le massive sigh. chihuly was supposed to be the stuff of high tea dreams, what with the amazing superbrunch done here every year, and come on – it’s the ritz right? the damn ritz. the very name evokes connotations of luxury and all sorts of poshness, beautiful furnishings, great food and even better service.

and well, they got all but those last two right.

huge sigh here, because (1) I had high hopes, (2) I was here to tea with a blogger from the US (hi lu!), who had equally high expectations, (3) it ain’t no cheap tea, and (4) all those calories we had ingested, and none to any great satisfaction.

when you walk in, the space is beautiful. lots of natural light in a big sitting area – the central bar counter stacked with gorgeous bottles of rich-looking, the display at the entrance propped high with desserts of every color and type, and a grand piano with live music floating through the air.

it’s not a big spread by any account, with the savories a mix of sandwiches and burgers and the nominal bit of ceviche. but it’s far too much carbohydrate, with almost all of it some kind of permutation of stuff on bread, stuff between bread, or stacked stuff-with-bread. I understand the idea: eat enough of these and you’d have satisfied your hunger at least – but more protein would have been appreciated, or at least something that wasn’t just some form of bread.

the desserts were far more successful, at least in variety and sheer aesthetic variety.

ain’t those gorgeous? jellies, and macaroons, and trifles, and eclairs – this was variety at it’s very best. nearly every color I could imagine was on display in some mousse or something-or-another, and I give points for effort.

but it was rather like choosing a date from one of those dumb sororities you see in cheerleader movies (not that I watch those, of course) – all bimbos with no substance. they were mostly either one-note sweet or plain too-sweet.

take that mousse just above for example – the sweet financiers were glazed with even more syrup, placed over a mousse and compote combination that was both sweet and tart (you know how it gets when something is too sour and too sweet all at the same time? this was it).

sigh.

not to mention service, we were in a corner (surrounded by open space, so there’s no column for them to hide behind) where we got barely any service. even when we did get service, it was ages before our requests got fulfilled.

I still have hopes for superbrunch, but mostly because it looks far too epic a spread to not be good. I think with that one, you at least have the option of a bigger range of things to choose from, lots of them unadorned (like sashimi and freshly sliced jamon, unlike the sandwiches we got here).

big sigh, ritz carlton. I think you disappointed my guest more than you did me – especially since I still have hopes of a superbrunch sometime – and I certainly hope you were having an off-day.

Chihuly Lounge
The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore (same floor as the main entrance, to the right) 7 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039799
tel +65 6434 5288

p.s. now instagrammin’ at _andmorefood!