SIN: 10 Scotts
Delicious a la minute afternoon tea with Beef Wellington!
It's been five months since Singapore moved into Phase 2 of Reopening after the trying period of Circuit Breaker, our local term for the stay-at-home order. I've done a few staycations during this season, with Grand Hyatt Singapore (5*) being the first in the series. While waiting for the room to be ready, I indulged in a delightful afternoon tea at 10 Scotts located at the lobby level.
A la Minute Afternoon Tea Buffet S$55.00
I went for the first seating from 12 noon to 2.30pm as I'd intended it to be my lunch. The second seating is apparently slightly shorter in duration from 3.00pm to 5.00pm. Pika's advice: Should you prefer to have free-flow alcohols, you need to fork out S$88.00 instead per person.
Assorted Cold Dishes
My heart was brimming with joy when I could get free-flow freshly shucked oysters. I ended up having four plates of two oysters each. I also enjoyed the naturally sweet blue swimmer crab meat mixed with remoulade sauce made of mayonnaise and chopped pickles for that little bit of tang. The prawns served with Thousand Island sauce weren't too shabby either, but they weren't succulent enough.
Assorted Tartines
Three varieties of tartines with ingredients sitting atop sourdough bread were offered that afternoon. My no. 1 favourite was the sweet-and savoury combination of beef pastrami with Waldorf salad and horseradish, followed by the vegetarian option of juicy organic heirloom tomatoes and aromatic basil hummus. The smoked salmon, ricotta cheese and onion tartine was by no means inedible, but not as exciting in terms of taste.
Toasted Crumpets
I don't often have crumpets, which are small griddle cakes made from an unsweetened batter. Those mini pancakes were executed well by the restaurant, for they were delectably light and spongy. The savoury ones were topped with Yarra Valley salmon roe and sour cream, but somehow the chives were missing in action despite being stated on the menu. The plain ones are to be enjoyed with clotted cream, kaya jam and/or raspberry jam.
Organic Salad
Given the feast, I was certainly in need of some vegetables to make myself feel less guilty. The organic salad featuring mostly lettuce leaves were fresh and crisp. The texture was made merrier with the presence of toasted seeds. I fell in love with the balsamic vinegar that was pretty sharp with an underlying sweetness that kept me wanting for more.
Maine Lobster Bisque
I couldn't resist having two bowls of the lobster bisque that had such beautiful, almost golden hues. Although it could be served at a slightly higher temperature, it was so, so rich and creamy, yet smooth at the same time. It didn't matter that there weren't any chunks of lobster meat; I was more than happy to see some toasted rye croutons.
Braised Australian Beef Wellington with Sautéed Organic Vegetables
I suppose Gordon Ramsay would be quite proud of this one. While the puff pastry wasn't a game-changer as it could be more buttery, the beef was exceptionally tender and juicy. The red wine sauce was light enough, not masking the goodness of the red meat itself. The accompanying organic vegetables were sautéed till their natural sweetness was nicely brought out.
10 Scotts Dessert Stand
Have a look at the dessert stand in its entirety. It was brought to the table by an eager and cheerful staff member.
Assorted Dessert #1
Arranged on the upper tier were four types of sweets. I especially relished the decadent custard tart topped with raspberries, as well as the crumbly chocolate cake filled with blueberry jam. An adequate amount of coffee went into the making of the opera cake, while the strawberry mousse topped with a layer of jelly was velvety enough without being too sweet.
Assorted Dessert #2
The best item on the lower tier was the homemade strawberry-flavoured frozen yogurt. I've got nothing much to say about the pralines and the fruit that tasted like jambu (lit. rose apple) - anybody knows the name? The assorted macarons, however, weren't fantastic as the texture was a tad too chewy without any light crunchiness. On top of that, one of them had a filling that was just too sugary for my liking.
Cheese Plate
Ending it off with a plate of cheese just reminded me of flying in style. How I've missed the excitement of taking a plane ride somewhere! Anyway, I had no issue finishing the cheddar and camembert, the latter of which was really enjoyable with cloudberry jam. I'm really sorry to say this, but I dislike blue cheese, so I only took a small bite of it. I also didn't touch most of the walnuts as they had started to become stale.
Bael and Pandan Tea
I had a hard time choosing my beverage, but eventually zeroed in on the herbal infusion series and picked the golden yellow citrus tea that had a sweet aroma of pandan leaves. For the uninitiated, bael is a kind of citrus native to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Melon's Rating
Taste: 8.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
I'm not going to hold my horses here; it was the best buffet I've ever had all these while. For the price, it was really worth it.
10 Scotts
10 Scotts Road
Grand Hyatt Singapore
Singapore
(Daily: 12 noon - 10.00pm)
*Prices quoted are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST.
Have a nice meal,
Cliff(y)
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