Antoinette - an Italian Patisserie charm

Antoinette
Location: The Scarlet Hotel
Address: 33, Erskine Road
#01-02/03
Tel: 6557 0417
www.antoinette.com.sg




I Love the Italian Patisserie furnishing of this quaint little cafe.
It gives me an escape from the usual hustle and bustle cafes in Singapore.
Fulfilling my little fantasy of being out of the country even if it lasts for only a few hours..


Having found my perfect cozy spot, I can't wait to have my first brew of the day and immerse into a complete holiday relaxtion over Brunch.

My selection- The Vert d Osmanthus $8.00/pot
A beautifully crafted sencha that has the enchanting scent of summer-fresh flowers and the taste of ripe nectarines. Maofeng green tea is used as a base for this osmanthus flower blend. Expect slightly grassy notes, a well balances astringency & the subtle yet unmistakable profile of fresh summer nectarines.

I love this tea. It's natural sweetness is brought out with a well balance. Calming and smooth on the palates. I did not have to put in any sugar cubes to sweeten it. This tea will definitely drift to my mind whenever I have future cravings for tea.




All Day Breakfast
I ordered: Poached eggs with Scottish Smoked Salmon $11.50


This dish turned out rather disappointing for me..
$11.50 was the price tag with additional of $3 for poached egg.
What came with this price tag was a portion of simple greens, a slice of plain toast which is halved, 2 poached eggs. There was a generous amount of Smoked Salmon, however, they had marinated it is Capers and olive which does not go well for me to eat with toast. I prefer it to be the regular classic smoked salmon which will be able to round up the poached egg and toast better.
The taste is a hidden mismatch to me and I found it hard to swallow. The greens were browning as well and plain without any dressing.
I will skip this dish for my next visits. I hope that the lackluster standard is only isolated to this dish.
If the same substandard goes for the sandwiches or crepes, I will surely be crestfallen as Antoniette is a brainchild of an much acclaimed chef whom have gotten good reviews for his works.





A beacon of light was shined onto my taste experience with the help of Antoniette's signature cake which is named after it.
Antoniette: $9.00
Milk chocolate mousse infused with earl grey tea. Chocolate biscuit. Raspberry coulis. Dark chocolate earl grey tea cremeux . Earl grey tea crumble




Luxuriously smooth, the infusion of Earl Grey Tea and Chocolate brings you a combined feeling of both joy and relaxation.

I built my likings on the rich yet not over-poweringly thick chocolate such as Awfully Chocloate and Max Brenner.

The superior chocolate grade is worth your penny. I presume this is why some people are willing to extend their budget on artisan cakes and patisseries.. Its about indulging in the finer grade ingredients.
A few notches above Canele and Bakerzinn, may be the reason why this cake is priced at $9.00 and deemed worthy.

Other sweets such as cookies, chocolates, Macaroons and other delicate cakes are also available.


During times when you have the spare cash, or perhaps the release of your paycheck, do consider checking out Antoniette.
Antoniette could not be a better spot for you to indulge on a romantic private get-away escaping from the Singapore crowd. A place where you can let time slip while you glaze into each other's eyes tenderly with a pot of tea, feeding on desserts with soft giggles while the Italian Jazz plays in the background.

Singles, don't fret. Having said that this is a romantic spot, it is also a nice place to catch up with a close friend and enjoy the day together over brunch or high-tea.

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge

Address: 391 Orchard Road 2F Ngee Ann City Singapore

Tel: +65 6735 6833

the name Royal Copenhagen, will link people's thoughts to blue drawings imprinted on white porcelain chinaware..
China ware of such good grade, history and establishment to be put as Royalty grade.
Now now, how about having this Royalty experience over high-tea?
There can't be a better combination than this!
I invited myself together with my Tai-Tai grade colleague to have a taste of high-tea on fine tea set and evaluate if the food deserves the same ratings as its tableware.




a parallel glass fridge displaying the selection of cakes lines your pathway to the waiting area...



High-tea set of 2 is priced at a relatively high tag of $29.90, but we decided to go ahead with the order since we came down mentally prepared on an splurging high-tea extravagance.

the set includes the below for 2 people sharing:

- 1 cup of tea each (non-refillable)



- 2 pieces of "open face" Shrimp and Tuna sandwiches.
*option to make any adjustments to this arrangement such as not wanting to have Tuna, is not permitted.
I made a inquiry if I could have other option over Tuna (since my colleague is on a avoid tuna diet). Even though the response was polite, it showed how inflexible and inattentive they are to the dinner's dietary restrictions.
Having a F&B background, I was not impressed with the operations. Nevertheless, I still kept an open mind about the taste of the food.

The taste was pleasing. The mini shrimp is crunchy and clear. Both the Shrimp and Tuna swims in your mouth without bringing along any hints of fishiness.
The tuna was lightly seasoned with pepper, cucumber and tomato cubes . The way I like food to be; simple, light and yet tasty.




- 1 slice of Quiche

baked with flaked salmon, spinach and potato
This is pretty satisfactory too with the right baking time and moisture density.
It carries the same preparation style as the Sandwiches. Tasty but light.




- 1 slice of cake (selection of any cake from the fridge)

we were kindda undecided and randomly picked the Green Tea cake as our option.

I didn't enjoy this cake the least bit.
Too dense. A tad too sweet for my liking. Did not bring out the flavors well.
It tasted like a sugared green mash to me



- 2 plain scones
served with a platter of whipped cream, blueberry jam and butter.

They are famous for their scones.
Verdict = Passed the expectation. But not SURpassing the expectation.
was I wow-ed by it? I will describe my expression to answer on this question.
When take a bite of the scone with the spreads, I gave a light smile with my eyes shrinking to 3/4 of its original. It did not gave a reaction where my eyelids were lifted up to its highest point.





Royal Copenhagen was previously located at Shaw Centre. It has shifted its business to Takashimaya and occupying a hidden space in the departmental store next to Burberry.
Pry your eyes wide as this place is easily missed.

There is constantly a Queue there and blooming business with full house on weekends. Do come prepared to join the Queue for a seating space.
Waiting time for a table is averaging 15-20mins for weekends.
Waiting time for the food to be served is averaging 10-15mins.

If you have extra cash to throw away on a food expense splurging or if the average denomination of notes you have in your wallet is $100 and a mini bites food tasting expenditure of $20 is nothing to you. Than yes, why not just enjoy a Tai-Tai high-tea without worries for the word "value for money" and than continue shopping and pop by a fine restaurant for dinner shortly after.

You may think that my sentiments of the costing seems on the exaggerated side seeming as though i'm implying that one have to be a millionaire to dine here.

But what I mean to express is the "not worth it" feeling of a high-tea here. yes, if I am really rich, I may pop by here rather frequently and casually.

Well, currently, I am at a status of comfortable and ok to splurge hundreds on dining, but I will opt adding on another $10++ and having high-tea buffet at 5-star hotels or spending 20% lower costs to have better quantity and refillable tea.

overall verdict:
Satisfactory, Good tasting. Have quality over food. Quantity is petite. Nice for picture and 1 time experience. Don't feel tempted to return unless I'm a frequent shopper at Takashimaya Departmental Store and generous to spend the bucks to rest my feet over a small cup of tea which is finished over few mouthfuls.