The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore) - Unlimited Desserts

Journey through Singapore's culinary heritage through a five-tier afternoon tea set at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore's Colony. Since its opening over a year ago, Colony has been on my list of favourite places to go to for lunch and dinner buffets - the quality superior, food is consistent and more importantly, the dining venue is extremely beautiful. Colony launches The Journey - a brand new afternoon tea experience that is available from Mondays to Saturdays from 3:30PM to 5:30PM. 

Möet & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

The Journey is priced at S$49++ per adult and it comes with one flute of Möet & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne - this is non-refillable but seriously at that price point, it is not bad at all! You may choose to have your Champagne during your meal or towards the end of it but I chose to have mine at the start because there is no better way to start an afternoon tea experience than sipping a glass of bubbly.

Five-tier 'Tingkat' - Ceramic Tiffin
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

As part of The Journey, you will also receive a five-tier 'Tingkat' which is essentially a ceramic tiffin - the tiffin contains a number of items (one for each diner) and it is also non-refillable. While I am generally not a fan of sweets, the savouries here were quite delicious. In fact, the ingredients used were also quite luxurious so it is definitely understandable that these are served once only. 

Before I start with the food, it is worth noting that The Journey afternoon tea experience at Colony comes with the following at S$49++:

• One Glass of Champagne
• Five-tier Tingkat (One Serving)
• Unlimited Servings of Scones and Desserts

Yam Puff with Baby Abalone
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

I decided to start with the savouries first and the first dish that I sampled was the Yam Puff with Baby Abalone. Despite being deep fried, the yam puff was not-oily and the consistency of the yam was pretty impressive. The baby abalone however felt like a different component to the dish - even though it made the dish look a lot prettier, it felt a little redundant. 

Beef Parmentier
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

If you have ever had a friend that made good Beef Parmentier (traditionally it is made from leftovers), Colony serves up a pretty delicious and rustic version. It is essentially a delicious mix of tender beef, potatoes, onions, cream and cheese on the top. 

Smoked Salmon with Roe Sandwich
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

The Smoked Salmon with Roe Sandwich was quite predictable and while I do enjoy eating smoked salmon and ikura (I have had too much smoked salmon at one stage of my life), I am not very sure how this dish fits in The Journey which is supposed to be inspired by Singapore's heritage cuisines. 

Pumpkin Cake with Chili Crab Sauce and Alaskan King Crab Legs
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

The next dish was an interesting play on Singapore's famous chilli crabs - the Pumpkin Cake with Chili Crab Sauce and Alaskan King Crab Legs. The sauce itself was quite tasty with the right level of sweetness and the Alaskan King Crab legs made perfect sense - it was a better ingredient but it still paid homage to the original dish. I can't quite decide whether I like the pumpkin cake or was it just because it's a simpler alternative (in terms of operation) to providing a deep-fried mantou. 

Mini Lobster Quiche
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

Finally the mini lobster quiche - these were dry and I wish they were done better because the ingredients seemed right and the flavours were OK but they were definitely way too dry. 

Unlimited Desserts
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

If you do like your desserts however, Colony is truly one of the best places for them - not only do they look beautiful, they taste pretty good as well. Since I checked this place out during December, some of the desserts were Christmas-inspired and therefore I am not sure what is on display as these treats usually go on a rotational basis. 

Sweets from The Patisserie
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

The scones were also quite decent (although no where near as impressive as the ones I had at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei) and they can be replenished as well. There is also a live dessert station which was serving up the good old Crêpe Suzette - none of that Taiwan Peanut Ice Cream Wrap that people got me excited over though (apparently it is not part of the afternoon tea buffet so make sure you check if that is a deciding factor). 

Custom Tea Blend at Colony
The Journey Afternoon Tea at Colony (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)

Finally to end off The Journey at Colony, I was offered coffee or tea but was recommended to dry the custom tea blend with a choice or French rose or lavender tea syrup. Honestly it was pretty ordinary and I wish I went with a double-espresso instead. This is definitely not one of my favourite afternoon tea experiences (I still love the lunch and dinner buffets though!) but with that being said, if you are around the City Hall area in the afternoon and you are looking for some place to rest your leg or catch up with a friend, this is still a pretty decent option as the price is relatively low for what you are essentially getting. 

For reservations, please call +65 6434 5288 or email rc.sinrz.restaurantreservations@ritzcarlton.com.

This was an invited Media Tasting session, though all views expressed are my own.