Tea at Marmalade Pantry

There are a number of afternoon tea places at Ion Orchard, and Marmalade Pantry situated at 2 Orchard Turn #03-22, Singapore 238801 was our targeted afternoon tea place this time round. The number to dial is 6734 2700. 

The cafe / restaurant is easy to spot once you step onto level three from the shopping mall's escalator, because it is in the form of a large circular enclave right in the middle of the other stores / restaurants. Even in the afternoons, this place is packed with happy-looking diners chatting away or enjoying their meals. The ambience is a cosy and elegantly-simple. 

  

The moment you enter the cafe / restaurant, you will pass by the counter where rows of delectable-looking pastries greet you. Yes, they all look so good, it makes you wonder which to pick.

Got seated, and browsed the menu. The wait staff were rather efficient, constantly checking if we were ready to order.

For the first visit, it was really just tea break, so I happily ordered myself a slice of Dark Cherry Tart and an Iced Chocolate with Ice-Cream.

The tart, while topped with plenty of dark cherries, is rather barren of ingredients within. It has the texture of a pie - slightly chewy, not crunchily-fluffy like how tarts are supposed to be. The crust is of the right level of hardness - easy to break but retaining the slightly-harder outer layer of a good tart. Nonetheless, I loved the light, buttery fragrance of the tart paired with the sour-sweetness of the juicy cherries.

The Iced Chocolate is another story altogether - diluted, Milo-tasting drink which was only made nicer with the scoop of vanilla ice-cream adding flavor to it. Pardon me, or could it be that my tastebuds were blanded by the sweetness of the cake? I doubt so.

We spent under SGD$20.00 per person for this tea-break visit.

Overall, this is a rather conducive place for group hangouts or friends to do catching up, I feel. The food is decent enough, and the ambience makes it easy for anyone to kick back your heels and relax at.

I returned for a second visit sometime later, for lunch. Their Truffle Risotto is to die for - richly flavored and simply deliciously prepared. A pity I did not capture photos as well, as I went with clients. 

They also have another outlet at Fairways Drive. if you prefer a quieter setting away from the outskirts of town.