I am now reading 'Eating for England - by Nigel Slater'. He is the most joyful writer I have ever read -- now he become my favourite already !!! He said on his book that the British manage to turn a cup of tea and a silver of cake into national trademark while most of the world just relishes a cup of tea in the afternoon ... Afternoon tea is the works : scones, sandwiches, cakes, and of course a pot of tea ... Afternoon tea may be the only meal Brits take that is purely and utterly for pleasure !!!
Origin of Afternoon Tea was in 1840 where Anna Russel, The 7th Duchess of Bedford, who was credited with a starting of Traditional Afternoon Tea. The Duchess was feeling as she described as 'a sinking feeling' then she needed 'light meal' in the afternoon (in between breakfast & dinner). Therefore, Afternoon Tea (normally between 4-5pm) started and consisted of a light selection such as tea, finger sandwiches, small cakes, scones and clotted cream ...
Ok, that's enough (for now) about British ... What I am about to mention is not British Tea Room or British Tea Castle at all. It's about the "Royal Copenhagen Tea" Lounge !!!
Royal Copenhagen was founded in 1775, and its products have been made ever since with deep respect for tradition and high standards of craftsmanship. Today, Royal Copenhagen is a world-famous brand known for its exclusive, high quality porcelain products and immaculate design and craftsmanship. Royal Copenhagen is known worldwide for being Danish, and it is famous for maintaining and renewing the traditions of classic, hand-made, hand-painted porcelain in blue and white.Talking about the product (plate, pot, and so on), Royal Copenhagen's exclusive products can be found at their own retail stores and some selected dealers in Denmark, Japan and Korea only. However, if talking about Tea Lounge & Restaurant, it must be at Singapore only !!! It was firstly opened 14 years ago and a new face-lift in year 2007 on interior & menu.
Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge was designed for afternoon meal or casual dinner. Dishes were managed by the award-wining chef Norman Bin Abdullah. Another Royal Service is that if customers wish to buy the porcelain they are eating off, they just need to tell the serving staff since the selected items will be waiting for them at the restaurant exit.
We seriously went there on one late afternoon -- prepared to wait on queue (around half an hour). But don't worry the staff manage everything well -- even me, I did not feel any discomfort or angry while waiting till end of the meal. The service is so impressive !!!
About food, since we had strong confidence (a kind of a must) to have meal at Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge, here were dishes that we ordered ...
Starting from Roasted Mushroom Soup ($7.90) -- cream soup with strong grilled aroma of wild mushroom and some dices of vegetable serving with a bun & butter ... look at how thick and the colour it was (Too bad, I can't put the taste and aroma on my blog).
If talking about Denmark, we should not miss Salmon !!! Therefore, we ordered Copenhagen Salmon Platter ($18.90) -- Fresh Atlantic Salmon with pickled funnel and dill sauce on top of scalloped shape potatoes with cream fraiche -- so fresh like having sea & garden at our front ...
I also ordered main dish -- I could not resis to try Chicken Dish named Crispy Oven Roast Chicken ($15.90) -- a crispy but juicy half chicken marinated with herb & maple syrub served with root vegetables (in this case were potatoes) -- so herby since herb was on & in every layer or nook I could find. In addition, the maple syrub help the chicken more crispy than ever including some burned part on plate !!!
Lastly we rounded-off our meal with what we called dessert by ordering Copenhagen Scone ($6.90) -- Two freshly and daily made scones served with Jam & Whipped Cream. It was served with special shape knife (which I thought it did suited well for eating scone & jam) since other shop served us with small knife (butter knife). Jam that has been used is Danish Selection -- fruit spreads produced without boiling (not to ruin the taste of fruit and make the better flavour).
Lastly, we did not forget to order tea -- Tea which was imported by Royal Copenhagen -- Therefore, we tried Darjeeling (or as they said it's the Champagne of Tea) & UVA (Ceylon's favourite) at $6.50 per pot (Pot Size is for one person which was around 2 - 3 cups).
Yes, this is my REAL lift-up for my afternoon sinking feeling ... I do now understand the feeling of Anna Russel, Dutchess of Bedford ...
Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge
Takashimaya Department Store (Level 2)
391 Orchard Road, Singapore 238873
Tel / Fax : 6735-6833
Operating hours: Mondays to Sundays: 10.00 to 21.00 (last order at 20.30)
More Detail on :
Menu at : http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?magid=73206#/page0/
Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge Singapore at : http://www.royalcopenhagen.com/Service/Stores-and-Shops/Tea-Lounge-Singapore.aspx
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