Shall end the International Tea week with this post even though there are so many other awesome tea places on my travels that i really wanna share. I have readers complaining about how it's a torture reading about these places when they are stuck in Sg without better options. So 2 posts tonight! 1 on tea and another for brunch (in SG) tomorrow. :)

I love matcha. It's light, soothing and refreshing. Like coffee, it goes well with many different types of desserts. When the boy and i spotted O'sulloc tea house along Insadong (where we first stayed at in Seoul), we knew for sure we would be spending many afternoons enjoying tea there.

O'Sulloc Tea House is a theme cafe that offers a variety of Korea’s traditional tea. Here, you'll find their home grown Matcha from Jeju being used as a main ingredient in all their dishes- from juices to smoothies, ice cream to cakes, teas to coffee.

S was very fascinated with the tea set which gave us an option of ordering various combinations of green tea delights. We went with some platter thingy (as shown in picture above), with a green tea tiramisu and a green tea smoothie/milkshake/ice blended with more green tea ice cream. That set cost us about 30000++Won, which is about 30ish- 40sgd. It's not cheap but it's worth every buck.

The Matcha taste was very intense and you could taste the bittersweet caffeine in every bite. I was on a perpetual high. You can never go wrong with the azuki beans-Matcha combination. The shaved ice tasted like they were frozen green tea milkshake! YUMS.
I have to rave about the tiramisu. It was a-mazing! It was light and airy and packs a punch of green tea in it. If i didn't stop S, he would have gobbled the entire thing without me having a taste of it. The smoothie sent us to pure Matcha heaven with each gulp.

On top of that, i ordered the green tea caramel latte and it left a lingering sweetness that calmed and soothed my nerves (not that i had any. we were on a holiday after all. :)) We were simply grinning from ear to ear from the moment we stepped into the cafe till everything was polished off the table.

The ambience was very relaxing as well. Open spaces, nature friendly interior, large glass wall and an air well to create the illusion of space. There are curated pieces of ceramic tea sets (very expensive) making the cafe seem almost like a museum. You could also purchase the various tea leaves from the shop as well. Best souvenir you can buy home from Seoul. I regret not buying more and now i gotta ration. :(

The O’sulloc Tea House has stores in Myeongdong, Jongno (Insadong), Daehangno, Gangnam, and at the Gangnam Finance Center. There are many other tea places/museums in Insadong so do take a look around. I've stumbled upon some really cool cafes while exploring that area.

O'sulloc Tea House
Myeongdong, Jongno (Insadong), Daehangno, Gangnam, Gangnam Finance Center
Daily: 9am - 10.30pm

South Korea on Dwellable

It's a new week again! This week shall be International Tea week as i introduce the various teas that i've had from around the world! This time, i'll be combining my 2 favorites- food and travel, in a series of posts. Since we are all kinda stuck at work (except for the lucky ones on break), this is something to help you get by till the next holiday! (I really need to start planning mine!) We'll start off with Singapore, then KL, HK and Korea.

Z and i headed to The Knolls at Capella for tea some time back (i didn't have bangs then). This is one great place to head to if one wishes that they are not in Singapore. I insisted on a pool view table and from there we could see the South China sea. The surroundings were luscious forests and I truly felt like i was on some secluded island for a glorious vacation under the sun.

The Knolls' afternoon tea menu comprises of 3 variants- Queens Tea, Japanese Tea and Peranakan Tea and is served daily from 3.30 - 5.30pm. Each set comes with a pot of tea of your choice and you can pick from an extensive selection by The Gryphon Tea Company. Each set costs about $38++. We didn't know that a set could serve 2 person and we each ordered a set! Imagine the horror when we were served our food (every item came in twos).

