why, i'm at raffles, darlin'

high tea at raffles is a thing of beauty, indeed.  i don't know why, what it is about high tea, but i adore it.  i

love getting dressed up in the afternoon and sitting around a posh table with my girlfriends, eating next to nothing, and sipping tea.    and it always seems that the old colonies seem do 'english' better than the english.  i've been to high tea in london. and its good.  but it's almost common, an everyday thing, housed in busy shopping malls or in hotel lobbies beside rushed business commuters coming and going. but in india,and more so in asia its majestic.  almost as if its been stuck in a time warp, jetting high tea goers back to the 1930's to how high tea was when it was trying so hard to be so perfectly british for those expats away from britain.  LOVE IT!

so i was uber excited to meet laura and lizzie at raffles.  i made the reservation a week in advance. crazy, i know. but it's that busy.  raffles is gorgeous. full stop.  what a magnificent hotel.  just chock full of old world elegance. its the type of place where you can just breathe in the past, the elegance, the money dripping off the walls.  the tiffin room is no exception with its high high ceilings, marble columns, polished silverware, crisp white linens and exceptional service. ok. one exception.  the chairs were odd.  straight backed, so straight backed they kinda leaned forward making one almost slouch to be comfortable.  you couldn't sit up straight and be comfortable.  and you certainly couldn't lean back, cross your legs and relax.  odd the slightest angle makes the chair all wrong. we all ended up resting on our elbows on the table (oh my word, the manners!) 

two small 3 tiered dessert rings elegantly (and by that i mean frugally) displaying petite finger sandwiches, freshly baked pastries and scones served with clotted cream and homemade jams were placed on the table, and we were given a choice of tea or coffee.  sadly no elaborate choice of what tea we would like.  just english or chinese tea.  huh.

and... like most things in asia... the cakes and scones were beautiful.. and pretty much tasteless.  can you

believe we didn't finish the top tier with the desserts? they weren't good enough even to eat.  but never fear, we didn't starve, because, because, they also have a buffet.  now we are talking.  and what a buffet!  the same small desserts as are on the table, plus a whole row of chinese dumpling and dim sum, an area of baked desserts such as apple crumble and bread pudding with vanilla sauce, another area of indian curries and rice and a whole table of gorgeous fruit salads and fresh tropical (well local) fruits.  fantastic!  we all loaded our plates and gorged. elegantly of course.

our conversation was of course, elegant and refined to match our high tea settings.  we discussed how the use of squatter toilets is prolific in asia and why asians (mostly PRC's i am told) tend to think that they are more sanitary than a regular throne mechanism. so much so that there are posters in many local washrooms asking people not to stand on the throne seat and squat.  what? why would you even think to do that? how would you do that? how to balance and not break the seat?  and spillage? splashing?  W.T.F.!!?!?

there are two seatings at 3.30pm and 4.30pm. raffles quotes its high tea at $55 for adults. however, everyone in our party paid $65 each. huh. however, IMHO, damn worth it.  a lovely afternoon. even it was raining non stop outside, it was non stop luxurious gastric enjoyment inside. make sure you book early.  its usually full. and dress up. 'smart casual' is the recommended dress code. seriously, they remind you when you make a reservation.  no shoes, no shorts, no smart casual, no service.

and so i'm giving high tea at raffles 41/2 stars cause hello?  high. tea. at. raffles.

Raffles Hotel Singapore
1 Beach Road
Tel: +65 6337 1886