If brunch equals to breakfast plus lunch, then high tea should be lunch plus dinner. That is why I adore high teas! And L’Espresso would be my ultimate choice for an ‘elegant teatime pursuit’ that exudes pure indulgence in a modern English, sophisticated setting.
The English Afternoon Tea Buffet at L’Espresso is available daily with a single seating 2.00pm-5.30pm from Monday to Thursday and double seatings i) 12.00pm-2.30pm ii) 3.00pm-5.30pm from Friday to Sunday and Public Holidays.
At S$45++ per adult and S$22.50++ per child, you will be thoroughly spoilt by what the buffet has to offer. And it’s not because it has a huge variety of food (in fact it doesn’t compared to other buffets), it’s the meticulous attention to details, for both food and service that truly exceeds my expectations.
To complement your afternoon tea, you’ll get your choice of any 2 drinks from their list of fine tea selections. I picked the Prince of Kandy which tasted really light and fragrant, served in a vintage style English tea set.
I love the array of pretty canapes that you can just pick up with your fingers and devour in one bite. Very exquisite and delicate, just like little works of art. In fact, I was so enthralled by the dazzling assortment of dainty sandwiches, savouries, pastries and desserts, that I just couldn’t decide where to start.
Some notable highlights include the Smoked Chicken with Apple & Apricot in Crispy Shell (almost like a western style kueh pai tee), Slow-Cooked Chicken with Crepe, Foie Gras Terrine with Cranberry and Parma Ham with Melon. The ingredients are paired with one another for the right reasons. A bite of each canape seems to add a burst of different flavours in your mouth that blend together perfectly.
Their croissants and sandwiches came in a delightful selection of fillings too like Roast Beef with Gherkin, Philadelphia Cream Cheese & Cucumber, Egg & Truffle Cream, Turkey Ham with Dried Pear, Smoked Pork Loin with Caramelized Onions and more. They were so good, I just had to eat one of each! (though I normally avoid carbs at buffets!)
Needless to say, I went crazy with the smoked salmon (paired with salad) and cheeses (paired with crackers, dried apricots & nuts) too!
You will see chefs at work at their open concert kitchen where certain food items are prepared a la minute. And because these chefs are just next to the buffet line, they are able to replenish food items timely so the buffet line is constantly maintained with fresh flowing supply of food.
The cooked food section includes Crispy Quail Egg wrapped with Bacon, Prawn & Yam Spring Roll, Pork & Beef Meatballs with BBQ sauce and Potato Croquette. The quail eggs and meatballs are just delicious! As for the spring roll and croquette, they are merely standard greasy fried stuffs that’s not worth extra stomach space so give them a miss if you can.
And what is an English tea without traditional scones and the ever popular bread & butter pudding? Though the scones aren’t the best I’ve had (I had the best scones at Stratford Upon Avon in UK served with my favourite Rodda’s clotted cream!), they still make a decent treat, only if you have space to accommodate these heavyweights.
Of course you must always reserve room for desserts especially if you have a sweet tooth. I didn’t get to try much desserts because I was just too full from all the savouries but my husband seemed to have eaten a bit of everything and was totally knocked out in his sugar rush world! So I guessed they must have tasted pretty good.
Relaxing environment, impeccable service, fine selections of tea, exquisite food that not only looks nice but tastes equally good. These are the reasons I’ll definitely be back for. Keep this up, L’Espresso! Thumbs up =)
L’Espresso
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road
Tel: 6730 1743
Website
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