The Tea Party

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The Tea Party Cafe used to be my favourite go-to place for pasta and pizza back in my NJ days because of 1) its proximity and location 2) their affordable lunch specials 3) unlimited magazines and boardgames to borrow 4) but last and most importantly, as I had already not so subtly mentioned...their pasta and pizza!

Located at the corner of the row of shops just off 6th ave, this unassuming 2 storey cafe certainly does not stand out. But enter through the doors and you are greeted by a picture of comfort. Low rise sofa benches and a low lit atmosphere gives the cafe a comforting and relaxing feeling. Definitely catered for a lazy afternoon or a chilled out session with the girls. Climb up the stairs to the upper level for a lot more seating with proper tables and chairs.

We came here for lunch one afternoon. Correction- we have been coming here for the last few afternoons just to chill and wait for my little brother to take the bus from school to meet us since the bus stop is conveniently located just outside the cafe. Each pasta/pizza is served as a set with iced tea and the soup of the day. We ordered an extra brew of Green Sencha for $5.50 and that is possibly the most adorable tea pot ever!

Our pastas soon arrived and it was easy to tell especially since the kitchen has an open concept and the smell of frying garlic hits you before your plate of pasta is on your table. Not that Im complaining especially when that smell is so good, it makes you even hungrier. My Prawn Aglio Olio $8.90 was delicious to say the least. The serving of prawns generous and they were fresh, big and not too overcooked. The pasta was amazingly well done al dente and not too oily as well. The waitress was nice enough to provide me an extra serving of chilli padi. The combination of chilli padi, fried garlic and linguini in olive oil cooked so well reminded me why Aglio Olio was always my first choice of pasta!

My little brother's Bacon Aglio Olio $8.50 looked a little dismal next to my plate. Possibly due to the lack of colour as he had requested for no chilli. But he was not a fan of it either. Mentioned that the Mushroom Aglio Olio which he had the other day tasted much better which was ironic considering that that Bacon Aglio Olio had a little chef's hat printed next to its description on the menu, indicating it as a recommendation!

I do like The Tea Party Cafe and I can foresee many more lunches here in future. If memory serves me right, I used to enjoy their Roast Duck Pizza here as well and I do hope that the taste is still as good. I will try it soon and let you know if it is just as yummy as I remember it to be!

With its shabby and nondescript shopfront, it was pretty easy to overlook The Tea Party at Sixth Avenue Centre. It was only after reading reviews about it that we realized there was such a cafe along Sixth Avenue.

Since the scones from The Tea Party was much raved about, there was no way we were going to miss it. We ordered their highly recommended Raisin scone ($2) and their new introduction – 65% Dark Cocoa Chips Muffin ($2.30).

We were rather disappointed that they had ran out of cream chese so we were offered strawberry jam or butter instead. The buttery aroma of freshly toasted scone filled our noses the minute it was served in front of us. With high hopes and growling tummies, we dug into our scone and were pleasantly pleased. The scone was slightly warm; it was soft, fluffy, buttery and was pretty sweet. Texture and taste wise, it was similar to the scones from Da Paolo Gastronomia. It was a little different from the British scones in York, but nevertheless, it was delicious and appetizing. Being on the sweet side, it would be more appropriate as a high tea dessert rather than a breakfast item. And yes, there would be little need for the strawberry jam as the scone was fine on its own. A room for improvement would be in the number of raisins, there were just too few raisins!

We tried the 65% Dark Cocoa Chips Muffin as well. The muffin was served warm and boy did that delight us. The extra step of microwaving the muffin resulted in the cocoa chips being semi-melted. The muffin was moist, dense and the semi-molten chocolate chips increased the chocolate intensity and flavour of the muffin. The commendable thing was that the chocolate chips were evenly and generously spread out in the muffin. Being 65% dark cocoa, the muffin wasn’t too sweet and we did not get sick from eating it.

Overall, we had an enjoyable afternoon high tea at The Tea Party. But 1 big bane was the dismay setting, decoration and ambience.

