Location: ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn #02-21, Singapore 238801Tel: 6735 1837Operating Hours: Daily, 10:00 to 22:00
TWG Tea has always been a great place for chilling out on a lazy afternoon. Hence I have chose to visit this place again on the last day of 2013 in order to begin my year afresh and invigorated.
Initially, I wanted to visit the branch at Marina Bay Sands but was deterred to do so due to some negative reviews on hungrygowhere. It wouldn't be wise to end 2013 in a bad way so I decided to revisit the branch at ION Orchard which I often frequent.
Introduction
According to TWG's official website, TWG Tea was first established in Singapore in celebration of the island's great history as a trading post for teas, spices and fine epicurean products.
When Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in Singapore on 28 January 1819, he recognised the island as an ideal port to facilitate the trade route between China and British India as it was located at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula and possessed a natural deep harbour. A treaty was signed on 6 February 1819 and Singapore developed into a flourishing free port where fine teas, coffee, gold and other spices were exchanged.
The tea trade was made official in Singapore with the creation of the Chamber of Commerce in 1937, a date which TWG Tea honours as the commencement of Singapore's domination as the Far East's most illustrious trading post, a haven for celebrated tea clippers loaded with the most precious of elixirs.
TWG Tea (stands for The Wellness Group) is a luxury concept that incorporates an international distribution network to professionals, unique and original retail outlets and exquisite tea rooms. TWG Tea shares their expertise and has become a source of reference for tea lovers.
TWG Tea tasters travel to different parts of the world annually to sample different types of teas in a quest for the most desirable harvests direct from source gardens. Now, TWG prides themselves in offering over 800 single estate fine harvest teas and exclusive blends, together with tea patisseries and other tea infused delicacies. It has become an internationally recognised brand as a veritable innovator with the creation every season of new varieties of tea in collaboration with the world's most renowned estates.
Le' Ambience
The décor of the place is flamboyant and grand. As this is a Salon and Boutique, the shelves are filled with tins of tea leaves with the 'TWG' logo proudly displayed on them.
Although the boutique looked great, the salon is rather crammed and not noise-proof. Sweetie Muffin complained that TWG Tea was too commercialised that it did not feel like a place where you can enjoy tea in a quiet atmosphere anymore :( However, I still quite liked the place despite the noise from neighbouring tables. Perhaps they can consider expanding their salon to have the tables more spaced apart ...
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| The Salon Area |
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| Tables are pretty crammed together... |
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| The suave looking waiter in suit.. |
Le' Menu
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| The Menu at the entrance |
I have managed to snap some photos of the main menu whilst queuing for our turn - we queued for half an hour for our turn!! Indeed, good things are always worth the wait :)
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| The ultra long queue |
The Menu is pretty detailed to the extent that we feel that we were reading some book... Really time-consuming to read every single page and to decide what we want as everything seemed to be so nice~~ I think they should just show photos of the dishes served and that will expedite the ordering process greatly :)
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| Menu Cover Page |
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| A Brief Introduction... |
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| Main Courses and Desserts |
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| Desserts and Tea Time Sets |
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| Tea Time Selections and Beverages including Wine and Champagne |
They have a separate tea menu which goes on and on... and on! We were really spoilt for choices when it comes to their tea selections!!!
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| A Vast Selection of teas from worldwide... |
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| Indeed, TWG is very passionate about their tea |
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| Classic Teas for different times of the day.. How dedicated! |
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| Exclusive Tea Selections |
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| Finest Tea Selections :) |
What We Ordered
After a round of serious contemplation, we have decided to order Tea Time Set: Manhatten and 2 pots of tea - T6153 Ivory Palace Tea and T6014 Crème Brulée Tea.
We have also tried the following during our previous visit (which we will combine the photos under the review below):
- Tea Time Set: Fortune
- T6018 Silver Moon Tea
Le' Food
I have always admired them for their eye for detail. Even the cockery and silverware used are engraved with their brand!
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| Cutlery engraved with TWG Logo |
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| Pot of Sugar for tea :) |
Tea Time Set: Manhatten (SGD40++)
- TWG Tea from the extensive tea list, served hot or iced
- An indulgent selection of 3 distinctive miniature hamburgers served with a delicate salad of mixed greens and marinated cherry tomatoes topped with 1837 Green Tea infused vinaigrette.
