Having tried the afternoon tea during our previous stay here, I was looking for an opportunity to return for another round. When I got the mailer advertising a floral-themed afternoon tea by Nicolai Bergmann, I decided to gather my girlfriends for a nice afternoon of catching up. Apparently, this stint was supposed to have concluded much earlier but due to its popularity, it was fortunately extended and we managed to secure a reservation!
- Our order
- Floral Afternoon Tea with non-alcoholic beverages ($48++ per person)
- Floral Afternoon Tea with an alcoholic beverage ($68++ per person)
- Spent: SGD$249.50
The ambience here was just as I remembered it to be: classy, comfortable and inviting. You can opt to sit indoors or dine alfresco in the midst of lush greenery. Afternoon tea is served between 2pm to 5pm on weekends and from my experience, they run out of reservation slots quite quickly so do make an advanced booking if you’re keen.
Three of us went for the set that came with two non-alcoholic beverages from a selection of coffees and teas while one had the set with a choice of one craft cocktail and one non-alcoholic beverage. We ordered the pink rose and marigold tea (very light and delicate, I loved it), a matcha latte (nice and creamy) and a hanami craft cocktail (served in a cute little teapot and beautifully presented) to start.
After a ridiculous hour-long wait (more on that later), the food was finally brought to our table. It was undeniably intricate and stunning, with smoke from the dry ice gracefully cascading down the sides of the glass bowl. What a feast for the eyes! In terms of taste, just about everything was well-balanced and prepared with such finesse and attention to detail.
I don’t usually fancy macarons as they tend to be extremely saccharine but these ones were surprisingly tame. I could actually taste the flavour of the cream in the middle instead of feeling like I’m just eating icing sugar. Similar to my previous experience, the scones were wonderfully airy and fragrant, although they weren’t served piping hot like the last time. The only item I didn’t really enjoy was the chocolate truffle, which was overly rich and decadent (may be a boon for some).
Once we were done with the food, we ordered our second round of drinks comprising drip coffee and teas. The setting was almost perfect for chilling out and spending the afternoon in conversation with friends. Unfortunately, I was once again bitten by mosquitos like in my last visit, albeit escaping with a fewer number of bites this round.
Alas, service was much more lacklustre this time, likely due to the larger crowds present. It was terribly difficult to get any staff’s attention and for some reason, it seemed like our table was completely off their radar. We waited close to an hour for our afternoon tea when everyone else was already halfway through theirs. As evening drew near, they placed a small table lamp on every other occupied table except ours. It was so bizarre that the only rational explanation had to be that we were seated behind a very cool invisible screen the whole time (I kid).
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. I absolutely love the vibe of this restaurant as the spaces feel modern and elegant. Most of the food items were also dainty and subtle in flavour, just right for nibbling on without getting uncomfortably full. For items of such quality, plus the two delightful beverages, I thought this afternoon tea set was really value for money. It was regrettable that service this time was nowhere near as thoughtful or attentive as my last experience here. They should probably do something about the mosquito problem too. Other than that, I’ll definitely still be keeping an eye out for a chance to dine here again (:
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
Dania Experiences 