The tea/drinks menu was badly crumpled; it had many torn edges. The colours of the set lunch menu had faded badly, it was contained in a crumpled plastic cover. The place was barely decorated, the sofa seemed pretty dirty. Even the banner which was hung outside the shop was in a bad shape, with faded colours and unattractive photos. The lady serving us was pretty friendly but the service wasn’t very attentive. There were clearly 2 of us, but we were only served with 1 set of cutlery and serviettes.

If The Tea Party could undergo a revamp and improve on the interior and exterior of the cafe, we’re sure the entire dining experience there will be brought to an even more enjoyable level.

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As its name suggests, this place is mostly about the tea. It has an excellent selection of teas; European, Asian and South American. They do have a tendency to run out of certain popular blends, so try to keep a few in mind before you order.

The other thing they are well known for is their scones. They make the scones in their cafe every day so the scones are fresh. They sell 3-4 flavours of scones, but the one that really stands out is their cranberry scone. It is light and fluffy, unlike other scones that are usually dense and overly filling, while still being very flavourful. When paired with a hint of home-made flavoured cream cheese (it's made as a daily thing but it is usually strawberry cream cheese), it is absolutely perfect. You can choose to have jam instead, but the cream cheese is far better.

They do have a selection of other food and dessert. Their set lunches and set meals in general are great value, but while their food is tasty, it is not exactly their main attraction. Their snacks are fantastic. I would recommend their wedges, chicken wings and crispy chicken bits. Their dessert is pretty good as well. If you aren't in the mood for scones, it is worth trying their apple crumble with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. It is quite a heavy dessert, we usually share it among 3-4 people.

It is decorated mainly with couches and low tables, making it a great place to come at tea time to read and relax as well as after dinner for some dessert or just to chillout. They also have wifi available for their customers. However be warned that it does tend to get quite noisy in the evenings, especially since they have a boardgames available to play.

The staff are attentive and friendly, however it can be difficult to get their attention when they get busier, especially if you are seated upstairs.

This review is going to be a long one with mixed reactions.

In all fairness, The Tea Party is a place that serves up a good mix of food with its Fish and Chips, its unique Roast Duck Pizza, accompanied by its wide array of tea selection. Do ask for a recommendation for their tea, as they do have some very original recipes, from the fruity, to the aromatic. And, if you're a game lover, The Tea Party has a substantial variety of board games that keeps you entertained when you are sipping your nice warm cup of tea. The advantage it has over various other tea places? You get a nice cosy environment, a quiet little corner to chat with your friends or to get to know your date much better.

Now, beyond all that's been mentioned above, here's my little grouse with the place. At my first trip there, I had a good impression of the staff, and this could probably be because of the acquaintances that a person in my party had with the owner.

Moving on, I planned a second trip down, making a reservation for a party of 6 at 7:30pm. Note that this was done at 12:30pm. By 6pm, I received a call from the staff, informing me that they have to cancel my reservation as they have to host a private function. In response, they wished to offer me a $5 voucher if I were to head on down later, to be used at my next visit.

At this point in time, I was seriously at a loss. I have never experienced a reservation being canceled on me, and at 1 1/2 hours before my party of 6 was supposed to reach the place. If this piece of news was made known to me with more time, i.e. maybe before 3pm, I would have let the incident go and just told them it's fine, I'll make alternative arrangements.

Imagine, an hour and a half before the appointment, I had to make frantic calls to people, telling them to make their way to an alternative location. Not to mention I had to suggest an alternative location. It's understandable that the owner has the right to cancel any reservations as and when, but this is really unacceptable on a service level. And offering a $5 voucher, to be collectable only if I make my way down to their premises? An better alternative would have been to offer a discount %, or even mail the voucher to a specified address.

Though I do commend the whole feel and delivery of The Tea Party's food and drinks, I was quite dismayed at their service, giving them a 4 for that. Personally, I would give The Tea Party a miss based on this incident, but the choice is yours, in the event that you would like to bring your friends or guests over.

