having traditional afternoon tea in a hotel's lobby lounge is as close to heaven as you can get, no? there's nothing not to like about sipping tea and nibbling on finger food all afternoon in a classy environment, i thought naively. so despite knowing that i'll be paying 40 bucks just for that few meagre pieces of finger food, i blatantly went ahead. but at the end of the day, i came home feeling sorely disappointed, and with a gnawing ache in my heart that wouldn't go away. why? mayb becoz i had some terribly unrealistic high expectations, of what i'm not sure. maybe becoz when i entered the acclaimed 6-star hotel, i just couldn't feel anything "6-star" about it, nothing like when i entered st. regis or shangri la. or maybe becoz the food wasn't good. or simply becoz i'm not a tea person? or maybe, ALL of the above reasons! while i couldn't say it was a lousy experience, i felt it was mediocre at best. in short, nothing to shout about.

but all's not lost, coz i did enjoy the live band trio playing melancholy melodies, of which the violin itself was enough to send tears to my eyes, no kidding. i think violin, when played in a lento manner, sounds real tear-inducing. no wonder korean dramas love to incorporate that (and piano) into their soundtracks! and of coz, i brought home the complimentary jams which its hediard, to my delight! hediard's my favorite gourmet food brand, after fauchon :D



one of the item on the savory tier, a cucumber & onion tartlet drenched in mayo dressing and topped with salmon roe. i think among all the items, which include a scone, quiche, salmon sandwich, croissant and some others, i probably only enjoyed the sandwich. the rest are unmentionable!



and then the dessert tier, which consists of a mini opera, financier, ispahan & mont blanc, didn't impress. at all. why? probably becoz i've made ALL of them before and i can confidently say i fare better, seriously, not that i'm boasting or anything. check out my attempts on the opera, financier, ispahan and mont blanc.

we had the peppermint and herbs & ginger tea which is refillable and you can change as many types of tea as you like during the whole course. but i'm seriously not a tea person and it only reminds me again of why i hate tea so much - coz it's bland, like plain water :( the only teas i drink are probably green tea frappuccino and chai latte LOL! coffee rocks!

lastly, i really think the lobby lounge (including greenhouse) looks more like a rich person's living/dining room than a hotel. in short, not posh enough. service is impeccable tho'. very attentive staff, and oh yes, that live band trio :p

the tea set, which comes with 11 pcs of mini finger food and refillable tea/coffee is available on weekdays from 2.30-5pm at $36++ ($42 after pluses) per set. currently there's a 10% off for UOB card members. for two persons, i recommend sharing a set first, and order more if you think its good. of coz i'm not done with the afternoon tea thingy, i'm gonna try out MORE places, like regent, fullerton and brasserie les seveurs @ st. regis :p

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THE RITZ CARLTON, MILLENIA
7 raffles avenue
S(039799)

website : http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Singapore/Dining/ChihulyLounge/Default.htm

Labels : eat-outs