Peranakan and English Afternoon Tea @ Pan Pacific Singapore

Ever seen a pot of curry with "roti" in a hotel afternoon tea?

Not for me as it was my first time having a delicious bowl of chicken curry served with artisan French baguette for a non-buffet afternoon tea. This tasty dish is part of the newly launched Peranakan Afternoon Tea at the Atrium, Pan Pacific Singapore that goes beyond traditional scones and jams. The curry gravy wasn't too fiery at all, yet so thick and richly fragrant that had me using those crisp baguette toast literally as a spoon to scoop up the wonderful goodness. The old school traditional biscuits were nice little touches that evoked childhood memories. 
This is served alongside a beautiful floral-printed tiffin carrier that are filled with a scrumptious selection of traditional savories, cakes and kuehs. My favourites include the moist Nyonya Popiah Roll, Apam Balik (blue glutinous rice filled with spicy Hae Bee Hiam) and the aromatic kueh lapis. However, the quality doesn't seem fairly consistent as items like the Kueh Pie Tee was missing key components like Chilli, nuts topping, prawns and eggs, which would otherwise be a crowd pleaser. 

The sweets tier were dominated by kuehs such as Ang Ku Kueh, Rainbow Kueh, Kueh Seri Mura, etc which tasted decent but these could be rather monotonous after a while. Perhaps some inventive spin by infusing modern desserts with familiar flavors such as Pandan or Lemongrass might make the Peranakan set more interesting. 

Meanwhile, those who prefer the classic "Ang Moh" style will be pleased to learn that the English Afternoon Tea continues to stay on the menu. But it isn't going purely traditional with dark raisin scones or fruit cakes. There's some whimsical jelly lol lollipops and crispy Almond Florentines lead perched on the top tier that makes this resemble a playful Matt Hatter's kind of afternoon tea. But the biggest wild card was the full throttle of mini burgers that replaced the neat sandwiches. 

Each one is more represented by the colors rather than the flavors of natural ingredients such as turmeric, spinach, charcoal and beetroot. A pity that the concept did not translate well on palates as the buns were quite stodgy and not quite balanced on fillings. 

Nonetheless, having a sweet tooth definitely helps here as there is a good range of desserts such as coconut cheese cake, caramel profiteroles and chocolate sacher. Perhaps it will be a good idea to bring another friend or more to try both sets since there is no minimum pax for the afternoon tea, unlike some that caters only for 2 persons or more. 

In other words, you can enjoy a solitude afternoon tea with beautiful harp music playing live in the background and perhaps, toast the moment with a glass of Laurent Perrier Champagne.

 Afternoon Tea @ Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore

Atrium and Pacific Marketplace (Ground Level)

7 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore 039595

Daily: 2pm-6pm, daily

Price: $38++ per person with coffee and tea, 

$58++ per person with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Champagne

$68++ per person with a glass of Laurent-Perrier Rosé Champagne

 http://pacificmarketplace.sg/

For reservations, please call +65 68268240 or email celebrate.sin@panpacific.com