We went with the “Neo-Classic- The Modern Colonial,” and "Queens -The Rose Garden,” set (as shown in the pictures)

Modern Colonial Tea Set

I hate to say this but the food was definitely a disappointment and fell short of our expectations. Pity pity. Again, i could make sandwiches better than these. The bread is nothing special- plain white (so Gardenia) and the brown bread tasted the same as the white bread but colored differently. For the price i'm paying, i'm certainly expecting artisan bread or at least something that's not off the shelf. Cucumber and lime based cream, egg mayo and smoked salmon are run of the mill flavors. Can tell that there's no thought put into this creation (if you can call that a creation).  

The scones were slightly better than the sandwiches because they had good clotted cream and fresh jam to go along with them. I can never resist having clotted cream. Once again, i requested for some salted butter, which they failed to deliver, so i had to make my own (as usual). The Madeleine were so-so. I'm not a fan so i'm in no position to critique. 

I kinda like the fruit tart because of the light and refreshing custard which wasn't too eggy. The tart is crisp enough and not overly buttery. It helps to clear the palate after all the heavy cream and carbs with the tangy berries. Next to it is what i would call a marmalade sponge cake which was pretty dense. Z likes me. As for me, i was too stuffed to even wanna finish them. I recall it's pretty sweet, a little too much for my liking.

The Queens set on the other hand was HORRIBLE, except for the tomato with feta/goat's cheese. Everything else was plain weird. The top tier is a lavender/rose/floral infused fried quail egg which was absolutely bland and tasteless. There wasn't even a sauce or dip to go with it. I thought it was some croquettes and i was sorely disappointed when i bit into it. 

I have no idea what sorta sandwich that is but i remember it to be fairly sourish with cucumber and mayo (again). Cheap ingredients that didn't even taste good. Desserts were far too sweet again. Coconut mousse with mango and chocolate scones (which wasn't made from rich chocolate and i couldn't really taste any of the cocoa).

Queens Tea Set 

 

If only the food taste as good as they look and complement the view as well, we would surely be back. However, the Knolls has failed us in that department and i don't think i'll go to all that trouble just to get to Capella just for tea. For the view, i think i may head to the alfresco at Bob's Bar just a level above.

The Knolls
1 The Knolls, Capella Singapore 
Sentosa
Tel: +65 6591 5046 
Daily: 6.30am - 11pm

Marmalade Pantry has been around for a while but i've never been much of a fan. It usually is the second choice after PS cafe or any other newer brunch/tea places. I don't have much of an impression of their food after my first experience (and we all know what that means) so i usually wouldn't recommend or head to MP for my meals. However, i've heard much about their afternoon tea and i finally made time for it some time back. 

Afternoon High Tea is served from 3 to pm daily. At $20 each, with a minimum of 2 sets per order, you will be served a pot of Gryphon tea, a selection of egg and cress, beef & horseradish and green land shrimp finger sandwiches, buttermilk scones, and a cupcake. It was supposed to be a tai tai moment for me and my colleagues and we fully intended to saunter in and plonk our pretty little asses down to tea without having to queue. To our horror, they don't take reservations for tea! Thankfully D found a way to get around that problem and all was well. Then came problem no. 2, at 3pm, they told us that they are only left with a set of tea for 2. SERIOUSLY? I don't know how they ran out so quickly but thank our lucky stars we got the last tier! 

The highlight of tea is always the scones and Marmalade does these little buttermilk ones. At first glance, i knew it to be dry. The texture is closer to that of a cookie in terms of moisture and firmness (in a bad way). It was bland and untasty. I wouldn't even call this a scone. Needless to say i wasn't very satisfied with them.

That said, the clotted cream was not too shady. At least they didn't use whipped cream as a substitute and could tell the difference between whipped and clotted (read about which cafe tried to hoodwink me here). The scones only became slightly more bearable after being coated with a slab of cream. Still didn't mask my disappointment though. Love the strawberries stewed in sugar syrup (most likely) and the biscotti was a delight- crumbly, nutty with pistachio and sweetened by some dried fruits. Yums.

