You can’t come to Singapore and not visit Raffles Hotel for ‘High Tea’ or a famous Singapore Sling cocktail. I will pass over the latter since I had intended to treat myself to this most delicious of cocktails in the famous Long Bar at Raffles Hotel until I found out the not so delicious price at $40SGD – about £20.00!!! Somehow the £5.00 or so charge on-board for the same cocktail didn’t sound quite so expensive.
I did, however, indulge in High Tea and it is truly high tea here with the usual cucumber sandwiches, dainty cakes and scones with cream and jam but a variety of curries since of course the tea is served in the so-called Tiffin Room.
Back in colonial days a light meal or snack in India was served in a set of shallow metal food containers that sit one on top of each other inside a hinged metal frame. My dictionary suggests that the origin of the word Tiffin is from a dialect (Presumably Indian) word ‘tiffing’ or ‘sipping’.
Today, however, because of the recent Chinese New Year the curries had been replaced by a range of ‘Dim Sum’ - small Chinese steamed or fried savoury dumplings. Curries or not the Dim Sum were delicious as were the sandwiches and of course I couldn’t miss the Bread-and-Butter pudding with vanilla sauce to finish!! Well it was a long time since breakfasting ‘with the relatives’!!
Over recent cruises I have become a bit of a connoisseur of ‘high teas’ although I have yet to sample such events at the Ritz, Betty’s Teashop in Harrogate or Reeds Hotel in Madeira but as teas I have taken go, Raffles comes second after that at the Emirates Palace Hotel last year in Abu Dhabi – ‘My dear, Do you know there was no gold-leaf to be seen at Raffles!!’
I have just thought that when I entertain to tea I can use the gold leaf I bought at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar – mind you the price will have go up and the scones will be better since those at Raffles were “as a tea companion at my table commented “decidedly heavy!!”
I did, however, indulge myself in the Raffles Gift Shop in buying some of the most expensive fridge magnets I have ever purchased – “Just a must have for the designer fridge darling!” Although mine is decorated with so many that I’m beginning to think the magnets are affecting the compressor!!
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