This post features a combination of TWO separate dining visits to the dining establishment at marina bay sands.
Note: As of January 2021, TWG has exited the Amex Love Dining programme and will no longer offer Love Dining benefits to customers.
The full name of this place? TWG Tea Salon and Boutique. Note: there are two TWGs in Marina Bay Sands – one on B1 level near the MRT, and another on B2 level in the middle of the Shoppes
TWG review: Love Dining
This post features a combination of TWO separate dining visits to the dining establishment.
On both occassions, I went with a dear friend to have an elegant lunch at the high-end cafe in Marina Bay Sands. Of course, as the own of the Amex Platinum Charge card, it came with with the American Express Love Dining programme, which gave us up to 50% off when we dined at participating restaurants.
Note for TWG: There is a slight catch to the Love Dining benefits.
Usually, to qualify for Love Dining discounts, each adult needs to order a qualifying main dish (for example, if there are 3 adults, a total of 3 mains should be ordered).
However, at TWG, the requirement is that each adult has to order one main AND one drink to qualify for Love Dining rebates.
Do take note of this when eating in to fully take advantage of Love Dining benefits.
Elegant Cafe / Restaurant Vibes
While the full name of this place is officially ‘TWG Tea Salon and Boutique’ – it’s informally referred to as ‘TWG” by patrons. A sort of hybrid between a restaurant and cafe, it was literally empty on a weekday afternoon. It’s hard to tell these days, whether it’s related to the aftermath of COVID-19, or whether it’s because it’s a weekday. I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter – after all, on weekends, this place can get very crowded with an occasional queue waiting outside the restaurant.
The interior definitly gives upscale atas (high end) vibes. Loads of tea caddies line the shelves, white tablecloths over comfortable wooden chairs. The kind of place you go when you feel like being a taitai for a day, or indulging in an elegant tea.
Even the dustbin bears the 1837 TWG Tea logo
TWG Menu
The menu at TWG had plenty of teatime fare – carefully-arranged sandwiches, healthy salads, and even a few hearty mains.
True to it’s tagline – ‘The finest teas of the world‘ – much of the food items either have tea as part of the ingredients or flavours that are tea-infused.
Click on the images below to enlarge parts ot the menu, or check it out on the TWG Tea Salon and Boutique website here.
All Day Dining
Meat and Fish
Sandwiches
High Tea & Dessert
Macarons, Bakery, Ice Cream
Chocolate Bon Bons
Beverages
Beverages – Tea or Tea Mocktails?
TWG has a VERY extensive Tea Menu with literally hundreds of tea varieties to choose from.
At TWG, their teas are served in cute round teapots and short round teacups. Usually I prefer my tea/coffee served in modern double walled glasses (at home at least!) but this vintage-style teapot and teacup set is a refreshing change.
On some occassions, I do love to experiment and randomly point to any tea to try. Such as, ‘Number 12 Tea’.
Number 12 Tea. The name is as informative as it sounds 😛
Jokes aside, this is a kind of black tea. TWG declares that it’s as rich and dark as the finest coffee beans, this black tea, reminiscent of the verdant hills of the Great Rift valley, yields a smooth and velvety cup. The waitress described is as a kind of ‘coffee tea’.
While my palate isn’t discerning enough to taste verdant hills, it IS smooth and has a mild flavour, quite enjoyable, and does somewhat resemble coffee. Interesting.
On other days, I prefer something more cool and refreshing. For that, the Hawaiian Breeze is a great choice. A mocktail of fresh pineapple juice, creamy coconut milk, and Number 12 tea, this did somewhat resemble a pina colada, but added hints of elegance (and no hints of crazy beach parties).
My dining companion, with less tendencies for adventurous exploration, went for the apple juice on BOTH dining occasions.
Hawaiian Breeze
My dining companion, with less tendencies for adventurous exploration, went for the apple juice on BOTH dining occasions.
Food – Bread, Sandwiches, Salad
While awaiting for the dishes to arrive, the wait staff brought us bread rolls and butter.
Even for something so simple as a pre-meal bread basket – Some dining establishments care enough about first impressions to bother with presentation, and TWG is one of those places (Another example is SKAI at Swissotel the Stamford – where the bread loaf was served with an in-house mushroom butter)
Here, the butter dish, small and cute, came adorned with impressive-looking ingredients.
Herb Infused Butter
We weren’t quite sure what exactly was in that butter but definitely couldn’t wait to dig in. Our senses detected crunchy and salty herbs. Which blended oh-so perfectly into warm bread rolls.
Herb Infused Bread Roll
For bread lovers – there is no such thing as too much bread. Especially when it comes prepared in a triple deck layered goodness with lobsters and prawns:
Lobster and Prawn Club Sandwich
It’s a toasted housemade pain de mie with tiger prawns and chilled Boston lobster chunks coated with a Thai basil and lemongrass mayonnaise. Layered with lettuce chiffonade and roma tomatoes, it is accompanied by a delicate green salad that’s tossed in an 1847 Green Tea infused vinaigrette.
