Crimson at Bird Paradise

I was never really a fan of birds but after the bird park shifted to its new base, I heard great reviews of the park so I decided to bring my mum along for an outing. Since I was with an old person, I could not make her eat fast food for lunch and she got tired easily so when I spotted a high tea promotion at Crimson, I decided to bring her there to rest

Located just next to the entrance of the Crimson wetlands, the restaurant is on the 2nd floor of the building and can be reached via the lift. They have fixed lunch menus, tea time menus as well as dinner menus which are slightly pricey than other food options but the environment is considerably nicer

The restaurant is big and spacious and tables are nicely spaced out so each group have their own personal space. Most importantly, they have an entire row of tables right next to the ceiling-to-floor windows where you can get a perfect view of the Crimson wetlands and waterfall

Since it was tea break, we ordered tea for my mum and a glass of virgin mojito as the sun was blazing and I really needed an iced drink. The tea selection was quite limited with the usual Earl Grey, Camomile, English breakfast and Green tea. Water is refillable for the tea but getting service is really quite a challenge as they only had 2 staff on duty when we were there. The virgin mojito was refreshing and sweet with mint leaves, lychee and lime and was perfect for a hot day

As I was peckish, I ordered a seared salmon cube with salad and it was the first dish to be served. The overall waiting time for the food was longer than usual so we were lucky we were not there for a proper meal or we would have been starving. The salmon was nicely cooked with a light citrus glaze and a side of salad. The salad had no dressing at all but was good when eaten with the salmon

We waited almost 30 mins for the high tea set to be served and it came in this pretty 3-tiered dish. The bottom tier was the savoury options, the middle tier was sweet tarts and the final top tier with sweet desserts. The savoury plate has smoked salmon on a piece of toast which was hard and dry. The kueh pie tee was soft and not crispy enough and the most decent was the small mushroom slider. The mini fruit tart was quite decent but the scones were too dry and crumbly without any butter flavour whereas the mango mousse cup was more sourish than sweet. The last tier was a decent chocolate brownie, a butter almond cake which was the nicest item on the plate as well and a swan-shaped cream puff

Overall, the tea break was disappointing as it was not very cheap but I guess I paid for the view as we relaxed in the air-conditioned restaurant with a great view of the birds. The cooked dishes like the salmon were actually decent so it might be a better idea to have their lunch sets instead of the high tea. I will definitely recommend spending the extra money for the view and their lunch sets with better reviews

Address: Bird Paradise, 80 Mandai Lake Rd

Operating hours: 11 am to 5.30 pm