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2014-01-13
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For pictures and full review, pls visit:http://madamechewy.com/2014/01/12/halia-afternoon-tea/Looking for a convenient place to savor a quiet afternoon tea amongst nature? Feeling overwhelmed by the scale and speed of city life? Halia located at the iconic Raffles Hotel is the perfect choice. Nibble on sweet and savory morsels, sip on fragrant Gryphon Tea while enjoying company of friends or a book in this classy establishment. While I would have loved to visit Halia at Singapore Botanic Gardens
http://madamechewy.com/2014/01/12/halia-afternoon-tea/
Looking for a convenient place to savor a quiet afternoon tea amongst nature? Feeling overwhelmed by the scale and speed of city life? Halia located at the iconic Raffles Hotel is the perfect choice. Nibble on sweet and savory morsels, sip on fragrant Gryphon Tea while enjoying company of friends or a book in this classy establishment.
While I would have loved to visit Halia at Singapore Botanic Gardens, my schedule was too packed for me to travel so far. Hence the next appropriate choice was the centrally located branch at Raffles Hotel. Cuisine served here is contemporary European fare with Asian touches, but we didn’t get to sample any as we came just for the afternoon tea service.
Upon entering the restaurant, a large tree right in the middle of a wooden carved table wowed me. Décor screams colonial charm while huge window panes allowed plenty of natural light through. Cheerful vibes, friendly service and good food, what more can I ask for? Afternoon tea here is like a garden party, minus the humidity and heat (air-conditioned), glaring sun on the skin and bugs!
Afternoon tea service is available on weekends and public holidays from 3-5.30pm. It comes as a fixed, non-refillable set, priced at $38 per person per set, which includes a drink. Because K and I weren’t hungry and had dinner appointments in the evening, we ordered one set to share but topped up an additional pot of tea.
Beverage selection is extensive; choose from signature Halia infusion, coffee, black teas, green teas or herbal and fruit infusions. We had Peach Nectar Rooibosh and Turkish Apple. The additional pot of tea was $8 extra.
There were some hits and misses with the food, but they were generally satisfactory. Good mix of sweet and savory treats too, I must add. Some savories had a touch of luxe, notably the Foie Gras mousse, with rosemary, flaky pastry and red onion jam. Sweet offerings were common; I felt that more thought was put into the savories, which incorporated unique ingredients.
Top Tier:
-Irish smoked salmon, blini, crème fraiche, caviar. Loved how the tangy and nutty flavors of the crème frachie toned down the smoked salmon’s fishy taste.
-Grilled Halloumi, smoked avocado, cherry tomato
-Blue cheese, apricot chutney pickled celery, honey walnut
-Foie Gras mousse, rosemary, flaky puff pastry, red onion jam. Absolutely gorgeous buttery and flaky pastry.
-Savory mini muffin was too dry
-Chicken finger sandwich
-Freshly baked scone
Bottom Tier:
-Jam and clotted cream
-Flourless orange cake with chocolate ganache
-Macarons
-Apple rhubarb crumble which was way too sour
-Lemon meringue tart with chocolate
-Lemon sponge cake
We had a pleasant afternoon tea experience, plus the peaceful and quiet ambiance is perfect for long conversations. Hope to check out Halia at Singapore Botanic Gardens soon
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