- 1 mini Wagyu burger with homemade TWG Tea cocktail sauce
- 1 mini Foie Gras burger with fresh apple chutney
- 1 mini spiced chicken burger with a sautéed shallot confit
- Choice of 2 Freshly baked Muffins or Scones served with TWG Tea Jelly and whipped cream or 1 patisserie from the trolley
- *Supplement for teas over S$11
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| Tea Jelly and Whipped Cream Served with Scones |
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| Close-Up on the Tea Jelly |
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| So creamy :) |
I am madly in love with their scones which taste so warm and nice. The sweet taste from the raisins, the fragrance from their signature tea jelly and the lightness of the whipped cream never fail to blow me off everytime I eat them. It is indeed one of the most perfect blend!
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| Scones |
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| See how huge the raisins are? |
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| Le' Mini Burgers |
We enjoyed eating the mini burgers very much and the Foie Gras burger tasted the best in my opinion :)
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| Foie Gras Burger |
Tea Time Set: Fortune (SGD39++)
- TWG Tea from the extensive tea list, served hot or iced
- A choice of warm toasted sandwich from the list below:
- TWG Tea Croque Monsieur: An enduring classic. Warm toasted sandwich with French Gruyère cheese and turkey ham, served with a delicate green salad and house vinaigrette.
- TWG Tea Croque Provence: Vegetarian warm toasted sandwich with Gruyère cheese garnished with tomatoes and asparagus, served with a delicate green salad tossed in house vinaigrette
- TWG Tea Croque Imperial: Warm toasted sandwich with Gruyère cheese and smoked salmon, served with a delicate green salad and house vinaigrette.
- Choice of 2 freshly baked muffins or scones served with TWG Tea Jelly and whipped cream or 1 patisserie from the trolley
- A choice of 3 TWG Macarons
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| Playing Peek-a-Boo |
T6014 Crème Brulée Tea (SGD8.50++)
T6018 Silver Moon Tea (SGD8.50++)
T6153 Ivory Palace Tea (SGD7.50++)
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| Tea Served in a teapot encased in golden casing to keep warm |
The tea served are always very aromatic to the extent that we thought it is artificial. But still, the smell is very therapeutic as it takes away all stress for a brief moment ♥♥~ The types of teas we have ordered have a sweet aroma but they taste rather bland (most teas taste bland anyway) but still acceptable. We love the fragrance the teas emit :)
Tea Infused Macarons (SGD2.00++ each)
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| Sweetie Muffin couldn't resist the temptation and savoured the Vanilla Bourbon Tea and Kaya Macaron first... ;( |
Earl Grey Fortune and Chocolate
Earl Grey has its own unique aroma. As a lover of Earl Grey tea, this has become one of my favourites and I do hope you will like it too :)
Moroccan Mint Tea
Never be fooled by its plain white shell. This is one of the most invigorating and refreshing macaron I have ever tasted!
Vanilla Bourbon Tea and Kaya
I have always loved the lovely turquoise shell of the Vanilla Bourbon Tea and Kaya Macaron. Kaya is jam made with coconut milk, egg and flavoured with panda leaf and sugar. Locals use it as a spread for bread in general as it is sweet and fragrant at the same time. This is one of the must try flavours for all kaya lovers ♥
Bain de Roses Tea
I love the sweet fragrance from roses the how classy they look. The Bain de Roses Tea Macaron is scented with roses as it taste lightly sweet as well. This is indeed a timeless elegance and classic not to missed.
Napoleon Tea and Caramel
The caramel cream tasted sweet and good ♥
Grand Wedding Tea, Passion Fruit and Coconut
Not too much to my liking actually. I think grandmas and grandpas enjoy this better.. Ordered this because of its name actually...
Le' Service
The service is professional and prompt. The staff have a good knowledge of the tea that TWG Tea serves and I enjoyed my visit every time.
Overall
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| Our Bill served in a silver plater |
I can never resist snapping photos whenever I am here at TWG. I loved their décor and their exotic delicacies and teas served. Most of all, I love their macarons and ice-creams! Indeed this is a heaven for desserts and tea-infused goodies :)
It is quite fun that they provided us a postcard together with the bill. Perhaps we can post it to our overseas friends to show-off that we have tasted the finest tea selections @ TWG!!
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| Postcard |
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| Back of Postcard |
Cam-Whoring with the Major Brands in ION Orchard afterwards :)
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| What a HEAVY Burberry!!! |
