When I first saw Lady Iron Chef’s post about Fresh Fruits Lab, I was immediately attracted to the “Chemistry lab-themed” high tea set. I have tried test tube juices before, but an entire set made of laboratory equipment? Nope! The entire set looks interestingly stunning, with legit apparatus like the tripod stand and wire gauze, conical flasks, test tubes, petri dishes, beakers, syringes and even droppers for the sauce.
When I called the cafe to make a reservation, they were already fully booked by then. So we had to walk in at about 3pm. Don’t worry though! There were still a few available tables that were not under reservation.
The cafe design was sleek and clean, with a touch of wooden interior and some funky looking equipment lying around on the shelves. Aesthetically, I thought that the cafe had a pretty cool design and even though I am definitely not a scientist nerd, I am in love with the entire theme.
Even before taking our orders, this rack of complimentary test tubes were served at our table. From left to right – Beetroot, Pineapple and Orange, Cucumber. Thumbs up for this! Because it already made us happy before we even looked at the menu.
The one I tried was Beetroot and it tasted a little like Vege juice, and it had a refreshing taste. Great for thirst quenchers actually.
Siyuh ordered a glass beaker of apple juice, while Shiu Heng and I got the drinks included in the high tea set – Orange Juice and Long Black. We were laughing at his Long Black and that it shouldn’t be included into the photo because his was apparently not “scientific” enough to fit into the photo. HAHA poor coffee.
This high tea includes:
– Quail egg and avocado sandwich
– Crispy prawn pop with thai sweet chilli sauce
– Egg mayonnaise in sesame cone
– Cucumber and watermelon Gazpacho
– Italian braised beef meatball
– Rainbow cake
– Macaron (Chocolate and lemon)
– Orange sable with chocolate cremeux and strawberry
– Homemade profiterole with mango cream
– Tiramisu (Mascarpone cream with mocha gelee, toffee sauce, strawberry and phyllo chip)
– A choice of drink (Long black, orange juice or black tea)
$19+/ set (Minimum order of two sets)
To be honest, it is indeed a little confusing. In short, the photo above is $38+ in total, and some of the snacks will not have a pair, which I felt that it was quite unfair since it was stated $19 per set. So why are we not getting double for everything? They might as well state that this entire set is $38.
Actually we were quite surprised with the REALLY SMALL portions. But it’s really insta worthy so I guess I don’t mind splurging on pretty food once in a while!
Anyway.. back to the food..
We also ordered the Truffle Fries ($12) which was amazing. Siyuh was already grabbing the bucket and munching on it while I was frantically snapping photos away of the other dishes. The both of them were laughing their heads off because I was so busy trying to use my camera and phone.
They are already familiar with my standard steps – Take photo with camera, take video (for some) and squared photo with phone, then snapchat. This is what happens when you dine with me ok? HAHA. But seriously, the both of them were just waiting for me to finish taking photos before they can even touch the food.
I have not tried many truffle fries yet but I felt that the truffle mayo dip was quite generous compared to some places.
Quail egg and avocado sandwich |
I like how the dishes in this high tea set is deconstructed in a way, which gives its unique form and is also interesting to look at. This is technically not a sandwich but the pastry had a good crunch to it, and though the flavours were not strong, overall it tasted quite pleasant. The gooey yolk also gave a well-balanced texture.
Egg mayonnaise in sesame cone |
We thought that this was dessert at the beginning, and after the first bite we then realized its egg mayo. Really well done on the creativity, but the cone fall short by its texture as it was really soggy.
Egg mayo “ice-cream” for you? 😀
Homemade profiterole with mango cream |
We ate this quite long after it was served, hence the pastry was already very soft and wet and the cream was melting. I cannot really give a fair judgment on the texture but I really enjoyed the taste. There’s a sweet tangy flavor to it, but I misunderstood it to be lemon instead of mango (Must be something wrong with my taste buds)
Italian braised beef meatball |
I felt that the meatball was very juicy and soft. But Shiu Heng didn’t really like it as he find it too salty for his liking.
Cucumber and watermelon Gazpacho |
Tiramisu (Mascarpone cream with mocha gelee, toffee sauce, strawberry and phyllo chip) |
The Tiramisu is one of my favourite. The combination of bittersweet and creamy butter taste works really well together. I like that they incorporated the toffee sauce into the syringe for the extra fun.
Orange sable with chocolate cremeux and strawberry |
I don’t know what to say about this dessert, it was the worst out of everything. The only winning point is that it looks really cute in the test tube and the stopper is made of marshmallows. We were really skeptical about it at first and we kept on touching it to see if it is really marshmallow. After I tasted it, Siyuh laughed and said, “What if the person asked us where is the stopper and actually it isn’t edible?” :0
Rainbow cake |
Rainbow cakes make everyone happy! But the cake itself is a little dry. I didn’t have much high expectations about rainbow cakes since it is usually more pretty to look at.
The FFL wings ($10) has a really good crisp and the hot arrabiata sauce was a perfect complement. The chicken floss was subtle but it gave the chicken an unique twist. I was really in love with the sauce though. And even though there were only 3 chicken wings, the size was pretty huge.
We decided to order the Beer Shroom ($10) for our last dish which is battered mushroom served with garlic aioli dipping sauce (Spicy as well!) It kinda reminds me of the sauce people usually use for tomato pasta though. I would prefer the arrabiata sauce from the chicken wings. Personally, I don’t prefer the entire dish to be fried, so I cut off some of the edges and enjoy the juicy mushroom with bits of fried batter dipped int he spicy sauce.
Even though the high tea set might be quite expensive given such a tiny portion, I felt that it is worth a try if you fancy themed cafes with interesting food decor. After all, if you are splitting the bill among a group of friends just for the sake of pretty photos, why not right?
Fresh Fruits Lab
351 Changi Rd, 419818
6677 6741
Nearest MRT: Kembangan