This was so good and refreshing – if you love a regular club sandwich AND seafood, this is a serious upgrade. Light and savory, the crustaceans blend well with salad ingredients and the flavours just burst forth.
Folks, I don’t know if I can ever revert to having regular club sandwiches anymore.
Not to be outdone – we also shared a salad in a very similar combination of ingredients:
Lobster Avocado Timtable
Chilled Maine lobster and avocado timbale, seasoned with a spicy citrus and honey dressing, lay stacked up in a near-perfect circle on the plate. It is accompanied by artisanal pickles and baby spinach drizzled with an 1837 Green Tea infused vinaigrette.
I had requested for the sauce on the side. Spot the little dishes in the background.
The ingredients, while CLOSELY resembling the sandwich, had it’s own distinct taste. The dressing brought out the sweetness of maine lobsters that’s balanced by the richness of avocado. For the carb-conscious, this would be a more suitable option over the sandwich; with salads like these, one can definitely eat salad and not feel like you’re missing out.
Food – Fish and Meat
TWG’s food is great in the sense that there is variety (there’s also high tea sets and dessert!), but they do not compromise on quality. The cod fish we tried is a testament to that.
Black Cod and Asian Gremolata
Pan-seared black cod fish, served with Asian gremolata, is accompanied by crushed potatoes with chilli oil. Served with wilted baby spinach and a ginger butter emulsion with Gyokuro Samurai tea leaves.
This was divine – the cod was so soft and tender, and richly flavoured with goth the sharpness of chilli and mildness of tea. Among all the dishes I sampled at TWG, this is my overall favourite. Traditionally ‘plain’ food here such as spinah and potatoes were so well-seasoned – every ingredient here just felt elevated and served at a higher level.
Last but not least, is the Wagyu Tenderloin: a 350-day grain-fed Wagyu tenderloin steak served with a choice of either green peppercorn sauce or bearnaise sauced. It’s acoompanied by mesclun salad drizzled with an 1837 Green Tea infused vinaigrette and truffle Matcha French Fries.
The Wagyu here, served medium-rare, was carefully prepared and had the same presentation of elegance as the other dishes. It’s a good dish really – and the matcha fries are something! – but after trying so many other unique and amazing items on TWG’s menu, this in comparison suddenly feels like a more ‘regular steak’.
In fact, there are so many places that do steak and wagyu and TWG’s did not particularly stand out. To date, the better wagyu I’ve had is still at Sen of Japan – also at Marina Bay Sands.
My personal recommendation, if one ever patronizes TWG, would be to try more unique and hard to come by items on the menu.
And leave some room for dessert – on both times that we dined here, my friend and I were both stuffed and left without trying any dessert. Ah well, maybe next time.
TWG review overall and AMEX love dining (50% off)
The food was unquestionably, on the high-end side, and did not disappoint. However, in this TWG review, with service – it could be varied. Some servers are very helpful and professional, but there were also others who took their own sweet time say, just to refill your water or bring you the bill. So it was a bit of a hit and miss with service, but was not a problem for us as we weren’t in a hurry.
TWG Review: Love Dining:
Usually, to qualify for Love Dining discounts, each adult needs to order a qualifying main dish (for example, if there are 3 adults, a total of 3 mains should be ordered).
However, at TWG, the requirement is that each adult has to order one main AND one drink to qualify for Love Dining rebates. The Discount will apply for the FOOD ITEM ONLY.
As an holder of the American Express Platinum Charge Card, under the Love Dining Benefits, (minimum order of two qualifying mains for two adults AND two drinks) I received the following dining discounts:
TWG Review: 1st Vistation
- Prawn and Lobster Club – $28.00, add $4.00 for matcha potato fries
- Lobster Avocado Timbale (salad) – $30.00
- Apple Juice – $8.00
- Number 12 Tea – $11.00
– Amex Love Dining Discount 50% = minus $31.00 (food only, drinks do not count)
– Subtotal: $50.00
– 7% GST: $3.85
– 10% Service Charge: $5.00
– Total cost: $58.85 for two adults
TWG Review: 2nd Vistation
- Wagyu Tenderloin and Peppercorn Sauce – $38.00
- Black Cod with Asian Gremolata – $32.00
- Apple Juice – $8.00
- Hawaiian Breeze – $11.00
– Amex Love Dining Discount 50% = minus $35.00 off bill (food only, drinks do not count)
– Subtotal: $54.00
– 7% GST: $4.16
– 10% Service Charge: $5.40
– Rounding: $.0.01
– Total cost: $63.55 for two adults
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