This place is facing the main road and hence easy to locate. When I first entered into the shop, it gave me a nice cosy feel. The first floor is rather small and hence we chose to sit upstairs. I still had the nice cosy feel on the second floor. However, I felt more as though I was in one of the student lounge in NUS. Maybe it’s the carpet floor? Imitation of designer chairs? I don’t know.

We ordered a French breakfast tea ($6.90) and a chocolate chip scone ($2.50). The staff heated the scone thus making it soft. It has a buttery taste and is nice on its own. I applied some strawberry jam and it taste even better for me. The scones are limited in quantity. Do come early before they run out.

Cant comment too much on the tea as I do not really know how to appreciate them.

Nice feel on the whole and staffs are very friendly.

Been to Tea Party twice.... It was intro by my friend's sister. Since we had no where to go on a Saturday night, we drove there and settled down, we got a long table with comfy sofas. The ambience was so cosy and it feels so homely. The staff there are really friendly. We ordered Ice strawberry white tea, Ice Mango Tea, and some other tea which I forget the names, and also calamari, wedges and samosa. We also played the games available there, and stayed all the way till it closes.

2nd time was this NYE, me and my bunch of girl friends decided to spend our NYE away from the crowds, we called up, reserved the seats and headed down at 8.30pm. The staffs, friendly as usual, greeted us and show us our seats, this time we were sitting at the 1st floor. Still comfy, but the only thing that we think its not that ok is that the kitchen was at the first level, and its filled with the fried food smell. Ya, we smelled like fried food when we left. We ordered some teas, and this time I decided to try the Scones. The scones were delicious. The buttery taste is just nice. We sat there all the way till 2am....

I'll definately go back there again!

A place for friends to hang out, play old/new school board games and catch up. And that's what happened when the 7 of us dropped in on a saturday night.

The pastas were well done, quite al dente and worth the costs. The chef also kind enough to accede to my friend's request that her pasta had no chilli. The duck pizza was good, something unique but a little too small in portion. The duck slices too were at a premium, maybe some expensive duck from Johnson's??? *shrugs*

I have to give glowing reviews for the teas though. A rather substantial list and of great variety. Also, they don't skimp on the tea leaves, which by itself is a good thing or the tea will just turn out horrible. The scones deserve honourable mention for being light and not too overly sweet.

We managed to get a long table with sofa seats. A really comfy setting, with dim(almost romantic) lights and dark interior giving it a somewhat plush setting. Service too was good, with the waitress being patient and accomadating. The owners were friendly and took time to explain their teas to us.

Now if only i had taken the girl's name...

One of the nicer places I've been to in a long long time. Think of the Tea Party as a more up-market Settler's cafe. Their tea menu is so extensive that you need quite a bit of time to decide. The scones are simply yummylicious and they also serve other fingerfoods as well as pasta. They provide board games if you and your friends decide to have some boardroom (bad pun) action. The owners are friendly too. Great place to hang and chill out. I'd partay at this tea party anytime.

You're looking for a quiet comfortable place to catch up with an old friend over tea. You don't quite want to pay for a bling high-tea at some posh hotel or Marmalade Pantry, neither do you want the frantic weekend bustle of Starbucks or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

In such situations I usually go nestle in the womb of The Tea Party, tucked into the corner of Bukit Timah Road and Sixth Ave.

Owner Don Choo can talk you through his intricate collection of teas, from black to green to white, from fruity to flowerty to smoky. They've more recently added coffees and milkshakes to the menu as well, to reach out to the non-tea purists.

Get a pot or 2 of different varieties, order a scone with cream cheese or butter and jam, then natter away on one of their very comfortable suede couches.

If you're feeling more peckish, the duck pizza is to die for - just wash the greasy guilt away with more tea!

I've usually gone on Saturdays and it's always lovely and quiet - I reckon their bread and butter crowd is the priveleged kiddies from the posh schools all along Bukit Timah Road on weekdays.