Cafe L'Espresso

High tea is always strongly associated with tai tai lifestyle; Clad in designer outfits, sipping fragrant hot tea from fine china, eating buttery scones with cream and jam while chatting away with fellow socialites. Perhaps, they would be resting their feet after sashaying down orchard road in Manolo Blahnik or just killing time before their manicure session or hair appointment at passion hair saloon. Nowhere else can beats English high tea buffet @ Goodwood Park Cafe L'Espresso in giving one the feeling of leading life of a tai tai. Overlooking the swimming pool, Cafe L'Espresso's colonial-inspired deco, comfy english style arm chairs and pianist seranading with light-hearted ensemble set the ambience for a high life experience right. Besides that, food is also part of the winning formula. Great spread of delicately prepared items and aromatic coffee and tea. This place is undoubtably a cut above all others...no other justification needed but sharing my experience and some reasons why so...

Number 1: There is a very good selection of Coffee and Tea. I tried the Earl Grey Tea with Honey, Hot Latte and Ice Chocolate. Both the Tea and coffee way surpassed my expectations; the tea was of great quality and the latte was just right, not too milky or overpowered by the coffee.

Number 2: Wide variety of pastry, sandwiches, cakes and desserts (there's also a chocolate fountain). Both the normal and open sandwiches are very delicious, the roast beef with asparagus open sandwich and scallop open sanwiches are some of the best. As for pastry, the scones are authentic and traditional, abosulutely english especially with cream or strawberry jam; the opera coffee gives a strong rush of coffee aroma and taste just with 1 small spoonful. The strawberry cheesecake and grilled cheese sausage with bacon are also some of my top fave. But The best of all (drum roll..) is the hazelnut eclair. Most of the time, most places will serve elcairs with chocolate and mousse. It is really refreshing and novel to serve hazelnut elcair in which the hazelnut cream is smooth and fragrant, soft and light and blend totally well with the soft puff (imagining savouring those delectable hazelnut eclairs.. =)

Number 3: The ambience is so relaxing and soothing. With a pianist playing lively tunes in the background and sitting comfortably in the strong colonial feel coffee lounge which overlooks the swimming pool, everything seems so wonderful.

In restrospect, for just $35, i have gotten the best dea for some moments of that unreachable way of living of members of the upper echelon... The utility derived from the top quality food and beverages and comfy, cushy setting far exceed the amount i paid.

Though i didnt burn a big hole in my pocket, i think it's better to put my feet firm on ground..

time for manicure too...personalized service by yours truly at a little abode...

My wife was pestering me for a buffet, and I hate buffets in general because I hate seeing people pile up the food on their plate as if it;s their last meal on earth, and then they waste it! So, I decided to scout around and found that hi-tea buffets are better value as you'll have better behaved patrons, and settled on Cafe L'Espresso.

And it was one of the best culinary choice we made. Very calmly and very systematically, over 3 hours on a Friday afternoon, we sampled everything that was offered, decided which were they best and went for more of it. I don't remember all the names but the stand outs were the various beautifully designed cakes, pastries, cookies and sandwiches. About the only thing we both didn't fancy were the scones. And the creme brulee was heavenly. I had at least 4 of them. The jellies were excellent too. Much care has gone into the preparation of the food. The atmosphere was excellent with a view of the pool. It wasn't very crowded and the patrons were all calm and composed - very unlike the typical buffet!
Though it is a little expensive at $35 per person, nevertheless it is at a 5-star hotel and some of the items take meticulous preparation and are unavailable outside hotel hi-tea buffets. Now, planning our next raid there!

Some time ago while I was surfing around about afternoon tea in Singapore, it really made me wonder why there were so many mixed reviews regarding Goodwood Park Hotel. Some diners swear by their life that it is the best afternoon tea in Singapore while another group say the economical rice stall in the coffee shop has a better spread in comparison. It was only after some thorough research did I find out that there were actually 3 DIFFERENT high tea buffets going on at the same time in Goodwood Park Hotel:

1) Local High Tea @ Goodwood Park’s Coffee Lounge (2.45-5pm Daily)
2) Chinese High Tea @ Min Jiang Restaurant (3-5.30pm Sat, Sun & Public Hol Only)
3) English Afternoon Tea @ L’Espresso (2-5pm Daily)

L’Espresso seems to be a no brainer choice if you are looking for a quality assured afternoon tea place after looking through the so far 100% positive reviews by the various foodies. I like their timing as well, 2-5pm where you can squeeze in both lunch and dinner together. Yes, calories counting is still a must even if I enjoy good food :D

Just to let you guys know ahead that it was a superb choice made and I totally didn’t regret it. I was prepared to see an extremely small spread but it was not as pathetic as I had thought. In fact, you'll be pretty much filled up by just trying everything for one round, for us we didn't even have room for some of the beautiful cakes on display. I tried to note down most of the stuff that we've tried, let's hope I captured enough for you to work up your appetite!

The 1st bite onto the Foie Gras with Cranberry & Apple Jelly gave me a surprised as I didn’t realize I had a piece of Foie Gras on my plate. It doesn’t possess a very rich taste, just a hint of the Foie Gras feeling accompanied on a piece of bread. I do like the idea of adding on the cranberry and apple jelly, the very very slight sourness lightens up the overall taste.

