Tea-rrific Respite at The Lobby Lounge InterContinental Singapore

The Lobby Lounge at The InterContinental offers afternoon tea in an elegant dining space. The cosy atmosphere, with spacious comfy armchairs and just the right amount of natural light coming through windows and blinds creates just the setting for afternoon tea.

While settling myself comfortably into a high-backed armchair, I was offered a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling tea, which really wowed me on the first sip. I stopped drinking alcohol since I began my motherhood journey 12 years ago. I don’t really miss it. 

But there are times you just kind of feel left out of the group when there are champagne moments. I must say high tea is one of them! All the delicate bite-sized treats look just perfect to have a tall slim flute of sparkling gold liquid right next to them, which I usually skip. 

Happy to note that the non-alcoholic sparkling tea by GRON offers a perfect alternative for those who don’t drink alcohol,like me. It was made of Jasmin, white tea and Darjeeling. Best of all, it’s organic. How good is that?! 

It tasted delightful, refreshing and even with a healthy after-taste. It reminds me a bit of kombucha, although without the off-putting sourness. Love it! It’s from Copenhagen and imported into Singapore for the first time, served right here at The InterContinental. What a great find! 

Gron also have a non-alcoholic version sparkling tea, which is being offered as a second drink, on top of a flute of Taittinger Brut champagne, as part of the afternoon tea set menu with the alcohol option.

The classic afternoon tea at The InterContinental contains 5 savoury bite-sized treats which were served separately on a plate, while the sweet treats and scones were served in the traditional three-tier stand. With the Tropical Paradise theme in the background, tropical fruits like mango, pineapple, banana and passion fruit are cleverly blended in both savoury and sweet treats. 

If you like food with an oriental touch, this is for you. I found the savoury treats to be super delicious and well balanced in combination with the mild fruity sweetness and spiced savoury tastes. 

It’s creative but not over board, simple yet flavourful. The western presentation with an oriental touch was so satisfying. Chicken and prawn are main ingredients in these treats which make it lighter and healthier too! 

Prawn and mango spring roll with avocado cilantro. Mayo elevated the whole traditional spring roll concept. The Nonya spicy chicken Kueh Pie Tee (pastry shell) was a surprising delight - I want more!!

And the spiced chicken tortilla wrap was so refreshing with fresh pineapple and spinach unnoticeably mixed in, with just the right amount of spice kick on the chicken to add on the flavourful excitement. 

I must say I enjoy these treats way more than the traditional cucumber, eggs, and smoked salmon sandwiches. These are fun and yum, with delightful surprises going through my palate.. 

To top it all, these savoury treats went down really well with the glass of sparkling tea in my hand. It’s tropical paradise indeed at The InterContinental. 

After polishing off the savoury treats, the most exciting part for high tea - the delicate sweet treats presented in the most adorable forms and shapes. Every one of them like a piece of art in its own right. 

Coconut lime mousse was presented as a mini coconut drink in a shell, decorated with a white and pink chocolatey straw and a flower petal on top, with the mouth-watering mango passion fruit compote hidden in the center. It’s a master creation, both visually and tastefully. 

The next cute creation at The InterContinental was a miniature cappuccino, presented in a tiny mug which was made of chocolate, filled with the velvet creamy white coffee bean crémeux. Lemongrass pomegranate pomelo jelly sat in the center and injected a light, refreshing end to the overall taste. 

Moving onto the middle tier, the little lady bug on a chocolate curl. How adorable! My 6 year-old daughter would have loved it. Propped on top of the soft fluffy pillowy center which was a clever combination of vanilla bavarian and cempedak catalana. 

A distinct flavour from the fruit, blending perfectly well with gula melaka sponge at the base, in the shape of a wooden log. You get both the soft and crunchy textures in one bite, having very defined fruit and vanilla creamy flavours explode in my mouth. Wow! 

The last fruity looking milk chocolate mousse on almond sponge with pineapple chutney was another melody well balanced between sweet and mild tartness.

The bottom tier with traditional mini scones, an all-time high tea favourite and one that most look forward to. Candied ginger scones were the highlight, matched perfectly well with clotted cream and mango peach jam. Yum! 

I was ready for a coffee. When it comes to hot beverage choices, I cast my vote for coffee hence, I’m fussy about the coffee I drink. My concern with most hotel high teas or lobby coffees is that they are either machine run coffee or Nespresso. Neither of them are my choice. 