Sandwiches were decent. Nicely toasted and slightly buttery bread. It's not particularly memorable so i guess it's just mediocre.

I've never had cupcakes at Marmalade prior to this visit and boy i have missed out on so much. This is probably one of the nicest cupcakes in SG though i've had better ones in Saigon (read about it here). The red velvet was very intense and moist. You could tell them by the colour at the centre of the cupcake. It should be a deep and even crimson red. Nice cream cheese frosting that complements the velvet well. The chocolate one wasn't that nice though. The frosting was dry and so was the batter. Doesn't have a rich chocolate taste as well.

Would i go back for tea at Marmalade? Maybe. But only for the cupcake.

Marmalade Pantry

2 Orchard Turn #03-22

ION Orchard

Tel: +65 6734 2700

Mon–Fri: 11.30am – 9.30pm
Sat: 10am – 9.30pm
Sun: 10am – 4pm

Marmalade Pantry at the Stables
55 Fairways Drive

Tel: +65 6467 9328

Tue to Fri: 3pm – 11pm
Sat to Sun: 10am – 11pm

Finally found an opportunity to check out Jimmy Monkey Cafe. It has been on my radar for a while but with my ever expanding cafe list plus the fact that JMC is located at One North (which is essentially the Far West), i have not been able to visit till recently. One of the pull factor was of course the coffee. The rise of these third wave coffee makers in Singapore has indeed pleased the coffee drinking community. Never will we have to settle for Starbucks again! (even though i occasionally do but that's because their locations are more convenient!) 

Anyway, because i was due to go for a meeting in the west, i decided to just pop by JMC. Located at the isolated One North Residences, Jimmy Monkey makes an ideal spot to chill out with a book and a cuppa. It is set up by a Melbournian who was keen to recreate a true blue Aussie cafe experience and you can tell they are serious about the coffee with their Slayer espresso machine (one of it's kind in SG) and Giesen roaster. Nothing beats the aroma of freshly roasted beans to wake one's senses.

A fair selection of pastries and hot food. The croissants look big and poofy and the muffins don't look too bad either. I think the molten lava cake was recommended by reviewers on HGW.

Sadly, i developed a headache and decided to have a small scone with a side of sausages instead of the smoked duck with cheese toastie ($15). Shall give that a try another time. The scone came warmed and smells like hot cakes! This is a raisin scone and i would consider it to be more dessert than savory. I usually like to butter mine with salted butter but that combination didn't go well with the sweetness of this one. I tasted a hint of cinnamon and maple (hence the hotcake smell) and it was like eating a very dense fruit cake/bread. Not my usual type of scone (read about what i like here) but it's not that bad. Slightly above average when warmed and you should not continue eating when it's cold.

Was really disappointed when they served me the set reason being that they told me it's clotted cream and trust me when i say it isn't. Whipped is not clotted. They are oceans and stomachs apart. So don't lie to me. If you wanna know what clotted is, try the scones at Regent. I swear that's awesome. The jam was overly sweet and tasted quite artificial. Definitely didn't touch mine.

Of course i had to have something savory to go with the food so i added on the sausages. They are not spectacular but they were savory and moist enough. I would consider this to be more of a white sausage but with more chew to it. You can pass on the bread because it tasted really stale and tough. I think it'd be nicer if it's fresh because there's a nice saltiness to the brown bread which would go well with a big breakfast set. 

The cappuccino was nothing but spectacular and mind blowing. I usually take my coffee with sugar and my judgment on a good coffee is largely dependent my tolerance of its taste when i do it without sugar. Third wave cafes are awesome because they are acutely aware of the taste of the beans and they prepare it in a way that brings out the natural sweetness of the beans. I love that it's not very acidic and the milk acted as a natural sweetener to the drink. It was very smooth and the froth was lovely. It didn't even break when i added sugar (yes i cheated but sugar makes a lot of difference to coffee!). I am dying to try the affogato with crushed violet crumble. Sounds absolutely enchanting.

