if you have a cream puff craving and can't get yourself to the likes of Shukuu.
These have been made available in an earlier menu.
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| Tea puffs - 4 for $12 |
If you are looking for a full set of afternoon tea, then perhaps not 1872, but if it's a pit stop in between shopping, this is a nice place away from the crowds (provided the shop isn't crowded itself). A pit stop to consider in the middle of your shopping, and even more so with certain(tea) for those who are tea aficionados.
1872 Clipper Tea
ION Orchard #B4-07
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
10am - 10pm daily
Anti:dote, located at Fairmont Singapore and a short walk from City Hall Mrt, is pretty well-known for its 4-tier high tea set that comes in a very dainty white drawer. The set, at $48++ per person, isn't the cheapest in town. However, it comes with a starter, 4 tiers of goodies and your choice of coffee or a (really large) pot of tea(refillable 1x).
My pick of Holiday in Paris was lightly fragrant without a bitter aftertaste. Tasted some other teas (The Pink Flamingo, The Bellini) too, but I preferred mine still as the other two were too perfumey and had a bitter aftertaste respectively.
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| Holiday in Paris. |
For the starter, you get a choice of western or Chinese. The Chinese option was a set of 3-pc dim sum: scallop with Siew mai, carrot cake, and shrimp wrapped in fried beancurd skin. The western' option was organic egg, sea urchin and ikura roe.
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| Anti:dote High Tea Menu |
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My pick of the western was similar to chawanmushi. Great, but I couldn't help but wonder if the previously offered truffle scrambled eggs would be even better. The pan fried dim sum, which my kind fellow foodie shared, was really good. Either way, great start.
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| Organic egg, sea urchin and ikura roe |
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| 3-pc dim sum set |
The first drawer includes 5 kinds of canapes-style savouries: smoked salmon, lemon cream cheese, ikura roe, duck confit, foie gras terrine, boston maine lobster, pickled cucumber, dill brioche, iberico ham, seasonal truffle tart, wild mushroom duxelle vol au vent.
Of the items here, I really liked the wild mushroom duxelle vol au vent with its buttery fragrant and well-seasoned mushroom filling, and iberico ham, seasonal truffle tart which brought me back to Spain for awhile.
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| Wild mushroom duxelle vol au vent and smoked salmon, lemon cream cheese, ikura roe. |
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| Iberico ham, seasonal truffle tart and duck confit, foie gras terrine. |
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| Lobster Roll |
I was actually looking forward to the mini lobster roll. However, the mini bun could have been grilled buttery (it was plain actually) and the filling was just alright in flavour.
The next tier of scones had two variations: chia seeds, the other parmesan cheese. Between the two, I preferred the chia seeds one, since it was closer to plain. The parmesan cheese was a nice savory twist still and some of my foodie friends really liked it. They served the scones with a lemon curd and homemade raspberry jam, both of which were great, but the former is more refreshing.
What I really appreciated was that they served it with Devonshire clotted cream. I am a stickler for eating things the way it should be, and there's not much things more English than a scone with clotted cream. Now only if that scone was just good ol' plain...
Now for the sweet tier: the reason why high tea see more ladies than men. The Anti:dote collection on the top tier consists of pistachio layer, smoked tea cream (ok), Paris brest (passable), lemon sable with grapefruit parfait (skip because it was just weird - bitter aftertaste from the grapefruit and a too sweet middle layer), dark chocolate cake shortbread and nougat chip (not bad), mini strawberry cake with vanilla chibost (pretty alright but a tad sweet), green apple tartlet (this was good), chocolate-coated strawberry.
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| Note: this is a 3-pax portion. |
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| Mini strawberry cake with vanilla chibost , green apple tartlet, chocolate-coated strawberry |
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| Black Sesame Macaron |
The set also came with a black sesame macaron. I am not a big fan of macarons, but this one had my favourite sesame flavour AND was not sickeningly sweet. It was just right and there was a creamy slightly buttery aftertaste that was great. This had to be my favourite dessert piece, apart from the green apple tartlet.
The little portions of one each may not look like much, but they added up to be quite filling at this point. So, we took away these butter biscuits. Don't overlook this, the biscuit was actually flaky and buttery fragrant. Very tasty.