I am a handcrafted coffee girl that is made by a real barista. It’s worth mentioning that the Lobby Lounge at The InterContinental served a pleasant Latte matching my high expectations. 

Nice coffee aroma, not too milky, in a decent tall-sized glass which lasted till my very last bite of sweet treats. I looked at other hot beverage choices on the menu and noticed that choices extended further. 

Organic heirloom coffee from The Central Highlands of Vietnam which includes black drip coffee, Ca Phe Sua Nong and Ca Phe Sua Da. Impressive! There is a wide selection for tea as well at The InterContinental. Well done. 

Last, but not the least, despite feeling full after all the yummy treats, the temptation of ice cream was beckoning. So I tried a tiny spoonful of each flavour and loved all three. 

Mixed berries was refreshing. Chocolate was classy to the point and matcha (green tea) also had a strong pleasant flavour yet not too sweet or creamy. It gave the perfect end to my Tea-rrific afternoon tea experience at InterContinental! 

For ice-cream lovers this is an unlimited amount, however much you can devour at the end. Such a treat for $128++ and $98++ for two ( with or without alcohol respectively). They also offer kid's afternoon tea on the weekend which is great for mums want to bring their kids along to double the joy!!

I enjoyed it so much that I have arranged my next mummy gathering here at the same place, same deal as I want to share this joy with my friends again. Can’t wait!

Just launched on the 1 February 2021 is the Tea-rrific afternoon tea at The Lobby Lounge of The InterContinental. Catering to different tastes, two new experiences have been crafted as Classic and Vegan afternoon tea sets, to suit all palates. 

I opted for the Classic which comes with a flute of Taittinger Brut champagne and a glass of alcoholic Copenhagen Sparkling Tea GRON. I turned my nose up at the latter initially as tea is not a beverage I drink. But this turned out to be the highlight of my afternoon. 

The InterContinental is the first establishment to serve this amazing bubbly. Crisp with a fresh burst of flavours (which I thought had a hint of ginger but found later that it was lemongrass), this sparkling tea comes in a non-alcoholic version too.

So perfect for everyone to have their choice, I felt that the Tea-rrific afternoon tea at The InterContinental was very well thought out. Tranquil in its setting, The Lobby Lounge boasts high ceilings and natural light streaming in on either end.

A really perfect setting to enjoy the delightful treats that I commented to the Chef, must be made by an artist. Each item was so beautifully created I almost felt bad to demolish them. 
Starting with the savoury items first there were four delicious concoctions which included a Nyonya spicy chicken in a pastry shell. As a baker and cook myself I noticed small things like the pastry shells.

These were obviously made with superior ingredients. So light and crumbly which allowed for the fillings to take centre stage. 
The spiced yoghurt chicken tortilla wrap with pineapple & spinach were divine with a tropical lightness that is great because it just meant I didn’t feel so full and could eat more. Hilarious!
How’s this for something really unusual? Prawn with potato and pickled mango tart. Again the tart shells were something I noticed, knowing how hard it is to achieve that level of quality. 

On the sweet front, there were yet more unique delights like Cempedak catalana and a gula melaka sponge, the latter too pretty to eat. Cempedak is a seasonal fruit in the jackfruit family and often fried in batter for afternoon tea. A different take this time!
A white coffee bean Cremeaux that was meant to be a metaphor almost, for a cup of coffee. So many more well thought-out treats for the sweet-toothed patron like a coconut lime mousse with mango passion fruit compote and milk chocolate mousse with almond sponge and pineapple chutney.

The Tropical Paradise theme running through these superbly crafted desserts! Lucky for me, I don’t have a sweet tooth and am able to stay away from them most of the time.  

Of course the mother of all high-tea adventures, traditional scones with mango peach jam, forest fruit jam and clotted cream had to be had. This bottom tier had two varieties of scones – traditional and the other with candied ginger. 

My preference was definitely the latter as ginger serves to lift the taste of anything too sweet or heavy. Two scones later having polished everything  on the high tea banquet, I ended my sojourn with a short black. 

Looking at the time I was astonished at how fast time flew when one is having fun. I had kicked back to such a relaxing afternoon tea experience with my girlfriend at The InterContinental. 

So completely worth the package for two at $128++ and $98++ with or without alcohol respectively. An excellent option for afternoon tea at The InterContinental as it truly delivers.