Raffles Singapore has been serving its legendary afternoon tea since the 19th century. We visit the iconic five-star hotel for one of the most quintessential luxury experiences in the Lion City.
It’s not my first time to Raffles Singapore which shines like a bright, glossy white beacon to a bygone era in the streets of modern Singapore.
As my driver’s wheels slow and crunch along the pebble-lined driveway, there’s a magical feeling of having arrived at somewhere truly special as the Sikh doormen arrive to open the vehicle door.
The hotel, now part of the Accor stable, first opened in 1887 and is named after Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore.
With a celebrated guest list that has included Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh; Charlie Chaplain, Elizabeth Taylor, Rudyard Kipling and Noel Coward, the hotel has its own resident historian, Mr Leslie Danker, who has worked here for more than 50 years.
Our doorman invites us into the Grand Lobby as we pass the famous Grandfather Clock. At the base of the famous symmetrical wooden staircase, a harpist sits playing and filling the space with ethereal notes.
We are escorted past the floor-to-ceiling white Victorian pillars and beneath an imposing chandelier to be seated at a lounge area in the Grand Lobby, where Afternoon Tea is served daily.
Our host, aptly named ‘Lovely’, serves us a welcome drink of cold root tea. Lovely talks us through the menu options and the extensive tea selections.
The standard Afternoon Tea runs year-round, but the hotel often hosts special, limited-edition offerings too.
The hotel has recently begun a new collaboration with London’s Jing loose leaf tea, not sold elsewhere in Singapore. All teas are hand-picked by the Raffles tea sommeliers. For those who prefer, there’s also coffee selections made from Raffles custom blended coffee beans.
Standard Raffles teas include Sencha green tea from Japan; herbals such as blackcurrant and hibiscus; flowering jasmine and lily from Fujian, China; organic Darjeeling from India; Assam gold from Assam, India; organic Yunnan white peony from Yunnan, China.
Jing teas from the Exquisite Tea Selection menu include Ceylon breakfast and Earl Grey (both from Sri Lanka); green tea options of Organic Jade Sword and Moroccan Mint (both from China); and herbal tea options of chamomile flowers (from Croatia); and lemongrass and ginger.
A tea timer is presented with the tea pots to ensure the correct amount of time for your tea to steep properly before being poured into your tea cup.
Other beverage options include adding a glass of Billecart-Salmon Champagne (either brut or rosé). Meanwhile from the Sommelier Selection champagne list, guests can purchase bottles of Ruinart Blanc de Blanc Champagne, Delamotte Brut Blanc de Blanc, Krug Grand-Cuvee, Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage Rosé, Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Brut, or Louis Roederer Cristal Brut.
Our waiters are incredibly friendly, helpful and professional. As I look around at other tables and guests, it’s clear that the staff take pride in sharing this experience with all who have come to enjoy such a time-honoured tradition.
Our savoury and sweet treats arrive on a classic, three-tiered silver stand.
We make our way through finger sandwiches of white bread with egg mayo and lettuce; multigrain bread with mustard mayo chicken; wholegrain bread with tuna mayo and alfalfa sprout; curry bread with crab mayo; and smoked salmon blinis and quail egg mimosa.
I make sure I pace myself, saving room for the sweet delicacies by Executive Pastry Chef Tai Chien Lin. On the day I visit, these include a garden herb chitose tartlet; a cassis black sesame roll cake; Bolivia cacao choux; cherry pistachio dacquoise; and coconut bergamot cake.
Of course, no high-tea experience is complete with scones! Raffles Singapore serves home-made original, raisin and savoury scones with clotted cream and home-made strawberry and rose petal jam.
While on other occasions I’ve visited the hotel’s Long Bar to indulge in a Singapore Sling cocktail and toss peanut shells on the bar floor, the Raffles Afternoon Tea represents a relaxed and memorable opportunity to indulge in a refined activity that is open to all. Long may it continue.
Raffles Singapore Afternoon Tea is served daily from 12.30pm – 5.30pm, priced at SGD$98 (about AUD$111) per person.
The Billecart-Salmon Champagne Indulgence costs SGD$33 (about AUD$37) per glass for brut; and SGD$43 (about AUD$49) per glass for rosé.
Dress codes apply.
For more information, visit raffles.com
