MAKE TIME FOR BREAK TIME
Because these mid-day deals are too good to miss!The busier we are, the more important it is to take a break! We’ve put together an essential guide to our favourite break-time deals, all available for takeaway, across Far East Malls.
Afternoon tea? High tea? What’s the difference?
Both afternoon tea and high tea are quintessential British traditions and are named after the country’s love for tea. Beverage choices aside (because we most definitely can have coffee during our mid-day soirees), the two terms are often used interchangeably but are actually quite different in origin.
Afternoon tea is traditionally served between lunch and dinner, with beverages, sandwiches, scones and cake. As you can imagine, this was a treat for the wealthy who had time to spare during the day. The average working-class person, however, would have high tea instead — a heartier meal with more substantial fare in the late evening after the workday was over. High tea isn’t more “high class”; it got its name from the high barstools that workers sat on as they ate their meal!
Since we generally don’t make the distinction between afternoon tea and high tea in Singapore, it’s safe to say both will come with “low”, comfortable chairs.
Ready to dig in? Here are our picks of the best break-time deals across Far East Malls!
ASIAN FLAVOURS
For a local take on your afternoon tea break, make a beeline for Mr Youtiao. The dough stick specialist’s Traditional Set (Youtiao, Eggs and Coffee, $4.90) and Soy Youtiao Set (Youtiao, Soy Beancurd and Soymilk, $5.20) are both crowd-pleasers. If you have a more adventurous palate, the Jelly Lime Youtiao Set (Youtiao, Jelly Lime and Curry Gravy, $4.50) is a must-try! Visit Mr Youtiao at Square 2 #02-09.
Grab-and-go at Barcook Bakery
A mid-day break can be simple yet comforting with a warm, freshly baked bun in one hand and a hot drink in the other. Barcook Bakery hits the spot with its highly recommended Mash Potato Nachos Bun ($1.90), Raisin Cream Bun ($1.80) and Shio Pan ($1.80). With its limited-time deal, which runs from now till 30 June, 10am to 4pm daily, you can get a hot beverage for just $1 with any bun purchase. Visit Barcook Bakery at Clarke Quay Central #01-67 and Square 2 #01-17.
Remember the good ol’ days with Toast Box
If you fancy your tea break served with a side of nostalgia, head to Toast Box. The tea time set is available daily from 2pm to 5pm. For just $5.50 (U.P. $6.80), you’ll get a slice of old-school cake (choose from classics like Banana, Cherry Butter, Honey or Pandan Chiffon or try new flavours like Pandan Kaya Roll and Kopi Gao Gao Roll), a Tau Sar Piah (your choice of sweet or salty), and a medium kopi or teh. Visit Toast Box at Greenwich V #01-06 and West Coast Plaza #B1-01.
Feast on familiar favourites at Coffee Hive
Another popular haunt for a mid-day break is Coffee Hive. A piping hot cup of kopi or teh pairs perfectly well with their Kaya Butter Toast of course, but if you’re looking for something more substantial, Coffee Hive has a mouth-watering selection of local and Western meals that you can pack home too. Visit Coffee Hive Signatures at Square 2 #B1-86.
Classic Hong Kong fare at Tai Cheong Bakery
Looking for the quintessential Hong Kong-style afternoon break? The Singapore outpost of Hong Kong’s famed Tai Cheong Bakery has you covered. You can’t go wrong with its signature sweet-savoury egg tarts, classic Char Siu Bolo Bun and creamy Chicken Pie. Visit Tai Cheong Bakery at Square 2 #01-15 and Woods Square #B2-14.
Taste satisfaction in a cup with Chun Yang
Word on the street is that Chun Yang is bubble tea for tea lovers. It gets its name from a small village in Taiwan where its tea plantation is located, so it only uses fresh tea leaves to create deeply aromatic cups of tea. If you’re trying it for the first time, you might want to give Chun Yang’s five best sellers a go: Oolong Tea Latte with Pudding, Honey Lemon Oolong Tea, Honey Osmanthus Oolong Tea, Oolong Milk Tea with Grass Jelly and Brown Sugar Pearl with Fresh Milk. Visit Chun Yang at Orchard Central #02-25.
WESTERN TREATS
Embrace the Parisian way at Le Faubourg
Visit Paris on your next mid-day break! Le Faubourg is an ode to the Parisian way of life and their thin and delicate pancakes — usually called crepes when made with wheat and served as a sweet dish, and galettes when made with buckwheat and eaten savoury — are an excellent accompaniment to most beverages, whether coffee, tea or French cider. Visit Le Faubourg at Mess Hall at Sentosa #01-02.