Definitely a cool joint to hang out at on lazy weekends. Especially with the Lazy weekend menu that serves breakfast till 4pm. Nothing beats getting great coffee (note that i didn't say food) on a lazy afternoon.

May or may not give the food another chance. Could someone try the other dishes and let me know if i should head back there another time? I still have more than a dozen different places i wanna try and i don't know if i can spare this a second visit.

Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar

9 one-north gateway
#01-51 one-north residences
Tel: 6777-8470
Sun to Thurs: 8.30am - 8.30pm
Fri & Sat: 8.30am - 10.30pm
Closed Mondays

I love scones (if you don't already know) and i've been on a search for the best scones in Singapore. Fosters has to be my benchmark for good scones. It is after all my first love. They say one could fall in love many times over, but the rush of the very first will always hold a special place in our hearts and that is the power F has over me.

Tucked in a corner at Holland V, this little cafe that serves English classics like steaks, ribs and pasta. I'm really not sure if the rest of the food is good because i only go there for their scones. My only comment on the other dishes is that they smell really good, especially that lobster bisque. Yums..

On a good day, the outdoor seating is not too bad. I reckon it would be nicer in the cooler evenings for a gathering with friends. I like that it is very casual and cosy. 

Fosters serves the cheapest high tea in Singapore. This is not the usual three-tiered high tea many hotels offer. What do you expect for a mere $10.90++? Here is Foster's explanation of the difference between afternoon tea and high tea. 

And this is what you get in the set- 2 scones, a toasted fruit cake (i love toasted goods. All things taste better toasted ie banana cakes. Swear by it!), 2 savory sandwiches and either tea/coffee. Sounds like a lot right? Well it is! I usually am satisfied after 1.5 scones but that's me. The rest of the stuff are just mediocre. If you don't want the rest, you can get the scones on their own. It's $2 or is it $2.50 for 1 but the minimum order is 3. Perfect for sharing. 

Just look at these babies! Extremely crunchy on the outside (i eat stuff for the texture, not just the taste alone. Other times purely for the texture. I'm weird that way.). Anyways, it's almost like a rock cake or a muffin top. Crunchy outside, buttery moist inside. Plus it's small, so the crunchy to moist ratio is just right. 


I love lacquering it with butter and the ones they provide are salted! Yay! So the butter goes on first, then a little of the whipped (no clotted cream here. What do you expect for this price right?). The whipped cream adds a tinge of sweetness which complements the butter. For those with a sweet tooth, have more of the jam. I'm no jam fan. 

The boy didn't understand my love for scones and tea till i brought him here and since then he has made several specific requests for tea dates. :)) I've taught him well. Heh. Good for me because i have another tea buddy. 

They do a takeaway service as well and we have packed these for picnics previously. Everything comes packed nicely with all the complements and cutlery too. Our friends have nothing but positive feedback for the scones. Make a reservation especially for the weekends because they tend to be packed for tea. 


If you love scones like i do, do share your favorite scone/tea place. :) You can also read about my other favorite scone place (Wild Honey) here!


Fosters
277 Holland Avenue (Holland Village)
Tel: +65 6466 8939
Sun- Thu: 11am - 11pm
Fri- Sat: 11am - 1am
Tea: 3 - 6pm Daily

Wild Honey has got to be one of my favorite breakfast place in Singapore. I was first made to review the restaurant with the Stupidgirl when they just opened. That was when the Mandarin Gallery outlet was actually empty. I fell in love with the European (their version of Eggs Benny) the first time i tried it and all was history. Every other Eggs ben i tried, i compared it with WH's. And not many has met the mark or surpassed it.

It's been a long while since that first visit and WH got more and more popular and with that it got harder to get a table especially for weekend brunch. Which is why i'm really grateful that they opened a new branch at Scotts Square. And guess what? They take reservations here! YAY!

