Still on the tiered tea set craze, I paid homage to Axis Bar and Lounge at Mandarin Oriental. On a lazy afternoon, the bar's quite a deadtown at 3pm but come 4pm it was filled with businessmen and women in power suits.
The breath taking view that Oriental boasts of. What sweetens the deal, I'll probably get lynched for saying it but I was sipping my tea and nibbling my scone watching the other office folks slog it out just opposite the river.
All ready to tuck in.
Menu for the day.
Cappuccino, for all the foam's worth..the sis gave it two thumbs up.
And then she proceeded to latte which is supposedly not as good as the cappuccino. The coffee's refillable and you can order as many times as you want!
My lemon slices for Wild Cherry Tea.
Smells heavenly! One of my favourite-st fruit teas thusfar.
Sugar grains, I like my beverages with raw sugar.
Clotted cream and preserves.
At first glance overwhelming but on second thoughts, it's not all that worthwhile afterall. No wonder there's a slight discount for the teaset for two. You get one portion each for the savoury and half for the sweet.
First tier...
Cheese and Ham Sandwich
Two slices of cheese and a slice of ham in rectangular herbed sandies made this seem like what you'd pack for picnic. Simple delight. The herb bread was slightly coarse but I took to it quite readily.
Cucumber Sandwich
Nothing out of the ordinary, thinly sliced cucumbers on a buttered bread. Refreshing I must add.
Egg Mayo Sandwich
A common sight, generous chunk of egg mayo in the sandwich.
Salmon Bagel
Curiosity go the better of me, I wouldn't call it a sandwich entirely. It's a rose of smoked salmon on top of a wheat biscuit, chives and cream cheese. The wheat biscuit has an acquired taste.
Beef Remoulade
Roast beef on a crunchy mini toast. Remoulade's Denmark's version of mayo. Not quite discernible.
This came in a separate basket.
Ham and Cheese Tart
More like quiche. The buttery pastry with egg custard and diced ham.
Onion and Spinach Tart
Loved the creamed spinach within!
Chicken Turnover
Just alright but on the oily side.
Second tier; the sweet goodies.
Mango Cheesecake
Topped off with wildberries and a layer of mango mousse on top of sponge cake, no magic was tasted.
Macaroon De Paris (Strawberry and Chocolate)
The strawberry was filled with light buttercream whilst the chocolate with dense chocolate. Both chewy macarons were enjoyable and rivaled Canele's.
Chocolate and Cranberry Scones
Sheer inconsistency in the scones. I opted for two cranberry scones. The first tasted overbaked, like a biscuit. The second was way better, moist and fluffy. Between chocolate and cranberry, cranberry's more outstanding, the chocolate scone tasted like a dry version of a chocolate chip muffin.
The clotted cream and preserves rocked though! Yumyumyum.
Lemon Meringue
Torched cream above a zesty curd tart, liked it.
Ispahan
My first taste of Ispahan, rose infused macarons with raspberries and buttercream AND edible rose petal. Took my tastebuds away in a good way, for once I'm sold on rose-flavoured desserts.. better still..it's a visual treat!
Forest Berry Tart
Just alright.
Canele Bordelaise
Yep, that's the unassuming blackened hard-looking French confection. The burnt sugar shell is crunchy, what lies within is a mystery. Tastes like kueh, dense consistency with a chewy texture. I find it quite unique and exquisite to taste.
Carre Grand Cru
Google's not helping so I'm assuming this is the name of the chocolate mousse cake with the edible chocolate image. Plain chocolate this is.
1001 Leaves
It's like a mille feuille with custard and a sugared walnut. Delicious! Not too flaky, not too light.
Attentive service. They remove the plates according to how fast you polish them off. Glasses of water get refilled ever so promptly. Nary a sour face around..Quality food it is at Oriental. Between Pan Pacific and Oriental, my vote's on Oriental.
Had I not ended up so full, I'd have stayed on for Happy Hour at Morton's for the divine filet mignon sandwiches!
$20++ per person.
$32++ for two.
3-5pm
Axis Bar and Lounge
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Oriental's rose ispahans are lovely. For $32++ for two, this looks pretty good!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree the ispahan was great, pity there was only one portion to share! =) I'm still trying to find THE place for high tea tiered sets.
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