ARTEA

ARTEA is one of those brands that seems to appear and then disappear quietly into the local F&B scene after a while, only to repeat the same cycle all over again — making its debut in the local F&B scene several years ago taking up a space at VivoCity, ARTEA was previously known for their fruit tea and other beverages which are freshly canned upon ordering; these folks had also been noted to serve up soufflé pancakes in the past as well. Whilst the brand did previously have had locations at Ang Mo Kio and Bedok Reservoir for a period of time, they had been absent in the local F&B scene for a while — they had since made their reappearance with a new space now at the basement of Raffles City Shopping Centre. One can find ARTEA around the same area as the outlet of Cinnabon and Tiong Bahru Bakery there. The brand has still stuck to using blue as their theme colour here; the shop coming with a pastel blue interior whilst matched with darker shades of blue and wooden accents with some elements coming in a shade of white for some form of contrast. The entire look of ARTEA does still look modern, fun and playful, with tables configured in a manner that caters to those coming in pairs of visiting the establishment in groups of four (4) pax. It seems that ARTEA has done away with serving up soufflé pancakes these time round in their return to the local F&B scene; instead, ARTEA’s current range of desserts will include a line-up of egg tarts in various flavours as well as a range of Mein Mein Ice offerings — think shaved ice offerings similar to that of Bingsu. Its range of beverages is now categorised into Recommended, Milk Tea, Fruit Tea, Cheese, Yogurt and Coffee as well.

One thing to note about ARTEA’s range of egg tart offerings is how they do serve up quite an extensive line-up that features a variety of flavours — the French Caramel Tart can be considered as the “Original” flavour here, though there is one flavour option here that seems to be that of a savoury egg tart compared to the rest which does feel a bit more dessert-y. ARTEA does not describe the elements that are being featured in their items on the menu; that being said, one can observe that the Wasabi Egg Tart features a charcoal-infused egg tart pastry whilst coming with a wasabi fish roe topping over the egg tart itself. Taking a bite into the Wasabi Fish Roe Egg Tart, one can observe that the charcoal-infused egg tart pastry seems to be one that follows closely to the croissant-like egg tart pastry that is pretty trendy of the late — the pastry here is light, crisp and flaky, but does not come too greasy or overly buttery. The mention of wasabi, fish roe and egg tart does sound relatively odd on paper; that being said this does seem to be pretty much a sweet-savoury combination of flavours that one would either grow to love or just simply hate — pretty much an equivalent to that of the combination of French fries and ice-cream. The wasabi element here does seem to be that of wasabi mayo that carried similar mustard-y notes to horseradish whilst also introducing a numbing note to the tastebuds — this is made especially intriguing with the addition of fish roe that gives it a briny note that is saltish that provides a contrast to the eggy and slightly sweet notes of the custardy egg curd that is held in the middle of the entire tart. A combination that is pretty much worth a try for those who are open to more adventurous flavours in general.

In retrospect, the Mango Pomelo Sago Egg Tart is a safer option being a pretty dessert-y option — it can be observed being topped off with elements like pomelo, lychee popping balls, mango, and desiccated coconut all above the standard French Caramel Tart. The Mango Pomelo Sago Egg Tart comes similarly with a croissant-esque egg tart pastry, though this one lacks the infusion of charcoal — the consistency and texture still remaining largely similar to the egg tart pastry featured in the Wasabi Fish Roe Egg Tart. We did feel that it did replicate the flavours of the classic Mango Pomelo Sago quite well; that tangy and slight bitter finish of the pomelo matched against the sweetness of the mango, though we weren’t quite into the lychee popping balls that mimicked sago since these are two elements that come with a very different texture — that being said, the lychee popping balls do inject a burst of sweetness to the egg Mango Pomelo Sago Egg Tart nonetheless. Considering the various sweet elements that came above it, the notes of the egg custard here is less obvious when compared to that of the same in the Wasabi Fish Roe Egg Tart — not sure if the egg curd was intentionally tuned down to accommodate for the sweet elements above it. We also managed to give the Bubbly Lychee Americano a try during our visit. This does come in the form of a carbonated beverage that is served with a shot of espresso whilst also coming with a hint of lychee — presumably from syrup. The overall combination is a pretty fruity tasting cuppa that is more beverage than coffee, though the item does feel a little bit similar to Espresso Tonic in spirit.