Blueberry and orange scones~ @ Le Salon de The de Joel Robuchon (IFC)

Salon de the in IFC are now pushing out new flavoured scones~~ Blueberry and orange to be exact! For such a small buttery item, it is chock full of orange peel and dried blueberries. So fragrant and sweet enough to smother clotted cream over it and just enjoy as is 🙂

Since I was there already, a little more indulgence did not hurt :p

Their baked goods always sell out so quickly, I was lucky enough to call the last quiche available mine~ Quiche Lorraine. Flaky, buttery pastry hugging a creamy, eggy filling scattered with chunks of French bacon. Surprisingly not too heavy. Yummy~

And a side of French fries~ Each golden fry was crunchy and stood soldier straight in its little cup. No soggy fries served here 😉

 

Teaing~ @ Le Salon de The Joel Robuchon IFC

Lucky people at IFC now have a new place for tea~ Le Salon de The Joel Robuchon have now opened a new establishment inside IFC shopping mall and it is fabulous~

Located where the previous Jean Paul Hevin used to be (a few steps away from the Four Seasons hotel), its trademark outfit of black and eye-popping red certainly garners more attention than its predecessor. Like the Salon de The in Landmark it offers patrons both take away and dine-in options, but really if you have time, I would suggest dining in as the sitting area is not only stylish, but comfortable too~ Bright red cushy chairs paired with black and white marble table tops while the silver hanging feature dangles overhead… I can not think of a better way to pass a relaxing afternoon 🙂

And that is what I did~ Starting with their almond croissant and their new creation pistachio and raspberry croissant 🙂 The almond one is filled with almond paste where a scattering of toasted almond flakes topped the slightly chewy sweet crust and finished with a light dusting of icing sugar, while the pistachio and raspberry flavour is more balanced as the raspberry jam filling and freeze-dried raspberries pieces add a welcome tartness to offset the sweetness of the pistachio crust. What makes a great croissant depends on how many layers they consist of hence how flaky they become, and these were very flaky~ One bite sent numerous shards of pastry fluttering everywhere, messy, but I would not have it any other way.

It did not end there… just as I finished, some friends arrived and I ended up joining them for more food~

More croissants~ Pain au chocolat and chocolate, banana croissant. After two croissants already, I let them have this all to themselves, but I did try a bite of the chocolate, banana one which is already a winning combination. Sweet, mushy goodness wrapped in the same flaky pastry… indulgence with fruit just makes it seem slightly more healthier :p

For savouries, onion soup with emmental cheese gratin. Nothing beats piping hot onion soup where it is full of semi-melted onion slices, soaked baguette slices and a gooey topping of thick melted cheese~

I did not have any of the teppanyaki French pork cutlets, but they looked juicy and the side of buttery mashed potatoes never fails to impress.

Jaffle or toastie lovers may like the version offered here, rather than a thick slice of bread a wafer thin coating is filled with assorted ingredients. The one we had was filled with roasted ham and melty cheese, just right if you are looking for a snack or light lunch.

No afternoon tea time is complete without a tea set no? In Landmark the tea set is served on wooden boards, but at IFC a modern black and red three tiered structure is used instead. Definitely a big improvement~

The petite sandwiches and pastries did not seem to vary much from the tea set that is currently served at Landmark, but I was informed there may be new variations coming later on. The scones however, were significantly bigger in size which improved the overall texture. Before, it felt like I was eating a 3D biscuit topped with cream and jam, but now there is an alternating texture of baked firm crust with more of a pillowy inside. Rather than the traditional offering of plain or raisin, Salon de The serve plain and alternate between lemon raisin or Earl Grey orange scones. The Earl Grey orange was in circulation that afternoon and it was a fragrant combination of citrus tones where all that was needed was a generous smear of clotted cream~ If you are more partial to the plain scone, pairing it with the accompanying pineapple jam made it quite interesting, almost as if you were eating a Taiwanese pineapple cake (fung li su).

For drinks, rather than just settle for tea or coffee that is part of the tea set, we ordered the iced peach and passionfruit tea one of their signature drinks. Served in a tall glass, it is a lovely rose colour with pieces of diced mango, topped with a generous scoop of their homemade strawberry sorbet. Very fruity, the sorbet is a stand-out, velvet smooth with no hint of iciness at all. I would so recommend this for a hot summers day~

Overindulgence? Yes I would agree, but so worth it! I think I have found a new favourite place to tea~ 🙂