When Old Chang Kee Meets New York City: A High Tea Experience with Local Flavours

CONTENT: Michelle Ng

Madison’s, the unassuming American diner in the lobby of Pullman Singapore Hill Street, is taking inspiration from local flavours in celebration of the nation’s SG60 milestone. Partnering up with homegrown snack store Old Chang Kee, Madison’s is replacing their classic high tea with a limited edition afternoon tea spread of local snacks and new Old Chang Kee creations that taste like nostalgia.

The placemats greet you with a nostalgic flair when you are seated, designed after a tear-off calendar and also has four old-school games that were popular in Singapore. A deck of cards at each table, to entertain you as you await the high tea to be served.

The tea selections remain the same, and we recommend the Pullman’s Signature Tea Blend as the black tea has notes of peach and ginger, and is a fragrant light tea that complements both the sweet and savoury flavours of the snacks. For something a bit more robust, go for the Blood Orange & Eucalyptus Tea Blend, which is a fruity and strong dark tea. Just for this exciting collab, you can also order a Kopi C or Teh Tarik – familiar favourites at the coffee shop – instead of the usual Nespresso coffee.

The high tea arrives in the iconic trunk, with three layers of goodies split into savoury, sweets, and some in between. The savoury selection includes mini Old Chang Kee curry puffs and sardine puffs that are classic favourites, and two exciting bites of a Laksa Shrimp Vol Au Vent with 8 Gems Caviar that’s made with Old Chang Kee’s Laksa Paste, and a Mini Pullman Style Rojak.

The sweets are equally, if not more fun, with twists like the Ondeh Ondeh Cake, a Black Sesame swiss roll cake, little mini glasses of Gula Melaka Mousse Mango Jelly, creamy Sweet Potato Mousse tarts. We cannot do without fruits, so we were very pleased with the Mango Pudding with Sago Pomelo. Another Madison’s signature from their regular high tea lineup sees a Pandan scone that is served with Whipped Cream and Kaya withc coconut shavings instead of the regular jam and cream scones. The macarons are also yuzu flavoured and we recommend keeping them and the assorted chocolate pralines till the last as the sweet bites ends the afternoon on a sweet high.

The high tea set for two people is available at Madison’s daily from 2 to 5pm, and the $88++ set comes with two sets of every item, and two coffees or teas. If we could describe our afternoon tea experience with Old Chang Kee at Madison’s in one sentence, it would be “an indulgent afternoon tea that tastes familiar yet modern, but atas”. And in a good way!

The Madison’s x Old Chang Kee Afternoon Tea Special is only available until 30 April 2025 at Madison’s, Pullman Singapore Hill Street, 1 Hill Street, Singapore 179949