Halia Afternoon Tea

Ah, weeks long forgotten pictures! Jian & I went to Halia for afternoon tea on the 2nd of July 2011, which was our wedding/dating anniversary (that's 5 years of dating, through thick, thin & awful parents on my side & 2 years of marriage. THAT'S something to celebrate isn't it?) because I felt like doing something a little different.

We got off a bus stop too late & had to trek through the Botanic Gardens the long way round, which was actually nice (I have NEVER walked around the botanic gardens in a leisurely way before) albeit hot. Luckily, I was wearing a breezy dress & I am alright with the heat, anyway. Jian was scooting around for every bit of shade the trees provided.

When we arrived at Halia, we were greeted by the pleasant smell of coffee & baking breads. I don't know if they really bake bread there, but the smell was there... I think eggs were in the air as well. YUM! There was no space in the air-conditioned area, so we sat outside, which was nice too. Well the view is better outside, obviously.

Ok, so I was busy checking out the eats when the 2-tiered tray arrived. We didn't have a bite to eat before 1530 hours! The cream & orange ginger jam is meant for the scones.

Front: little slivers of bread topped with gorgonzola cheese & a honey-coated walnut

2nd row: Scone, smoked salmon little thing (salty), ditto, scone

3rd row: foie gras little thing.

Jian, in general, does not really fancy gorgonzola cheese but I DO(!!), so after he ate one, the rest were mine. They were so tiny, I finished them in a flash. I only remember that the little salmon bite was extremely salty. The scones went very well with the cream & orange ginger jam. I was surprised that the ginger taste was nice & subtle. Jian plastered his scone with the stuff. He likes to do that sort of thing as he likes strong flavours. The foie gras bite was just... the little bit of foie gras down the hatch... Pleasant, but gone in a matter of seconds.

Front: Saffron macaroons in yellow & kiwi macaroons in green.

middle: banana wrapped in crepe. Think it's coated with caramel as well.

back: raspberry, chocolate cake.

Background: weird fellow

The macaroons were EXTREMELY sweet. I don't know how people enjoy eating these things! For the saffron one, I don't like the taste of saffron in general, I think, as I don't particularly like musky flavours. Nevertheless, I took a bite & I passed te rest of it to Jian, whom only later revealed that he wasn't keen on it as well. The kiwi one was even sweeter than the saffron one, but i ate it anyway. The banana wrapped in crepe was nice, but I wish we had eaten it before then macaroons. had I known macaroons were this sweet, I would have eaten them LAST. By the time we got to the cake, it was already in a melty state. Sweet too, but nicer (& less sweet) than the macaroons.

The afternoon tea set comes with your choice of a pot of tea. I think it was $28++ per set. You can also order one set to share. We ordered 2.

Don't forget to go for a leisurely walk around the gardens after your tea, when the sun is not as fierce. :)