Saturday, June 27, 2009

L'Espresso

This is one place one will not want to miss out for English High Tea and has achieved almost 100% positive reviews via internet and word-of-mouth. Since Goodwood Park Hotel is housed in a uniquely designed building with decorative plasterwork and graceful archways, it is no surprise the ambience offered by L'Espresso was pleasant.

Located alongside the hotel lobby, this café offers comfy leather seats and floor-to-ceiling glass windows, providing plenty of natural lighting and a nice view of the main pool.

The buffet includes a beverage which can be tea, coffee and soft drinks. For an afternoon tea, the spread is worth mention with its main focus on sandwiches. The selection of sandwiches is extensive with fillings ranging from sausages, chicken, seafood, Parma ham, etc.; accompanied with fruits, vegetables, caviar, etc. to contrast the overall taste. Apart from the right proportion of filling, the slices of crustless, lightly buttered white bread is soft and fresh.

Sandwiches I

The open sandwiches looks lovely on its presentation and the few that leave a deep impression were, Tortilla Wrap with Pepper Chicken where chunks of well-seasoned chicken were neatly wrapped in the tortilla; Chicken with Apple & Apricot in Crispy Shell, a lovely twist from the conventional kueh pie tie where the fruits provides a refreshing and light punch; Salmon Mille Feuille with Caviar for its layering effect and freshness.

Sandwiches II

The croissant sandwiches were not soggy despite the generous filling and the soft, buttery pastry makes it delectable with a melt-in-your-mouth effect.

Finger food

Apart from the sandwiches, there is a small section of finger food. Something to munch on if you want savoury when taking a break from the desserts.

Scones

Many has raved about L'Espresso's scones and according to Yuan, it was one of the best which he has eaten so far. Slightly glazed on the top and has a cake-like texture.

Bread Pudding was more memorable for me for its fluffy buttery content. Sufficiently moist and not overly sweet.

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée is a must try at L’Espresso and setting aside the conventional rich custard base with its layer of hard caramel. What makes it outstanding from the other crème brûlée we have tried was its strong and fragrant vanilla scent whiffing in every bite.

Diverse assortment of cakes

The dessert spread boasts a diverse assortment of fabulous cakes, fresh tropical fruits, tarts and chocolate fondue. This is one buffet dessert lovers would not want to miss out since L'Espresso includes Deli's popular cakes and pastries such as Goodwood's signature Royal Chocolate Crunchy Hazelnut, White Chocolate and Green Tea Cake, Apple Tart, Chocolate Éclair, Strawberry Tart and Cheesecake.

Petite desserts

People who don't mind a sour twist to their palette would not want to miss out the cassis slice for a nice combination of raspberry gelee and alternating layers of almond sponge cakes; lemon meringue tart for its generous lemon filling, topped with a hardened piece of meringue. Since the proportion of lemon filling tipped over the small blob of meringue, one can expect a sour twist on the tartlet pastry with a tiny hint of sweetness. Mango Pomelo Soup (杨枝甘露) was disappointing in our opinion as it resembles a mango puree rather than the version found in Chinese dessert huts. Probably lacks the coconut milk and evaporated milk.

Chocolate Fondue

Fruit Platter

Reservation is a must given its full house crowd on a Monday afternoon and service is commendable, given the frequency the tables were cleared and the water was refilled. With the pianist playing in the background, its classy ambience and the spread of tea, finger foods and desserts, it is no surprise that L'Espresso offers one of the best tea-buffet on the breezy poolside terrace. However, this buffet focus on English high tea so don’t expect a variety like what an international buffet gets to offer.

For Afternoon Tea,
Monday to Thursday - 2pm to 5pm
$33++ (A), $16.50++ (C, 6-11 years old)

There will be 2 seatings for Friday to Sunday,
11:30am to 2pm (1st seating)
2:30pm to 5pm (2nd seating)
There is a promotion for the first seating till the end June where each adult pays $28++; second seating remains at $33++ (A), $16.50++ (C, 6-11 years old).

L’Espresso
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road
Singapore 228221

Operating hours :
Set Lunch - 12pm to 2pm
Afternoon Tea - 2pm to 5pm
Set Dinner - 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Drinks - 10am to 1am

Tel: 6730 1743

17 comments:

claudine said...

i was there on Tues!!!!! I love the spread and surprisingly i didnt manage to try everything.. :p

taster said...

