The phrase East meets West get bandied around fairly
frequently and the other week I found myself thinking it again when I attended The High Tea Club. As a venue it’s small yet perfectly formed with 3D dresser drawers on the wall and elegantly written messages on the bathroom walls, who doesn't like something
to read while you wee! These details add a quaint charm and with the right lighting it could be an instagrammers dream!
Other than the usual British afternoon tea, you also have the
option of dim sum, we got to try both which is ever so handy when
you are reviewing the food at an eatery. The tea cake stand and dim sum dishes
were served with care and attention and thoroughly enjoyed by myself and my hungry
blogger comrades... after we’d taken our 50,000 photos of course. My only
slight grumble is that there were only six small sandwiches on the British
afternoon tea stand which I felt to be a little sparse. It's altogether possible this is due to my
being spoilt by afternoon tea at The Ritz though where they treat you like Foie
gras geese and you, in turn, act like them by eating until your stomach lining
splits.
That said the tiny macaroons brought in from local suppliers,
were beautifully delicate and moorish and the Dim Sum made a great alternative
to the traditional teatime options. While I don’t pretend to ‘get’ all the flavours, there’s
definitely something that tastes like savoury marshmallow there, I did appreciate the juxtaposition of scones and sesame prawne toast.
Where The High Tea Club shines is their selection of
teas. There are several types spread
over four pages including seven or eight mesmerising flowering teas. I tasted 'Mountain Dream' and having been served this type before in a tall glass I wasn't sure the see through pot would
give the flower enough room to flourish. While I feel the bloom could well have
stretched higher I think we got to see most of the impressive effect. The staff were chatty and accommodating noticing
our empty pots and offering to refill them mentioning that the flavour
of the tea is better second time around anyway, a point we found to be quite true!
If afternoon tea isn't your thing the day menu offers soups, sandwiches, pancakes and breakfasts until 5pm. After dark and the party
continues. This is when the cheese
boards come out along with countless spirits and cocktails. You can even continue your tea drinking with
gin, vodka and whisky tea cocktails. So we can pretend we're there to be all
refined and ladylike but for some of us there’s a good chance we’ll end up accidentally
getting blotto’d.
I'm really quite looking forward to going back.
Have you experienced a fusion afternoon tea venue?