Bite into delight at Lady M® New York
Level up the taste and texture of your mid-day break! Lady M’s well-loved Mille Crêpes are carefully assembled with no less than 20 paper-thin handmade crêpes layered with light pastry cream and gently caramelised until golden. It also serves a variety of cakes, including a seasonal Green Tea Checkers (dark chocolate and green tea sponge), and has just introduced its first-gluten free creation: a vegan dark chocolate ganache tart. Visit Lady M® New York at Orchard Central #02-07.
If pancakes are happy food, then Belle-Ville serves up happiness in tall, wobbly and oh-so-delicious stacks! The Japanese café’s signature souffle pancakes are available in stacks of two, four or eight and can be dressed with fresh fruits, buttercream, azuki red beans, ice-cream and more. There’s also a good selection of coffee and tea, with the latter hailing from the sub-tropical island paradise of Okinawa. Enjoy 10% off for all takeaway orders! Visit Belle-Ville at Square 2 #01-154.
Be spoilt for choice at Awfully Chocolate
Awfully Chocolate has a loyal following of chocolate lovers who swear by the homegrown brand’s proprietary recipes. While the fudgy goodness of its Original All Chocolate Cake makes it our top mid-day pick, other renditions like the Super Stacked Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mille Crepe and Crème Brulee Cake have also earned a sizeable fan base. For a quick pick-me-up, the Chocolate Tiramisu for Two is a must-try! Visit Awfully Chocolate at Square 2 #01-14 and Greenwich V #02-02.
Next-level indulgence at Henri Charpentier
When a brand prides itself on “delivering happiness, pleasure and wonder” through its bakes, you know your mid-day break is in good hands. Henri Charpentier is Japanese in origin and French at heart, with a full patisserie line-up of cakes, tarts, financiers (French almond cakes), madeleines (butter sponge cakes) and biscuits. Visit Henri Charpentier at Orchard Central #01-18.
On a parting note, coffee or tea?
Think of tea and China, India and the United Kingdom are likely to come to mind. Tea is believed to have its roots in ancient China, dating over 5,000 years back. The world only began developing a taste for tea in the 1600s when Dutch traders visiting China started bringing it back to Europe.
This begs the question: if all the world’s tea came from the same place, why is it known by two names—variants of tea (like ‘te’ in Italian and ‘thee’ in Dutch) or variants of cha (like ‘chay’ in Russian and ‘ocha’ in Japanese)?
The answer, it seems, lies in logistics.
Countries that traded over land with China, using the Silk Road to transport tea leaves, adopted the Mandarin Chinese term ‘cha’ (茶). But those who traded over sea, like much of Europe, did so from the coastal ports of Fujian in Southern China. There, tea in the local dialect was called ‘té’, leading these places to name the drink accordingly.
Meanwhile, think of coffee and many people will bring up the United States, Australia and Italy. But, according to one study, Finland is the world’s top coffee-consuming country. The national average of 12kg of coffee per person there works out to a mind-blowing 1,700 cups a year or 4.6 cups a day!
If you’re wondering how much caffeine that adds up to, it depends on how you like your coffee. Even though espresso is stronger, it’s usually taken in small quantities or with a good amount of milk (such as café latte and cappuccino) or water (in the form of long black and Americano).
So, in general, a 230ml cup of brewed coffee contains about 30% more caffeine than a 30ml shot espresso. Interestingly though, while decaf espresso doesn’t contain any caffeine at all, the decaf versions of brewed coffee and instant coffee tend to carry tiny traces of it — not a lot but not completely caffeine-free either!
Do remember that the actual caffeine content can vary significantly depending on how the drink is prepared, so whichever your pick is, just remember to have in moderation.
Earn up to $10 cashback* in SFE$ and 2X SFE$ for your food delivery and takeaway orders from now till 30 June. Only store receipts from Far East Malls are eligible for cashback. Receipts must be uploaded via shopFarEast app for approval.Not a shopFarEast member yet? Sign up now using <SFE2021> and get a $5 Far East Malls e-Voucher on us. Grow these SFE$ as you shop and dine at Far East Malls, and redeem them for rewards like e-Vouchers, dining treats, staycations, and more.
Download the shopFarEast app from Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
*Please note that deals and/or rewards listed in the article are time sensitive. The management reserves the right to change the terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.
