Elevate your afternoon indulgence to a different level with Tian Fu Tea Room’s elegant presentation of its new tea menu.
Up on the 60th storey of TOP of UOB Plaza lies a best-kept secret that should be shared – Tian Fu Tea Room adjacent to Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant. The intimate teahouse (there is also an outlet at PARKROYAL on Beach Road) offers an alternative to the slew of Western high tea salons in the market and stands out for its premium range of Chinese teas. Over 30 varieties of green, red, yellow, white and flower teas are offered here, and are served in their own unique teapot and cups – not one set will be repeated. Plus, a resident tea specialist is on hand to provide tea knowledge and tasting notes.
Tea aficionados will appreciate its Imperial High Tea, available daily from 2.30pm to 6pm. The food menu changes on a monthly basis, so that guests can savour different afternoon delights. Enjoy seven types of morsels, made freshly in the kitchen of Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant.
Kick-start the experience with a cup of Long Jing, an unfermented green tea that helps to revive the palate. The refined tannins cuts through the richness of the pork and crab pastries. Diners can also expect Instagram-worthy seasonal dishes, such as the highly addictive deep-fried sweet potato slices topped with marinated minced meat, as well as deep-fried Iberico ham served with egg white and peas whose well-rounded flavours are a testament to the kitchen team’s skills.
If you are a fan of oolong tea, opt for the half-fermented and more intense Feng Huan Dan Cong, which also helps to cleanse your palate. It’s a good match with spicy dishes (on the ever-changing menu) such as minced meat dumplings in a piquant Sichuan spice and dried chilli dressing, as well as hearty knife-shredded noodles with minced meat drenched in a tasty superior stock.
Sweet treats are best paired with the Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong red tea. The fermented tea is caffeine-free, so you won’t have a problem going to sleep at night. End the experience with Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant’s signature beancurd dessert – soothing, silky and livened up with wolfberries.
Looking for an uninterrupted tête-à-tête session with your girlfriends? The tea expert will place a kettle of hot water at your table, so you will be able to top up your tea to your own liking.
The Imperial High Tea food menu at TOP of UOB Plaza is crafted by the outlet’s new executive chef Chan Shun Wong, who started out as a wok cook in his hometown of Hong Kong in 2002 before relocating to Singapore in 2011. Chan was the executive Chinese chef of Peach Blossom and Xin Cuisine before he joined Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant this year.
“A typical Chinese high tea always features dim sum, and I want to break that mould, to show that there are other ways to enjoy high tea. This led to the new Imperial High Tea menu. The dishes are my inspirations from my travels and everyday life as well as the people around me. For example, the idea of the deep-fried sweet potato chips topped with Sakura prawns was inspired by my colleague’s trip to Japan,” shares Chan.
Diners can choose to enjoy the Imperial High Tea set menu, priced at $42/person (TOP of UOB Plaza), $38/person (PARKROYAL on Beach Road) or simply sip on a pleasant cup of tea from $10/pot.
Tian Fu Tea Room
#60-01, 1 UOB Plaza, 80 Raffles Place. Tel: 6535 6006
PARKROYAL on Beach Road, 7500 Beach Road. Tel: 6505 5722
www.tianfutearoom.com