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2011-04-25
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Date: Late April 2011We learnt from the magazine that The Lounge@Four Seasons Hotel would be offering an Easter afternoon tea set which includes not only the afternoon tea tower as well as a tableful of festive snacks and smallbites, including the extremely cute-looking Lemoncello cake in the shape of chicks and the macaroon with the bunny's ears. Who could have resisted such nicely shaped and made sweets? So we went, and luckily we were able to secure a table in the first round.The place was al
We learnt from the magazine that The Lounge@Four Seasons Hotel would be offering an Easter afternoon tea set which includes not only the afternoon tea tower as well as a tableful of festive snacks and smallbites, including the extremely cute-looking Lemoncello cake in the shape of chicks and the macaroon with the bunny's ears. Who could have resisted such nicely shaped and made sweets? So we went, and luckily we were able to secure a table in the first round.
The place was already half-full when we returned at three, with the biggest crowd being around the supply table. No wonder - the table was covered with a rich variety of nicely crafted (and mouth-watering too!) sweets, including the nicely crafted chicken cakes, macaroons, and many more!The table would not be opened until 3pm and before treating ourselves to the sweets and cakes, we need to decide what tea we were to have. It was a difficult one to make as numerous choices were available. I kinda regret not ordering a latte but the ginger peach tea as i felt kinda drained of energy in the lazy afternoon. The tea was okay too, being full-bodied with the natural sweetness and aroma of the peach and a light hint of gingery spiciness - perfect to sip with the afternoon tea.
Everyone started digging in at three o'clock sharp and we had a hard time struggling to get a spoonful here and something there. Replenishment was quick, to our relief, and emptied plates were quickly re-filled with the beautiful chick cakes and rabbit-shaped macaroons.I basically tried to sample with what looked good to me - pardon my greediness!
The Pan D' Oro and Raisin Pudding and the Black Cherry and Almond Crumble might not be as attractive in appearance as the other delicies, yet both tasted heavenly. The bread pudding was quite smooth and rich and you could still detect the sweetness of butter on the slices of bread, now softened and melted after soaking up the egg pudding mixture. The bread were nicely arranged and the exposed top of the slices were baked till crunchy, yet not overburnt - it was just alright. The thick vanilla sauce was much appreciated - had a hard time pouring out from the tall jug but it had a rich taste of the natural vanilla and went very well with the soft bread pudding.
The Black Cherry and Almond Crumble surprised me. Not being a fan of cherries, the crumble was extremely tasty nonetheless. With the whole cherries cooked in syrup in the base and large crumbles and crushed almonds on the top, the dessert had two contrasting yet nicely balanced texture and flavour. The cherries were soft and the crumbles were VERY fresh and crunchy. It tasted good of maple syrup and yellow sugar and i love their coarseness. Both baked desserts were so good that i actually helped myself to a second (and large) serve to both!
The Classic Tiramisu was served in tall glasses and was a popular item - was it because of the dessert or the Easter egg on top of the glass cup? Anyway, it was a truly authentic interpretation of the 'classic' Italian dessert - at least the original ingredients were used. Ladyfingers were used instead of the horrifying spongecake; mascarpone cheese and egg yolks were clearly used.There could have been more cocoa powder but the taste of the dessert itself was really nice. It was fresh as the ladyfingers were still crunchy, contrasting with the softness of the cheese. It was really nice - the only thing i got to complain would perhaps be the lack of liquor (an adaptation to suit the taste of the children in an Easter's festive meal?)
Another popular item on the supply table got to be this cute little chicken, in fact a Lemoncello cake. It was the focal of the various cameras flashing and flicking before the supply table was opened. Luckily the plate was soon replenished that i could secure myself one of this, despite being so careless in cracking the crust of it. My bad! The chick was made of crushed spongecake and marzipan - and it was quite nicely crafted, despite not being very tasty. A little oversweetened it was.