The Tortilla Wrap with Pepper Chicken was one of my favorite savory item on the list, be warned that you’ll be face immense danger of being addicted after trying it out. The Pepper Chicken is nicely seasoned and wrapped in chunks, there is no way to stop yourself from biting onto the 2nd piece, and the 3rd piece, followed by the 4th piece… …

It was from here that I know that this small crust (refer to photo) that is often used in pastries is actually called Vol-Au-Vent and usually topped with savory items, L’Espresso chose to use prawns and ebiko. Taste wise I find it pretty ordinary, but it is no doubt an exquisite dish to look at.

L’Espresso sure likes to use fruits in their savories, probably because the contrasting in taste and bite brings out more impact in the dishes. Like in the case of their Parma Ham with Melon, it will be quite an ordinary item if not for the crunchy melon that gives a twist in terms of bite feel, the sweetness of the melon gives it a refreshing finish as well.

The Salmon Sashmi is presented in mini plates of 2 slices accompanied by some greens, reasonably fresh but nothing really surprising over here.

I just love the big treasure chest full of Biscotti here at L’Espresso. Order a cup of their signature Goodwood Blend Coffee and you can’t stop dipping the biscotti in it. Dip dip dip~~~

Many people have told me that the Creme Brulee (aka ‘Burnt Cream’ in French) is a must try at L’Espresso and so I did! I know that this dessert is supposed to be sweet but still a bit too sweet for my liking, those who has a sweet tooth will probably fall in love head over heels with it though :)

There are really quite a variety of open faced sandwiches, all made into mini bite sizes to be served as excellent appetizers. Sun dried tomatoes fans will probably like the Tomato Confit on Garlic Toast, and I was slightly amused by the fanciful names of other stuff like Pork Bratwurst with Chorizo Pickle, Salmon Mille Feuille with Caviar and Chicken with Apple & Apricot in Crispy Shell. However, glad to say that they are not just pretty names on paper, but pleasing to both the eyes and the mouth as well.

Now I’m usually not too much of a croissant fan but the Portobello & Capsicum Croissant here is truly HEAVENLY~ There is some additional flavoring in the croissant other than the normal butter taste that makes it exceptionally delectable. Since it comes in mini bite sizes, somehow you’ll have devoured the whole croissant before you managed to figure out what makes it so savory and end up craving for more. Thumbs up from a non-croissant fan, and that says a lot :)

Ahh, sad to mention about my greatest mistake in this afternoon tea - the Blue Cheese with Pear in Walnut Bread. Perhaps this is just a personal issue, I love cheese, I love pear and I’m a super die hard walnut bread fan, but why does it have to be blue cheese??? I know there’s suppose to be some miraculous health benefits associated with this cheesy arch enemy of mine, but no matter how many times I tried, I simply cannot appreciate its taste. Thousand apologies to all blue cheese fans, this sandwich is just not meant for me.

Scones are no doubt a must-have in afternoon tea, and L’Espresso serves 2 kinds of scones - plain and blueberry version. One thing I must comment is their gorgeous strawberry jam, you can actually find real strawberry bits inside, such blissful sweetness~~

On the buffet table, you’ll also find a small container of Bread Pudding hiding beside the scones, do be careful not to be overwhelmed by this rich dessert! With a thin layer of sugary brown crust on top of the slightly moist and extremely buttery contents, this item is a devil’s lure that you’ll gladly jump into.

One of the main attractions of the afternoon tea is of course the desserts. I’ve heard so much ravings about the desserts in Goodwood Park Hotel that I simpy have to come here and see it for myself. Oh, did I mention that I specifically requested a table near to the dessert station… for obvious reasons? Hehehe~

One thing I like about the desserts at L’Espresso is that none of them are awfully sweet, for example the elegant looking Apricot Mousse will just feed your taste bud with a bit of apricot, a bit of chocolate, a bit of everything… and leaves you craving for more!

There is a Cherry Cake like cake that I thought will be an extremely sweet item but surprisingly not so. The main geeze of this cake is a refined cherry flavor that is skifully distributed among the different layers, and I love it when the cherries go pop in your mouth :D

Ahh, Lemon Meringue, perfect for those who are too overwhemed by all the sweetness and wants to enjoy a twist on your dessert plate. I just love the swirl on top of the yellow blob, makes this dessert look like a work of art, and I really like the sour taste with just a tiny little hint of sweetness.

I think nobody will believe me if I say there’s no Chocolate Eclair in this buffet! Considered a signature item in the world of dessert, L’Espresso will certainly not want to leave out this gem. I’m glad that they didn’t make it too sweet, with a soft mousse that is light and smooth on the inside. However, die hard chocolate fans may find that the eclair here is not chocolaty enough though.

I would say that the Coconut Financiere was the greatest surprise on this plate. Aesthetically wise this really tiny blob may not match up with the eye catching Mini Fruit Tart, but it really tastes surprsingly good. As you chew on the spongy cake, a rather strong coconut fragrance will spread out and even more so when you bite on the crunchy bit of fruit on top. Considering the size of this dessert, it really possess quite a strong flavor and I wondered if they made it so small so that the taste won’t be too overwhelming.

When I first saw this yellow shot glass dessert I thought that it contained some mini Mango Pudding, but when I poked my fork into the glass, it turns out to be a very thick liquid paste! Taking a look at the label, it was written there Mango Soup with Pamelo. I’m pretty sure mango lovers will love this dainty little dessert, it is like a concentrated mango drink, so far the thickest version that I’ve ever tried in Singapore. The last time I had something of similar level was when I was in Philippines where people are simply crazy over mangoes, at least now I know I don’t have to fly all the way there when I’m having a mango craving!

There are some other really exquisite looking cakes displayed at the table but we were already too filled up to try them. However, I did managed to snap some pictures of these eye candies before the buffet started, so head on to my blog to view them!