The Courtyard

This is a review of the afternoon high tea. We joined some friends for a nice afternoon tea service. [NB: I say «high tea» because that’s how they’d call it in the UK, rather than «afternoon tea» or just the simple «cream tea.”] For the price ($ 43 for the non-​alcoholic set as of Jan 2013), you get a full selection of finger sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and petite desserts, with unlimited refills on the food items. You can get two pots of tea (and change teas, if you like) or two cups of coffee (including latte or cappuccino). That isn’t too bad for the price. The tea selections are from TWG, a Singapore brand and chain; they are alright but no one in our party was blown away by them either. I had coffee, and thought it was quite good. For sandwiches, I’m not a fan of otah (fish cake) so that wasn’t my favorite. Better sandwiches were the open-​faced cheese toast (brie & bleu), the smoked salmon roulette (with capers and toasted sesame seed), and the traditional cucumber & tomato. The scones were rather good, I felt, both the plain and the raisin/​sultana type. For the petite desserts, all were mostly good, especially the macaron (although the supply was fewer of these than others) and the mocha cake (if you like coffee flavors).
Part of the fun of this tea is the setting. It’s in the courtyard space of the hotel, which itself is an older government building. You get that environment, plus you can sit on the couches and chairs and relax and chat. Make sure to ask for an extra cushion to support your back – one downside of having tea on comfy couches! I’d consider returning here some time, but we’re still getting to know other high tea offerings in the area, so no promises!

Oh you darling darling chocolate buffet. Diabetics beware, you’ll need your insulin before you come here.
In comparison to the chocolate buffet at Marina Bay Sands, this place definitely has more variety of chocolates and chocolate desserts. They have from white chocolate to the darkest of dark chocolate which suited our party that had varying palettes. They have chocolates with actual alcohol inside (which I did not like), chocolate fountains, hot chocolate, cakes, macarons, you name it they had it.
There aren’t sit down tables for you to eat, just couches with coffee tables, making it difficult to have conversation with someone across the table.
In order to make this place worth the $ 38++ worth it you must love chocolate and sit here for at least two hours, slowly delving in to each chocolate. But is really rich and honestly had a chocolate headache afterwards. If you go here purely for the experience and bragging rights then of course the $ 38++ is worth it.

Every Friday and Saturday from 8 pm to 11 pm, The Courtyard at Fullerton Hotel has its famous chocolate buffet. While I possess a rather sweet tooth and a love for chocolates, I had not dared to try the indulgent buffet till my friend declared that we shall go there for her birthday. When we arrived, we eagerly headed for the pastries, filling our plates up with 5 to 6 mini desserts. The desserts looked quaint and lovely and some came in tiny pots or cups that were all the more adorable. A few of us who were more courageous also ordered hot chocolate from the counter from its wide selection of chocolate feves from the Valrhona range, I’m guessing. There was the famous 70% Guanaja, the 85% Abinao as well as the milkier 40% Jivara and Ivoire for those who preferred something less intense. It was very exciting for us, a whole table of chocolate-​loving girls.
Unfortunately, the desserts were too sweet and heavy to eat much of. While the salted caramel tart and the banana chocolate tart were rather unique, the sweetness was sickening after awhile. Even the non-​chocolate desserts were creamy, such as raspberry cheesecake. The only ‘lighter’ option to offset the intense flavours was the sorbet of the day, which was a mango flavour that tasted slightly strange. The hot chocolate was in the form of shots — an espresso cup of melted chocolate with so little milk that the contents became lumpy soon enough. None of us finished our hot chocolate shots and merely took one or two sips. Even though the fondue was good, I did not think the desserts were exceptional perhaps because I had become rather sick of the sweetness then, and it was definitely not worth the $ 38++ per pax.
We also had a Moscato to round off our dessert meal. It was $ 18 per glass and did not offer a per bottle option. It was quite a fruity and lightly sparkling dessert wine, although a little sweeter than I would have preferred.
At the end of the meal, I was badly craving savoury food after all the ‘chocolatey goodness’. It was a once-​in-​a-​lifetime experience, i.e. I doubt I’m going to go back again.