Introduction
So far this year, as we reacquaint ourselves to the Asia-Pacific region, we have nibbled our way through a Chinese New Year-themed high tea in Kuala Lumpur, compared two of the best kuih shops in Penang, escaped the pandemonium of Hanoi by taking high tea in the clouds, slurped bowls of che admist the glowing lanterns in Hoi An, feasted on consecutive days of exquisitely-crafted cherry blossom high teas and hunted down the best wagashi in Tokyo. And in this latest volume of our dessert travel adventures, we feature the two best high teas that we had in Singapore that featured local dessert flavours.
Singapore’s best fusion high tea
Dessert destination: Pan Pacific Hotel, 7 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore.- Budget: Approx USD $60.
- Short and sweet story: Similar to London’s Pan Pacific Hotel exquisite Chinese high tea, the Singapore branch offers high tea with a slight infusion of local flavours. On weekdays, the high tea is served as a three-tiered tower. On weekends, in addition to the three-tiered tower, there is also a buffet station that cooks up asam laksa, char keow teow, fruit rojak and durian crepes. On our weekday visit, savouries included a wagyu beef sandwich, salted egg yolk yam puff in the shape of a swan, and pork lobak rolls. The desserts were crafted in the French style, but injected with a touch of Singaporean flavours, such cendol, coconut, mango pomelo and pulut hitam. This high tea is especially ideally situated either pre or post a Marina Bay shopping trip.
Singapore’s best traditional local flavours high tea
- Dessert destination: Capitol Kempinski Hotel, 15 Stamford Road, Singapore.
- Budget: Approx USD $60.
- Short and sweet story: Whole-heartedly showcasing the greatest hits of the city state’s culinary traditions, Capitol Kempinski’s “Singapore Heritage High Tea” is probably the best local-style dessert high tea on offer in Singapore. Split into three sections, the first course arrived in a large teak box, and featured six savoury bites, the highlights of which were a Hainanese chicken rice morself, a toasted pork mini sandwich, and kaya toast with foie gras. The second course highlighted Singapore’s street food tradition, and included kueh pie tee, ondeh ondeh cake and a bur bur cha cha pannacotta. Arriving on a tray, the third course served up more fusion-style desserts, including a very memorable soy bean milk tart with osmanthus and grass jelly and a silky durian choux puff. In total, there were 16 bites, so we left very very full and very very happy, indeed. Highly recommend.
Dessert adventure checklist
- ☑ Dessert destination: Singapore.
- ☑ Budget: $$.
- ☑ Sweet irresistibles: Traditional Singaporean high teas.
- ☑ Travel notes:
- How long? Similar to NYC, 3-4days is a good starting point for the first time visitor to Singapore.
- When to visit? Some months are rainier than others, but otherwise, the temperature doesn’t shift significantly from 25-35 degrees Celsius and high humidity.
- How to get there? As with most Asian countries, connectivity between city and airport is seamless, straightforward and quick – by taxi or public transport.
- Where to stay? Our most recent favourite hotels are the Clan Hotel and the more boutique, Amoy Hotel. They are adjacent to each other, conveniently located to the downtown tourist spots and business district, and great food spots nearby.