Given the ingredients that go into the quality food and ambience, Anti:dote's high tea set is a treat, especially for ladies. Given that it is quite rare and very difficult for a restaurant to get everything right in its sets, I would say Anti:dote fared good. Also, the service was attentive throughout and that's a plus. Great for a pampering afternoon, if you feel like splurging.
Anti:dote
Fairmont Singapore
High tea: Mon - Thurs, 3.00pm to 5.00pm; Fri, Sat, Sun, Eve Of PH and PH: 12pm to 2pm (1st seating), 3pm to 5pm (2nd seating)
80 Bras Basah Rd, S189560
Tel: 6339-7777
Set amongst the cafes in the Bugis area, Hyde & Co is one pristine cafe that shouts out dainty, prim and English with its charming mostly-white vintage interior. Perfect for those looking to experience English afternoon tea, which I believe quite a few of us are enamoured with after Downton Abbey. It is a 5-10 minutes walk from Bugis Station to reach.
'You can't buy happiness but you can buy tea, And that's kind of the same thing'. A quote that's so true, particularly for foodies.
A great place for girls to titter over tea served in white porcelain pots and plates.
I was excited to find that the lonngggg tea list had Devonshire Cream tea.Sadly though, I didn't try it due to majority votes. They also do scones as well. What's nice, apart from the brunch menu items, is the option of adding on other food items to your ordered brunch platter according to what you want.
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| Drinks Menu |
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| Food Menu |
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We had a pot of the Sencha Granny's Apple tea, which had a hint of apple fragrance behind every sip of tea.
Gula Gula Crumpets
The cafe is known for serving crumpets, which is a British griddle cake not dissimilar to muffins, just that crumpets are cooked on one side and muffins are flipped to cook on both sides. Apparently, they are the first (and only?) cafe in Singapore to serve it in Singapore. So, despite the staff's not-so-encouraging words of it still being "in experimentation stage", I went ahead and picked the Gula Gula. The 3 crumpets looked like quarts of a cross between pancakes and crepes, and the texture was a cross of the two as well - slightly rubbery soft, but at the same time a bit too flat to claim fluffiness. The gula melaka and coconut cream combination was reminiscent of ondeh ondeh. This dish does have the potential as a strong differentiating one given further kitchen-testing and I hope to come back to an improved version in future.
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| Gula Gula ($10.80) - Stack of 3 crumpets doused in Gula Melaka Sauce and topped with grated coconut. |
Truffle Fries
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| Truffle Fries ($10) |
The thick-cut fries were fluffy inside and crispy, with enough oomph of truffle scent. A fairly decent attempt.
Buffalo Wings
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| Buffalo Wings ($8) - Glazed in Thai Sauce |
The Buffalo Wings were glazed in a sticky Thai sauce, and delivered enough spiciness along with crunch. The inside was juicy as well. This may not be the standard flavour of buffalo wings, but it is a good side to order.
Lady Hyde
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| Lady Hyde ($12.90) - Honey baked ham and sunny-side up with pineapple on brioche |
The Lady Hyde tasted as classic as its ingredients. Hard to go wrong, but not impressionable.
The Full Works
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| The Full Works ($17.90) - Baked cheese Portobello Mushroom, bacon, ham, sausage, baby potatoes, creamy scrambled eggs and sourdough rye. |
The creamy scrambled eggs here in the Full Works, which I had also added on to my order crumpets, were just the right creaminess I like. The kind that is wet enough to be smeared on toast, but not too soggy. The baked cheese portobello mushroom also stood out in this platter, on the merit of that differentiating baked cheese.
What I like about Hyde and Co is its apparent drive in offering unique menu items, even if not all are hits. The 'English' teashop ambience and interior decor make it very ideal as a place to relax over afternoon tea - the English way of course. They were about to revamp their menu in January this year when I visited. I will like to return to try their new menu, particularly the tantalising cakes on display, scones. While pretending I am in a British teashop.
Hyde and Co
785 North Bridge Rd, S198753
Open Mon-Sat 11am-6pm
Tel: 9369-4369
