The other day, I attempted to check out the Ghibli exhibition at the Art Science Museum at Marina Bay Sands. I said “attempted” because… well, my friend and I did not make it to the exhibition. I knew it would be a popular one because Singaporeans love Ghibli movies, yet I made the newbie mistake of not checking if the tickets were going to be sold per timeslot. By the time we realized there was indeed a timeslot we needed to reserve, tickets were already sold out for the day.
It also happened to be a very rainy morning. Since we were stuck at MBS anyway, I figured why not enjoy some morning tea? I quickly texted my friend to meet me at TWG.
TWG stands for “The Wellbeing Group” – founded in 2008, they focused on luxury tea and immediately became a hit in Singapore due to their beautiful and colorful packaging. These days, TWG teas are known as one of the best teas in Singapore, and even very popular as souvenirs too! You can find TWG outlets at Changi Airport on your way out of Singapore.
“Is there more than one TWG at MBS?” – my friend asked when she did not spot me at what she thought was our meeting point. It turns out that there are two TWG outlets at MBS: TWG Tea on the Bay at B1 and TWG Tea Garden at B2. I have been to Tea on the Bay before, so we decided to meet at the Tea Garden. It was also arguably the more beautiful location, perched at the top of one of MBS’ calming pools.
At 11 AM on a Monday, the place was very much empty when we got there. However, when we left at around 12:30 the tables were getting noticeably fuller with the lunch crowd.
Anyway, back to the tea garden. Aside from tea, there is a good selection for all-day dining consisting of pasta and salads. There is also a classic breakfast set for $33, which gives you hot/iced tea, fruit juice, and a choice of muffins or scones with tea jelly. We only wanted something quick and a place to chit-chat while waiting out the rain, so we browsed the tea menu.
That turned out to be quite the choice paralysis – TWG has over 1,000 options for tea, and it’s impossible to just choose from the menu. You could take a peek at the tea book, which tells you about the ingredients and flavor notes of some selected teas.
Choosing a tea from this menu will give you a pot of the selected tea. I would also note to pay attention to the price. Most of the tea is in the $12-14 range, but some are in the $27, or even $115, the highest price I spotted on the menu, which I think is very pricey for a pot of tea. I know, because I almost ordered one of the $27 tea myself.
I wanted something caffeine-free (or as they call it “theine-free”), so I asked our waiter to recommend me one. She chose Vanilla Bourbon Tea from the Rooibos tea selection, which sounded really good so I took her up on it. According to her, it’s one of their most popular teas.
The vanilla bourbon tea consists of red rooibos tea from South Africa, mixed with TWG’s vanilla tea. The result is a delightful mix, with the complexity from rooibos and a creamy tone from the vanilla. I loved it! So glad I decided to trust the waiter on this.
My friend and I were also feeling a little peckish, so we took a look at the pastry options from the pastry trolley. Each of the pastries here (except for the macarons) goes for $14.
There were seven different pastries, and we settled on the orange passionfruit one to share. I think we made the right choice – It was as equally delightful as the tea with just the right level of sweetness.
Overall, we had a very nice time at TWG Tea Garden. It’s a little bit more pricey than what one might be used to paying for a pot of tea, but I think it’s very worth it! And let’s be honest, you’re not just paying for the tea here. The ambiance is also on point.
I’ll definitely be back here again in the future.