Arteastique is a unique and charming tea salon located at Mandarin Gallery, Orchard. It's a place where one's creative juices can take over and can choose to paint while having their tea or coffee or just relax at their stylishly designed lounge.

As their name suggests, they offer a wide and artistic selection of teas. However, we went there for brunch and I am more of a coffee person so I wasn't able to try them out.

Their Crab Cakes Benedict was really disappointing. The picture in their menu was very misleading since they look big. When it came to our table however, the portion was very little that it left me hungry afterwards. Also, I felt that the crabs they used were not that fresh...I even suspect it may be the frozen or canned kind. It lacked the chunkiness and meatiness that I was expecting from a great crab cake. The hollandaise sauce that came with it was not lemony enough to remove the fishy taste of the crab and not to mention the bread that they used was nothing special at all...it was just a regular hamburger bun. The poached eggs were perfectly cooked though and it came with a side of fat, high quality, perfectly steamed asparagus which still had a bit of crunch when you bite into it that I liked.

Their Short Ribs Croque Monsieur, on the other hand, was a bit better. The Short Ribs were very tender that it melts in your mouth. It was a bit bland though so I needed to add more salt to it. Again, the bread that they used wasn't exceptional...just like your ordinary grocery-bought white bread. I love the sweet potato fries that came with it though. Perfectly crispy in the outside and soft and fluffy in the inside with the right amount of seasoning.

I appreciate how they exuded innovation by trying to have their own rendition of the classic Eggs Benedict and Croque Monsieur dishes. However, their execution was dissatisfactory...definitely not what I expected from something that costs that much!

Their Cafe Latte and Caramel Hot Chocolate were also nothing special. We felt that they were too expensive for the size of the cups they came in. The latte was just like any other regular latte. As for their hot chocolate, Swiss Miss tastes better in my opinion. Both came with small, crispy biscuits which is a good addition if you're going there for high-tea. For brunch though, I don't think that it was suitable. They could have offered an option without the biscuits so that it would not be too expensive. I mean, 8.50 and 9.50 respectively for each? It was really not worth it!

Overall, Arteastique is definitely a place emmanating elegance and luxury not just in the ambiance, decors and furnishings but on their table and plate settings as well. Every dish served was like a work of art. All this, of course, comes at a price so prepare your wallets! It is definitely not a place I will be visiting anytime soon....

Arteastique Boutique Tea House
333A Orchard Road, Mandarin Gallery
#04-14/15, Singapore 238897

Price: ~84sgd (of above)