To be very honest, this review is more for me than it is for anyone else, because Kyoto in Autumn was a time-limited afternoon tea and I went on the second last day so it’s pretty much over by now. But, I do love anything Japan-themed and after the disappointing afternoon tea from Pan Pacific, Ethel and I were curious to know if Four Seasons was going to be better.

Tea Review

We got to choose two teas per person, and of course, I chose those that were Japanese. The first tea was a Yuzu Kukicha which, for some inexplicable reason, tasted like yuzu kosho. There was a slight fragrance of yuzu, a minty sensation, and a very distinct pepper note, making me feel like I was drinking the condiment.

The Uji Sencha was a bit more to my taste. It wasn’t a straight tea, like I expected, and instead had a minty note added to it. I also tried my friend’s Osmanthus Sencha, which was also interesting; while I didn’t taste the usual notes from a sencha (grassy or seaweed), I did get vanilla and osmanthus notes. It’s a pretty sweet tea too.

Savouries Review

The savouries definitely had more thought put into them than the other afternoon tea that I will no longer be naming. For me, the standout dish was definitely the Saikyo Miso Foie Gras Terrine – the miso works well with the foie gras and it packs a punch in terms of flavour. The Cream Cheese and Bottarga Chive Tart was also a pleasant surprise, I didn’t expect to like it because of the chives but I did enjoy its gentle sweetness. The Eggplant and Unagi Sandwich, as well as the King Crab Chawanmushi, were novel but not particularly memorable. For the eggplant and unagi sandwich, I did wish for the eggplant to be a bit more seasoned, it felt like it was just roasted as is.

The least impressive dish (for me) was the egg mayo sandwich (proper name: Organic egg Salad, Ebiko, Brioche bun). While the bread was nice, it just tasted very ordinary, like something you and I could do.

Sweets Review

I don’t know what it is about Singaporean hotels, but their sweets tend to be so much stronger than their savouries. Of course, having the chef who designed the menu be a patisserie chef might have helped in this case.

The first surprise was the “Kuri Kinton” Chestnut, I’m normally not the biggest fan of chestnuts so I was ready to not like this. However, the chestnut layer tasted great and I loved the textural contrast from the biscuits within. As someone with a sweet tooth, I also enjoyed the chocolate part (my friend, however, found it too sweet). Another surprising sweet was the Sweet Soy and Ginger Mousse Cube, which was surprisingly savoury. The soy and the ginger worked well together, but although I appreciate the inventiveness, I’m not convinced that this is a flavour combination that I will want to eat again.

Since this afternoon is themed after Japan, it’s no surprise that mochi will make an appearance in the form of a Japanese Strawberry Mochi dessert. After having had the Fukuoka Amaou ones, strawberry mochi has a high standard to live up to but these weren’t too bad. Of course, yuzu also made an appearance in the Yuzu White Chocolate Bonbon, which had a nice strong yuzu centre.

Speaking of yuzu, the Matcha Moss Sphere had lots of yuzu bits in it, making it a light and fun cake. The Houjicha Apricot Cookie Sandwich also reminded me of a cake because the houjicha biscuit was so soft that I think it’s intentional. It does have a very strong houjicha flavour, which is good, and the apricot complements it well.

Finally, the scones. This took a really long time to arrive but they were piping hot when they came (one was a little burnt, though). Personally, I really enjoyed both the Macha White Chocolate and the Ginger flavours and I thought all the spreads were very good! Between the Yuzu Posset and the Cherry Jam, I prefer the Yuzu but the cherry was nice and tart and went well with the clotted cream too. Becaue the jams were so nice, I barely touched the clotted cream.

Overall Thoughts

While we were initially a bit worried that this afternoon tea was not going to be filling, we were proven wrong by the end, thanks to the scones. I really liked the sweets section of the afternoon tea, but I do wish that there were more standouts in the savoury section.