Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Heritage Afternoon Tea at Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel

Finally got to try the recently introduced Heritage Afternoon Tea menu created by Shermay Lee, owner of Shermay's Cooking School, and also author of Peranakan Cookbooks capturing traditional nonya recipes past down from her grandma. This menu is available at the newly renovated upmarket restaurant, Clifford Pier, at the Fullerton Bay hotel. I brought hubby along as he hasn't had any hi tea since the one we had at Galaxy Macau on our vacation last year.

The first thing that struck us was the imposing X'mas tree beautifully dressed in classy Tiffany blue theme, with a huge Tiffany gift box at the base.




We arrived a little early and got to hang around the posh lobby taking photos while waiting for the restaurant to start sitting guests for afternoon tea.




I took a dozen photos of the stunning Clifford Pier, with iconic colonial style ceilings and stylishly designed decor and furnishings. This restaurant has the best hi tea ambiance so far among the 5 stars hotels I've been to.













At exactly 3.30pm, the restaurant opens for afternoon tea, and we were ushered swiftly to our seats. Check out the simple and chic table settings and condiments.






Cream cheese, Pandan kaya, Pineapple jam, Fruit jam, Chilli sauce & Butter.


The Afternoon Tea menu ($43++) consists of 8 savory treats and 8 sweet treats that has distinct Peranakan influences, and a selection of local (Teh Tarik, Kopi Kosong & Air Bandung) and western favorite beverages to go with the food. Both food and drinks are free flow.



For starters, I ordered the Teh Tarik while hubby had the Cafe Latte. The Teh Tarik was not too bad but a tad sweet. I'm more impressed with the ice Bandung drink which was really fragrant and refreshing.




In the midst of sipping tea, the restaurant suddenly came alive when a pianist started playing at the grand piano in the middle of the restaurant and singing live for the patrons. And, he sang quite well too.




The first dish arrived after a short wait, and it was served on a plate. A pair of Kurobuta Pork Kong Ba Bao & Chilli Crab Mantou. Both were delicious, the braised pork belly was soft and well infused with flavor, and the chilli crab filling has got chunky crabmeat with tasty tomato sauce. A nice start to the meal!



When we're done with the starter dish, the waiting staffs served up a 3-Tier afternoon tea goodies. 


On the top tier was scones, Buttermilk scones & Tropical fruits scones. They were not too buttery and taste good with the pandan kaya and pineapple jam. Some scone lovers may find them not buttery enough though.




The middle tier contains the savory snacks and sandwiches. Handcrafted Kueh Pie Tee, Mini Po Piah Wrapped in Nonya Egg Skin, Nonya Chicken Curry & Roti Jala Wrap, Bak Kwa Finger Sandwich, Hae Bee Hiam Sandwich & Otak Sandwich.

The savories were my favorite, we ordered second helping of the Chilli Crab mantou and the Kueh Pie Tee. The Chicken Curry & Roti Jala Wrap, Bak Kwa & Hae Bee Hiam sandwiches were commendable too. The only disappointment is the Otak sandwich, the otak is low quality and chewy, not nice.







At the bottom tier were the sweet treats. As it was X'mas month, they replaced some of the original pastries with Christmas pastries. We have Roselle Jam Linzer Cookie, Bandung Macaron, Red Velvet Swiss Roll, Mixed Fruit Cake, Christmas Fruit Cake & Pear Tart.

The sweets were not very impressive, I only liked the Red velvet swiss roll and the Pear tart cookie, the Bandung macaron was overly sweet and '漏风'! The rest were forgettable.




Despite having some minor misses with food quality, the afternoon tea experience was pretty awesome and we really adored the gorgeous ambiance of this elegant establishment. Service rendered here was good, we were given a 30% discount voucher for dinner venues at both Fullerton Bay and Fullerton hotel. I would gladly return to try the original menu after the festive seasons.


1¢ Stamp Namecard & Discount Voucher


The Clifford Pier
80 Collyer Quay, Lobby Level,
The Fullerton Bay Hotel S049326
Tel: 6597 5266
email: cliffordpier@fullertonbayhotel.com

Operating Hours
Afternoon Tea: 3.30pm to 5.30pm








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