IMO High Tea is one of the most relaxing way to laze a scorching hot afternoon away. Last Monday, I was invited to witness the Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge where culinary teams from Singapore’s F&B establishments create a high tea menu displaying the exquisite art of food and tea pairings.
Each team comprised of 2 persons and were judged from teamwork to presentation to tea preparation and food pairing. The judging panel was led by Mr Dilhan C. Fernando, Director of Dilmah Tea and son of the brand’s founder, Mr Merrill Fernando, Black Hat Chef Bernd Uber and InterContinental Singapore Executive Chef Eric Neo.
Martin Wong, Head Chef and Lee Zhang An, Bartender of Tess Bar & Kitchen, were crowned the National Winners of the Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge Singapore 2015. The pair will represent Singapore this July in the global finale of the Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge in Sri Lanka, where they will compete with 23 national winners from 13 other countries. They will also be treated to a 7-day all-expenses paid trip to Sri Lanka and will go on a tea culinary adventure organized by Dilmah School of Tea. So cool!
The above are some snippets of works from some of the contestants. Impressive aren’t they?
The second part of the event, we have Mr Dilhan C. Fernando to share about Dilmah’s latest range of gourmet tea, the art of brewing tea and food pairing e.g camomile tea paired with apple or fruit tarts, black tea paired with meaty dishes, mint tea with sweets or cakes…etc I was rather blown away with the interesting food pairing. Indeed with the correct tea and food pairing, the taste of the food is elevated to another level!
The final part of the event, we were treated to a lunch at Pontini where we enjoyed the luncheon with the company of Mr Merrill J. Fernando, the founder of Dilmah Tea and Doris.
We kickstarted the luncheon with an antipasti buffet where there was a spread of sashimi, cheese, italian cold cut, greens..etc
For mains, we have the choice of Oreccheitte pasta, pan seared red snapper fillet and pan roasted ribeye steak. J chose the red snapper fillet which came with a livornese sauce while I chose the ribeye which came with rocket salad, parmesan shaved and balsamic reduction.
We ended the luncheon on a sweet note with homemade Polenta cake, Ricotta cheesecake and an Italian Zuccotto cake. 😉
It was an awesome event where I get to learn more about tea and food pairing and an enjoyable luncheon at Pontini. A big thank you to Dilmah Singapore and Atiqah & Cindy from Vibes Communication for the invite.  🙂
Pontini
392 Havelock Road
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Level 2
Singapore 169663
Tel: (+65) 6233 1133
Operating Hours: Lunch 12:00pm – 2:30pm (Mon – Fri)
         Dinner 6:30pm – 10:30pm (Mon – Sat)
         Italian Buffet: $48.00, 12:00pm – 3:00pm (Sat and Public Holidays)
         Closed on Sunday
