Whenever I walk pass TWG, I always see tai-tais dressed in their finest, sipping tea elegantly and nibbling on the dainty snacks served here. Well, that's the impression I get: TWG = expensive and so not suitable for me. ^__^ I am no tai-tai and find it quite uncomfortable to eat at a fine dining place where my biggest grouse is usually how the price of food does not match up to its portion nor the satisfaction I derive after consuming it. That's why I've been rather reluctant to try TWG because I think I'll be the odd one out here struggling to behave like a fine lady.
However, while at ION one Saturday evening and being extremely famished with no more energy to find other dining options, TWG seemed to become welcoming all of a sudden especially with the lack of a queue. That was rare, I thought because it was a weekend night so I decided to give it a shot and see what the fuss is all about.
The decor of the place was posh with nice arm chairs, white tablecloths and fine cutlery. However, it was a bit disappointing to see that the tea stirrer spoon wasn't polished properly and looked a bit dirty. Other than that, I thought the surroundings gave off the vibe of a fine French restaurant except that this should be more like a tea specialty cafe with its half-open air concept (no roof but the surroundings are boarded up in glass). Metal cans of tea leaves line the walls and counters so you can imagine the number of options you can find here. To be frank, the choices are so many that I did felt overwhelmed. Thankfully, they have this Tea Book which has a description on the teas they offer so you can refer to before you make your choice. Due to the sheer amount of teas, they are classified by location of production and some places will have a longer list compared to others. However, if you prefer to make a choice quickly, you can get the staff to make recommendations based on the food items you order and your mood or preferences so that you can skip reading this book. Nonetheless, I thought it was a pretty informative guide, just that it's a bit too thick to read in a restaurant.
I was in the mood for something minty so I didn't seek the help of the staff despite this being my first visit. Maybe I should try doing this the next time I visit TWG? Anyway, I wanted something minty and refreshing so I ordered this mint white tea (can't remember the exact name) which came in a regular-sized glass teapot.
What I've noticed that depending on the tea you order, the pots come in different shapes and sizes. At least from what I notice, there are teas which use small metal pots and some which have much larger pots. I wonder if it had to do with the intensity or should I say how thick the tea's flavour is supposed to be so it was rather interesting to see pots of various sizes and materials on the tables. In my case, the tea leaves looked like a flower rather than a cluster of leaves which I usually see in my teas. The flavour was a bit mild at first but as you let it simmer for a longer time, the flavour of the tea is gradually released and the mint taste lingers on even hours after I finished my meal. Not too bad a choice at all.
As for the main course, I ordered chicken ragout which is essentially roasted chicken cooked in a rich Red of Africa Tea infused sauce with potatoes, olives and shallots. Frankly speaking, the taste of the chicken and the potatoes were OK but the sauce took a bit of adjusting to. A good thing was that the chicken parts used were the drumstick and thigh which were more tender than breast meat so this scored some points with me. The meat had absorbed the sauce fully which was also a plus point. Maybe it's because I'm new to this type of tea so I found it a bit difficult to accept initially. In addition, the portion of this dish was not that big so I didn't really feel full after eating this. I pondered a long time before deciding on the main course since the rest of the options didn't impress me at all. It would have been nice if there was a wider variety of choices for the main course section.
Since the tea pastries here are supposedly more well-known than its meal options and there was room for more food, it was decided that we should get some desserts. First up was the chocolate fudge which consisted of a rich chocolate cake served with a scoop of homemade Singapore Breakfast Tea ice cream and a sweet morello cherry marmalade. The cake on its own was passable, nothing too impressive or anything to complain about but when eaten together with the tea ice cream, the marriage of these two flavours wowed me. The cake was slightly on the sweet side while the ice cream's strong fragrance helped to take away a bit of the cake's richness and made it taste smoother somehow. When the ice cream was eaten on its own, I liked the taste too because it was not overly sweet and each mouthful felt rather refreshing. Maybe it's because of the fact that it's made of breakfast tea which is supposed to rejuvenate people as they start the day so the tea ice cream didn't felt like an overwhelming lump of sugar.
The other dessert we ordered was the matcha financiers which were heated up so it was slightly warm when it came to the table. On its own, the green tea flavour in the financiers was easily noticeable even before taking the first bite and I really liked the texture of the pastry which was moist and fluffy at the same time. On many occasions, I've tasted financiers which were either too moist that the buttery smell proved too much for me or too dry that I needed tea or some other beverage to wash it down with. Thankfully, TWG's version got the right balance and successfully impressed me again with the high quality of their tea pastries. Looks like I have to be back again soon to try its other pastries but I may not be so keen about the other items on its menu though.
The pastries actually do come with two options i.e. whipped cream and tea jelly which you can eat together with your tea pastries such as financiers, madeleines, muffins, scones, caneles, croissant, cinnamon roll or Swiss brioche. I had assumed that the whipped cream would be too rich for me but surprisingly, it tasted quite light and matched the financiers to a T. However, I think the tea jelly really nailed it for me because the rich tea flavour actually helped to elevate the matcha taste in the financier and make it a memorable taste which is hard to forget. In fact, the tea jelly impressed me so much that I had the urge to buy some back but I later found out that there are multiple flavours for the tea jelly so I have to figure out first which was the one that impressed me.
In all, I think the first experience at TWG was a bag of hits and misses. While I truly liked the tea and tea pastries, I think the main course paled in comparison. Of course, this is largely due to my personal preference so I'm sure there would be others who are fans of this dish. Nevertheless, after this first attempt, TWG doesn't seem to be that intimidating to step in anymore just that you probably need to be a bit more conscious of the price when ordering if you are on a tight budget. The pastries are generally OK but it's the other dishes which tend to be on the steep side. Other than that, service was great but this place is probably more suited for tea time or after-meal chit chats rather than a full-course experience.
