L'Espresso: The Goodwood Park English high tea experience

It wasn't too long ago when I was at the exact same colonial building having my Dim Sum high tea buffet with my family. Before you go away thinking "This boy here loves his Goodwood Park so much that he has to come twice in a month." I think I shall give you a brief background alright?

It's no secret that I have a high tea partner whom I share my particular fondness for high tea with. She speaks with experience from countless sessions herself. Converse with her and she will tell you all the different hotels that serve high tea. Clearly, befitting of the title, High Tea Partner.

Initially, we settled on Regent's Tea Lounge, renowned for their weekend high tea buffet but to our disarray, we couldn't get a table and we were told that they were fully booked till the month of June? Isn't that shocking?

I could still remember sitting in front of my "office" frantically searching all the various hotels for their high tea buffet just one hour before I went out to celebrate my unpretendious birthday while my partner called them up one at a time. I think the both of us might have rang up almost all the hotels located within city area. The only exception being Intercontinental because my high tea partner didn't like the place and I agreed too! 

But each time, we were either turned down because it's fully booked or they don't serve high tea buffets... That was until I chanced upon L'Espresso's weekday English high tea buffet and a reservation was finally done.

The things we do in the name of high tea. Only so few could appreciate but no matter as long as we do and that will do...

We were gestured to our table with a pair of exquisite teacups resting on the posh table which I love it very much... Apparently my partner flew off to get her food the moment we got our seats. You see we skipped our breakfast and lunch for tea, very typical Singaporeans right? 

Unlike Tea Lounge where you could indulge in all sort of tea till your heart's content. L'Espresso  limits their diners to just a mere two types of drinks. Say if you opt for their coffee, you only get one serving. Hence, my advice as well as my partner's opinion would be to get a pot of tea for the first serving because you could refill your pot constantly and once you had enough of tea, go for their coffee or get more tea!

Earl Grey would do fine for me while my partner opt for the more flowery Rosehips With Hibiscus Flower. Don't forget to strain your tea!

On with the food. It was quite a spread I have to confess. I shall let the photos do most of the talking here.

Two giant three-tier worth of Croissants, Sandwiches and other savoury treats. Milan Salami With Brie Cheese Croissants seemed to caught much of my attention as much as the Foie Gras Terrine With Citrus Jelly. They tasted as good as the ingredients used.

Fancy salads and smoked salmons? Past experience often tell me to skip salad (Surely, my partner would agree right?) and just go for the smoked fish. They didn't have a wide array of cheese to indulge upon. Besides, I'm no cheese connoisseur to being with.

Usually I would skipped the fried stuffs but I have to say they turned out pretty well, particularly the ebis.

I could always enjoy a well-torched Creme Brulee. Clearly, L'Espresso's rendition has set the benchmark for my future Creme Brulee testing.  It maybe petite but one could always go for more servings. Just to let you know, I personally took at least five servings just for pure indulgence's sake. 

My partner enjoyed the petite dessert so much that she scrapped off every single bit of it? See what I mean? It's really that good!

My mum famously made this statement: "Only Regent's Scones are edible!" Apparently, I can't help but to agree to what she says. They are great but no where near fantastic but hey, what's high tea without scones right? I was slightly disappointed when they provided every cream available but not one is deemed fit. I just need my clotted cream...

Chocolaty Araguani Brownies (top left), Chestnut Paris Brest (top right) and Coconut Orange Tranche (bottom left). Don't ask me how to pronounce them because all I did was to devour all of them! The Passionfruit Panna Cotta I have to say was the star of the day. It was so good that I would either asked my partner to get one for me or I will get two for myself and my partner.

If petite cakes aren't to your liking then their sliced ones might just do the trick?

The Pear Tarts were just marvelous. Delightfully sweet and refreshing. One of the better fruit tarts I've tired.

If cakes ain't sweet enough for your tooth, how about a tower flowing nothing but luscious chocolate? Sure goes well with strawberries and mash mellows There's also Haagen Daz Ice Creams to look forward too!

The scene of typical tea session. The truth is often unbelievable.

I got a bit sick of my Earl Grey and decided to call for my second serving. The crisp yet mild flavored of Sencha was the reason why I seek this green tea.

Having a new Galaxy SII is always useful to take shots of cakes. For me, Lumix 5 would do just fine...

We had a great time ourselves over at L'Espresso. 3 hours worth of all things sweet and savory. Given the variety L'Espresso has to offer, it's definitely worth the price ($38++) but there wasn't any ambiance to speak of considering there were pockets of tai tais throughout the lounge conducting their own fair share of tea sessions. The staffs were extremely attentive though in my opinion, they were overtly attentive. I guess it's better to get the attention than not to?

High tea is an art. An art enjoyed by two high tea fans...

If there's anything the two of us learn from this session, it would be to make reservations earlier, much much earlier. I foresee I will be Regent's Tea Lounge in time to come. For the best scones in Singapore, I shall wait...

Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road, Singapore 228221
Tel: +65 6730 1743
Website: http://www.goodwoodparkhotel.com/default-en.html