Took a new bunch of friends to WH (Scotts Square) for a farewell celebration and they could only accommodate the entire group on the veranda. Thank god for the perfect alfresco dining weather at 11 in the morning. Phew.

Now onto the food.

Wild Honey's version of Eggs Benedict. Two perfectly poached eggs, sauteed mushrooms and prosciutto on toasted homemade brioche and hollandaise sauce. This has to be my favorite dish of all time. I always end up ordering this even though i always say i wanna try something new. Boos. So it's best to go with a huge group of friends because i can convince them to try something else and i can always steal a bite! :)))) Anyway, i think that MG does it better? Somehow the bread is over toasted and was too crunchy. Pretty dry. :(
The Canadian - classic pancakes served with wild berry and hibiscus compote, Canadian maple syrup and bacon. I usually never order pancakes because i know that i'll be sick of the same taste after half a pancake. And i don't like WH's pancakes. It's really eggy and really boring. Nothing fantastic to say about it other than the bacon that accompanies it.

I would take the English only when i'm REALLY STARVING (i would be full halfway through). Then again, my national rugger friend ordered this before and he couldn't finish it (ok that was B on a bad day but it's still HUGE!). A classic full breakfast; creamy scrambled eggs, pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms, dad's baked beans, bacon and vine ripened tomato with toasted brioche.

The Tunisian is another one of more popular dish at WH. Sizzling pan of red pepper, onion and tomato concise (stew) studded with sliced chorizo sausage and crowned with two fried eggs- very Mediterranean. I don't really like a tomato based breakfast, then again that's me. Many people love it.

My American friend ordered the Californian (she wasn't from california). Eggs softly scrambled with tofu, yellow and red peppers, fresh herbs on char-grilled ciabatta. I would never order this dish because brunch is supposed to be a greasy and savory affair. Since i work out so much, i deserve myself a high calorie-artery clogging meal.

This is a Norwegian Eggs Benny. I didn't even know they had this. So the ham was replaced by the smoked salmon and the brioche replaced with a brown multigrain loaf. Asparagus included.

The Wild Mocha Dolce is my poison. This is intensely sweet but packs in some serious caffeine. I always get super high after drinking this. Friends know not to feed me with too much coffee/tea because i'd be bouncing off the walls.

I also love the scones at WH. For tea, i like to have their cranberry scone with a cuppa of hot mocha dolce. This has to be one of the better scones in town. I'd put it in the same category as Foster's (another of my favorite). I'm very particular about the texture and taste of scones and have been hunting down the best scones in SG. More on that soon. Anyway the exterior is crispy and the middle is dense and moist. I'll gently coat it with a thin layer of butter and sprinkle sea salt flakes on it- my very own version of salted butter (because WH doesn't provide salted ones). Yummy! And their fresh compote of berries to go with it. Perfecto.

I would be hanging out at the SS branch more often for the following reasons

1. Wider desserts selection

According to the manager, the kitchen at SS is 3 times bigger than that at MG. Therefore, more space to make pastries! I tried the sour cherry strudel when i was there recently (not fantastic) and they also have more tea cakes and stuff. :) I'll be sure to try more desserts soon.

2. More breathing space! I always felt that the MG store was really claustrophobic! In fact, the entire MG feels that way. I feel like i can easily touch the ceiling (ok i exaggerate). Also, because of the small size of the place, i do feel like i can't stay on for too long even though i just wanna chill out with my book sometimes. Scotts is more airy and there's more natural light hence the relaxed ambience.

So if you haven't tried WH (quite impossible IMO), do head on down. All day breakfast means that you never have to wake up early! As for me, ADB FTW!

Wild Honey

6 Scotts Road, 3rd Floor

Scotts Square

Tel: +65 6636 1816

Mandarin Gallery, #03-02

Orchard Road, Singapore

(No reservations)

Weekdays: 9am - 10.30pm

Weekends: 8am - 10.30pm