Having dined here previously, I'm already in love with the rustic ambiance of the House, its good food and friendly service. I had to keep my high expectations in check as the Vintage hi tea is only an affordable $30++ per pax.
The fabulous setup really blew me away. The decor is every bit whimsical, with old school hardcover books, antique suitcases, retro typewriter & mechanical camera scattered across the buffet spread. Dainty floral plates and countryside crockery matches perfectly with the English garden theme floral arrangement. We've been instantly teleported to the fairyland!
The food selections here wasn't exactly extensive but quite ample for a traditional Afternoon Tea session. For savories, they have the signature Skinny pizza's thin-crust pizza for those who skipped lunch for this hi tea. And a myriad of finger food such as mini burgers, finger sandwiches, savory cabbage rolls, assorted breads and a decent salad corner.
For sweets, check out the dainty little cupcakes, bite size cookies/biscuits, scones, mini cream puffs & tartlets. There is also a dessert table at the center of the dining area displaying decadent whole cakes for the hardcore sweet-toothed diners.
Included in the buffet price, is a free flow of hot tea (choice of ginger tea or vanilla sky). Waiting staff walks around carrying an old school flask topping up tea cups throughout the buffet session.
My friend who can't live without coffee ordered an ala carte Hot Latte $6++ with pretty latte art.
My food choices..
The Mini charcoal chicken burger tasted pretty good, the broiled chicken breast meat was rather tender and goes well with the sweet pineapple and the creamy salad mayo. Some of the burger buns can be a tad dry though so watch out which one you pick from the bunch. The Smoked salmon charcoal sandwich was flavorfully delish as well.
We all initially thought that these were Vietnamese style rice rolls but realized that it was actually cabbage rolls. These were delicious, generous serving of fresh succulent prawns, shredded chicken and veggies wrapped in thin sheets of blanched cabbages. The accompanying oriental sweet and spicy sauce brings out the natural flavors of the ingredients...thumbs up.
These were ok, nothing to shout about...
I had a slice of the popular Wild Truffle mushroom pizza, the aromatic truffle oil infused mushroom was very good. I added extra sauteed mushrooms from the salad corner to make it even better :p
The savory chicken salad was another crowd favorite. I had repeated serving of this.
Another must try is the freshly made breads. They come in assorted flavors, all were extremely soft and fluffy with a crispy crust!
My friend's Mini beef burger...she said it was nothing fantastic.
My dessert choices...
Most of their tiny cupcakes and puffs were on the sweet side, my personal favorite is the Dark chocolate & peanut crunch cupcake...these are not as sweet. The fruit tartlets were quite good too, so was the sweet and tangy little Lemon meringue tarts. The rest are not worth mentioning.
We also ordered a bottle of French Farmgrown Apple Cider $25++ to share. It was served in a champagne glass with a thin slice of fresh apple. We love the sweet and refreshing taste on our palate, not a bad choice at all.
What a nice way to spend a lazy afternoon basking in the lush greenery with good food and great company. I'm glad that we had this hi tea despite mixed reviews, we had no problem with the quality of food and speed of replenishment which seem to be the major concern. They probably had made some improvements inline with the recent price hike from $25++ to $30++. We're fine with paying a few bucks more for better food and service. Do give it a shot if you haven't had a chance to do so!
House @Dempsey
8D Dempsey Road
S249672
Tel: 64757787
Vintage Hi Tea
Thu & Fri : 3PM – 5.30PM
