Yeoh Siew Hoon experiences a place that's all about tea.
Immortal Moment tea
I went to a tea salon the other day and ordered coffee. You should have seen the look the waitress gave me.
It’s a mistake anyone could make. It was an early morning press conference, which included breakfast. I need coffee in the morning. And I had assumed any media event held at that time of the day would serve coffee.
This event though, organised by the Singapore Tourism Board to launch its revamped Tourism Awards, now called Singapore Experience Awards, was held at the TWG Tea Salon at Raffles Place.
The board had chosen the salon because it wanted to showcase the different experiences Singapore offered visitors. As its name suggests, experience is the essence of the new awards programme – it moves away from recognising hardware and excellence in service to recognition of the total experience.
The TWG Tea Salon is run by The Wellness Group, formed by a group of friends who obviously love tea. There is, I believe, more tea here than in the whole of China. I was told it serves 800 different types of tea and 250 different types of blends.
“We pick the tea according to your mood. We believe there is a tea for everyone,” said the spokesperson.
The blend served that morning was Singapore Breakfast Tea, made especially for Singapore. It’s a mix of green and black tea with a hint of vanilla and Asian spices. I think this could be as big as Singapore Sling for tea connoisseurs.
That morning I needed something stronger so I asked for “Immortal Moment”. It’s a blend of black tea with spices and a distinct taste of chocolate. I usually like my chocolate in solid form but imbibing it does give a certain pleasure as well.
The priciest tea they have is Yellow Gold Tea – I wasn’t offered that. It’s got gold specks in it and I neither eat nor drink gold, thank you very much. I am told the tea buds are harvested one day once a year in Sichuan.
Then there’s Geisha Blossom Tea for those aspiring to blossom; there’s Love Me tea – I am sure that will sell well on Valentine’s Day; and there’s also Sexy Tea – that should sell well anyday.
Poached egg with truffle oil
Breakfast at TWG combines local with international flavours – the egg came with a hint of truffle oil.
I learnt that tea trading started in Singapore in 1837 and the TWG Tea Salon concept celebrates the rich trading history of Singapore in spices and tea.
So back to the Singapore Experience awards – it will recognise industry contributions through 28 awards across five categories: Events, Experience, Marketing and Media, Service and Outstanding Contribution.
Other than Outstanding Contribution which will be done internally, the other awards are by self-submissions and nominations, which will then be judged by a panel of international and local experts.
The new awards scheme combines the board’s three programmes – Tourism Awards, Singapore Business Events Awards and Education Awards – in one.
If any of you win, it will be tea on us, and we can drink “Immortal Moment” together.
More details on Singapore Experience Awards 2009 here
