Atrium, Pan Pacific Singapore

Tea time: Monday to Sunday, 12pm-6pm

Price: $52 per diner with a pot of TWG tea or Bacha coffee, $62 with a glass of Copenhagen Sparkling Tea or $72 with champagne or a raspberry sakura cocktail.

Spill the tea: The lantern-shaped floating pods of Pan Pacific’s Atrium is a perfect place for a tête-à-tête, catching up with girlfriends for a couple of hours. The pods are not only spacious but they have a private and sophisticated atmosphere over the reflection pool.

The Japanese-inspired afternoon tea offers a wide selection of Bacha coffee and TWG tea and for a $20 top-up you can go for a glass of champagne or try their raspberry sakura cocktail. I picked the Yirgacheffe Heirloom Coffee with a touch of lemongrass, which balanced the sweets off well. My friend was sipping the more conventional Earl Grey.

We both agreed that amongst the freshly made savouries, the salmon quiche with ikura, sour cream and dill and the smoked trout, nori and wasabi mayonnaise sandwich were definitely the highlights.

The sweet selection was brought in on a three-tier tea stand shaped like the floating pods – lovely attention to detail! The plain and blueberry scones were light and tasty, and served with chestnut spread, clotted cream and strawberry preserve. There was a mix of traditional and Japanese high-tea items – hard to pick a favourite between the Earl Grey macaron and the mochi. My friend Devi favoured the marble cheesecake and the raspberry lychee rose roulade.

We would have gone for a cocktail or two in their 44-metre long bar had we not been pleasantly filled up – saving that for the next time!

7 Raffles Boulevard

6336 8111 | panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pp-marina