Whenever I travel to a foreign country, particularly Asian, I hope the hotel that serves afternoon tea would adapt its menu to the country’s cuisine either creating and offering separate afternoon tea menus or have a one menu that is Western or English style tea but have certain local ingredients in a certain food item. Pan Pacific Singapore offers the both Peranakan and English style afternoon teas and both are very good.
Pan Pacific Singapore serves its afternoon tea at the Atrium. The Atrium looks cool with the streamlined architectural details and the seating pods floating over a reflection pool.
As mentioned earlier, we ordered both the Peranakan and English style afternoon teas and what really struck me was how the Peranakan fare was served on a pretty vintage-looking, floral tiffin carrier. (You may play the video above to see how it’s broken down.) Here’s my highlights:
The Nyonya curry was flavorful, mildly spicy and just rich enough that you’d want to dip the fried mantou into the sauce. The Nyonya sausage bun was seasoned well and I really liked the pork sausage melding with the curry mayonnaise. The mixed mushroom kueh pie tee was a mushroom tart of my dreams as the thin crispy pastry doesn’t obstruct the earthy flavors of the mushrooms.
On the desserts side, they were all delectable and one of my friends who dined with me was obsessed with this type of sweets more than I – and approved all of them. Anyway, the kuei chendol is a chewy steamed cake (for a lack of a better description) that is layered with a palm sugar base and topped with a pandan layer that was not too sweet and I liked the texture. The kueh ko swee was my favorite of all of these sweets because of the depth of flavor from the palm sugar and the sharp sweetness of the coconut flavors tastes tropical Southeast Asia to me.
We did get some cocktails along with our afternoon tea. The entire cocktail menu was essentially light, fruity and sweet but the bar did not skimp on the alcohol. My drink seen above was made of cognac, mint, grapefruit and a few other ingredients since this wasn’t on the menu. While it’s not a bad drink, it’s not the kind of drink I would love to have. My friends enjoyed their sangria and apple martini.
The English style afternoon tea was overall, very good. My favorite savory bites were the Loch Fyne salmon layered with English cucumber, capers, and herb mayonnaise on a tomato focaccia and the Thai minced chicken on crispy curry basket. The desserts were easy to like as they were superbly made and not too sweet. I’ve really enjoyed the lemon meringue eclair and surprisingly the banana cheesecake (and I tend not to care for banana desserts).
Overall, it’s a great visit. The food is fantastic and tea is brewed well. Service is professional yet friendly. I’d definitely want to have tea here again and possibly check out their other eight restaurants in this hotel next time I’m in Singapore.
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Information:
Pan Pacific Singapore
Official Website
7 Raffles Boulevard
Marina Square
Singapore 039595
Telephone+65 6336 8111