There was also the Granny Smith macaroon with the bunny's ear. How cute! Even the coolest person would not be able to hold back but smile at the cute little thing - imagine a bunny hiding itself in the bush, exposing only its long ears - how imaginative and thoughtful of the chef! IIt tasted quite refreshing due to the thin and crunchy green apple strips between the two layers and its sourness balanced the heaviness of the greenapple cream sandwiched between. The macaroon itself had a thin and crunchy crust, and the interior was moist, however not sticky to the teeth - a nicely made macaroon for god knows how hard it was to make one with such high standard! The bunny's ears and the bush were also edible - being made from marzipan - and i happily ate the whole thing within 2 bites, not wanting to waste any of it as a way of showing my appreciation and respect for the chef - people who took it and leave it on the plates and stuff were not doing justice to him and his artwork, and for this i condemn and despise.
Next was the French pastries on the silver tray...being petite in bite-size, i could try a round of everything without stuffing myself to death. There were six cute little snacks, 3 being made of chocolate. I ate according to the intensity of the flavour and thus started with the lightest pear tartlet (the green little one). It was light and refreshing, and among the six i like the lemon tart most. The chocolate snacks were a little too heavy however, with the brownie being the driest. I also attempted to finish the Frosted Carrot cake so nicely decored with icying sugars being shaped into tiny little carrot sticks. It looked good and tasted good too, and the cake had just the right moisture and texture - not too rich but you could smell the rich taste and aroma of the carrot, which was said to be the same as what's used in Caprice.
The trilayered afternoon tea tower swiftly came as we were so busily indulging ourselves in the arrays of sweet-and-cute Easter festive snacks....
Traditionally speaking the lowest deck of savoury bites should be first eaten, followed by the scones and lastly the sweet snacks and bites on the top deck. So we obliged...First: a round of the fingersandwiches. My favourite among the four was the egg salad on English muffin as there were the right amount of mayo which mixed perfectly with the cubes of egg white. A dash of fish roe further enhanced the flavour, and the muffin base was lightly toasted and so lovely - it reminded me of the Egg Benedict.
The puff pastry was stuffed with smoked salmon and was tasty; the onion and egg quiche was also good, with the onion so finely chopped and mixed in the egg custard on the ultra-thin crust, although i would personally prefer a thicker and yet more crunchy pastry.
The parma ham roll had flakes of parma ham rolled between two savoury crepes. Nice!
In contrast, the finger sandwiches were just medicore as the bread was a little dry and bland in taste.
Middle: of course, there were the plain and raisin scones. They were quite big in portion and it was beyond my ability to finish two on my own! It was a pity to waste as they were, indeed, very nicely baked. They were of the appropriate moisture and texture; not too flaky when cut open, and the crust was the best to taste. What you should not skip is the clotted cream scooped to form an enlongated oval shape; although fattening, they certainly tasted good. Two jams were available - the sweeter raspberry compote and the sourer but refreshing apricot jam. Both were equally tasty. What a pity that i did not have a bottomless stomach to fill!
And finally the top deck of sweet delicies, which consists of a panna cotta-like sweet, pineapple puff pastry, cheesecake mousse and strawberry macaroon. We were almost full after stuffing ourselves with the festive snacks on the supply table we enthusiastically helped ourselves, we had to almost struggle to finish the sweet bites on the toppest dish. They were good tho; its just that we were way too full!We ate until five, helped ourselves to uncountable cups of tea as we looked out of the window.The afternoon tea set plus buffet costed us a good fortune of $265 per head (+10%) - a luxury indeed! However, given the high quality of handicraft and taste of the snacks, the relaxing environment, the happiness that the cute-looking festive snacks had managed to give you - it was worth the pay. Afterall, grown-ups do not get that much of chance in which they could indulge themselves in pure happiness and joy just with the sight of cute cakes and sweets, and forget about the worries in their lives - somewhat escapist, but this Easter afternoon tea had truly been a therapeutical one.
For a more comprehensive review and more photos click: http://alisonphk.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-easter-easter-afternoon-teathe.html
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