Afternoon Tea at Teddy & Me Cafe @ Marina Square

6 Raffles Boulevard #02-207A Marina Square, Singapore 039594

Tel:  None supplied

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeddyandMeCafeSingapore

I couldn't help feeling curious as I passed by this cafe, and then it dawned on me that this was a Mr. Bean (aka Rowan Atkinson) themed cafe.

This cafe has 2 branches in Singapore - Plaza Singapura and Marina Square; I visited the latter. Located right smack in front of the Customer Service Counter and looking like it sits on a linkbridge from far, this cafe seemed interesting enough and there was no crowd on this weekday afternoon, therefore I popped in.

The black-and-white floors, distinctive red telephone booth, the signature Union Jack, famous Teddy and Mr. Bean's photos filled this cafe up and brought back fond memories when we were still watching Mr. Bean's comedy series. He was so funny, and oh, the cafe actually airs his shows on a TV screen located behind the counter.

I enjoyed his shows enough, for the good laughs, but it was the desserts that drew me in, seriously.  There were a lot of colourful cakes and ice-cream beckoning to passer-bys, so I decided to try one of them.

The friendly guy who called out to passerbys whenever we passed by told me that I could take a seat and place my orders "inside", if I was dining in. I touched the I-pad menu but it wasn't working, yet there was no service crew coming over to attend to us. So I had to go back to the front counter to place my order.

The Tea Latte (SGD$6.20) came first. It was all teabag and milky foam; the taste of the "tea" was nowhere to be detected. The entire drink tasted like milk foam from start to finish; it got a little sick after a while, reminding me of drinking milk powder in my younger days. The only redeeming factor was the cute mug it was served in.

I also asked for a slice of Beantastic Mille Crepe Cake (SGD$8.80), simply because of the dazzling chocolate-rice coating and rainbow-coloured layers, looking so inviting.  The texture of the mille-crepe was good - soft, melty, giving Lady M a run for her money.   The aesthetics was so appealing, and flavours was good too, hints of sweetness and minty (I believe that came from the green layers), very refreshing.

However, amidst the luscious taste, there was a rather heavy sour taste. At first I thought it was the orange and yellow layers - citrusy, tarty, perhaps? Or could it be they were using yogurt cream? But as I took more bites, I realised it was not right - it was very likely that the light cream has turned sour - a very slight rancid hint.

I left half the cake aside, and went to the counter to make payment, since the Tea Latte was also too milky for my liking. I asked the male staff what kind of cream they used - sour cream or yogurt cream? He looked confused, so I explained to him that my cake tasted kind of sour. He then said, "Oh yes, cream."   So I asked if it was normal for the cream to turn sour. He said, "Oh, turn sour so fast already?" in a tone that seemed to suggest that this was a rather common occurence. I pressed on, then he protested and muttered some crap about how it could not be sour because they get many cake orders!

Fanastic - I am sure the "cake orders" meant whole cakes that are baked fresh and delivered or collected within a day or two, right?   Well, if food and service are like this, I am sure that this would be my first and last visit.   I wonder if Mr. Bean would find the staff's reply funny? Probably not.