The spread is lovely but if you want a 6 star hi tea experience, go to Brasserie Les Saveurs at St Regis Hotel. They have cucumber sandwiches that are the basis of every true English hi tea, in addition to French desserts. $42++ from mon-wed gets you a glass of Moet and Chandon Rose.

http://www.stregisdiningsingapore.com/index.php/get/page/WKPCEF0D/DEG65ENG/C07IZUUU

Fen said...

Claudine: What a concidence, we visited L'Espresso in the same week... I didn't try all the sandwiches so I have sufficient room for the desserts...

What was your favourite?

Taster: I have been to Brasserie Les Saveurs once and I thought the place was pretty intimidating. St Regis seems to be housing the expats and tai tai...

Hmm... $42++ for French desserts and a glass of Chandon Rose sounds like a good deal... Will keep that on my list... Thank you for the recommendation :)

ladyironchef said...

i'm so going to go there soon once i saved up enough. haha

Sihan said...

absolutely tempting! my gosh. once i saw your post, i thought 'I MUST GO THERE!' no kidding. the spread looks pre-tt-ii amazing!

Anonymous said...

This is a tough post to read before breakfast. Now I'm ravenous! A bowl of oatmeal pales compared to what you have shown us here. :)

Anyway, I found you on TasteSpotting and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.

Best,
Casey
Editor
www.tastestopping.wordpress.com

Fen said...

LIC & Sihan : Yea, highly recommended... Don't miss this one out...

Casey : Thank you for your compliment. My photos are not watermarked so feel free to use them =)

claudine said...

Hi Fen,

Yes, a coincidence indeed!!

Actually my favourite was that petite pastry thingy with the prawn and wasabi roe. The pastry was so surprisingly crispy and very fragrant. the prawn was fresh and the very subtle tinge of wasabi from the roe goes very well together!

And i also liked my 'Prince of Kandy' tea :D!

Fen said...

Arh, that was one thing I didn't try, I am allergic to prawns :(

My favourite would be the cod fish "fritter"... and Goodwood's signature cakes :D

Anonymous said...

100% positive comments? Ummmm.... you sure? It's bad quality food. Items were trying to be upscale but all of bad quality. Not fresh. Won't waste my time. Certainly 3 stars and nothing more.

SLYuan said...

Well, as we put it in the disclaimer, food is subjective to individual's taste, I believe no one can claim to be a true connoisseur. Certainly it appeals to some but not all. You may complain about the taste, but I totally disagree when you talk about freshness cause I personally saw their staff replacing their sandwiches every half hour

Fen said...

Dear Mr. Anonymous,

Do you mean that 100% of the food there leave a lot to be desired?

You can comment what you are not happy but you cannot condemned a place if you have tried only less than a handful of the items on the menu.

For clarification, I used ALMOST 100% so kindly don't quote me out of context...

claudine said...

haha i didnt manage to try the cakes!! too full by then. the cod fritter's good :) i like that too! :D

Anonymous said...

It is perfectly fine for those who love this place to continue patronising it. It can only be good for me if I'm selfish. By the way taking food out every half hour does not guarantee freshness. There are other reasons why restauranteurs do that - space constraints or display choice, for example. It does not guarantee that the food was not pre-made many hours ago. Caveat lector.

SLYuan said...

Hi Anonymous. Maybe let me first clarify myself. I am not advocating L'Espresso as a perfect buffet or praising it. However I do feel that one should be responsible for your statement. To me when you say a food is not fresh, you deserve to be more clear and produce some evidence. Its like acquitting someone for murder without evidence. What I cannot stand is people not identifying themselves and making irresponsible statement. Food freshnesss has serious implications for any eatries as it is related to health issues. I arge all commenters to be more responsible when making comments.

guan said...

If this is not worth then please do recommend a better buffer place instead of just complainting that its just a "so so" place.

Fen said...

Here is the new pricing for L'Espresso's English Afternoon Tea Buffet
$36++ per adult (Monday to Thursday, from 2pm to 5:30pm)

$38++ per adult* (Fri, Sat, Sun and PH)
Note that there is two seatings.
1st seating - Noon to 2:30pm
2nd seating - 3pm to 5:30pm

Half price for child between 6 to 11 years old.

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