All self-respecting fashionistas owe it to themselves to take afternoon tea in the devastatingly chic style of the Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok, at their Chocolate Boutique or in the Lobby Lounge, overlooking the Chao Phraya River. Not only stunning in setting, the presentation of their Haute Couture tea is a creative vision, in the form of edible treats and bites.
Custom-designed, much like a high-end fashion construction, the Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok's Haute Couture tea is a ritual unto itself. Firstly, you select your preferred environs. Either you surround yourself with smooth, rich, silky chocolate oeuvres, in the hedonistic Chocolate Boutique, next to the entrance of the Shangri-La Wing, or you snag a window table in the Lobby Lounge, and bask in the gloriousness of the captivating river view from your sofa or armchair. Whatever your pleasure, you'll be able to enjoy the dulcet tones of the live harpist's spellbinding performances.
Once you advise of your desire to partake in afternoon tea for two, upon reading the intriguing descriptive list of well-dressed goodies, the only other important thing you need to decide, before you fight over who gets what, is: will you go traditional with a pot of tea, or are you a coffee rebele There are some 16 varieties of Zesta loose-leaf tea to choose from at the Shangri-La Bangkok, or a selection of coffee options, ground from beans by Coffee Work. Afternoon tea is priced at B1,198++ for two people, including the beverage selection for each of you, plus complimentary water, to cleanse the palate between flavourful bites.
With the drinks taken care of, your trendsetting, epicurean chariot is soon prepped and on its way to your table. This haute-couture-inspired teatime is an arrangement of 21 items over three tiers, displayed within a large, suspended, golden birdcage, certainly worthy of your next social media posts. This enticing mix of sweet and savoury treasures is so incredibly picturesque that you may feel reluctant to disturb its theatrical production. This momentary feeling is soon overcome by the urge to dive in.
A culinary masterpiece, this feast for the eyes and sensation for the tastebuds does provide you with a great deal to ponder, namely what to take first, then next, and so on and so forth. Some of the picturesque creations are large enough to share, which certainly helps with the decision-making.
Of the 21 catwalk-ready features, eight are vibrantly coloured, small savouries, including: Virginia ham, mango and Dijon mustard on green pepper bread; cucumber and cream cheese on charcoal butter bread; quail egg and mayonnaise on a titanium soft brioche; smoked chicken on a yellow brioche; foie gras, passionfruit and remoulade on butter bread; seared tuna on a pink rose brioche; smoked salmon, cucumber and dill dressing in a soft bun; and butter pan-fried scallop on blue rosemary bread.
The fashion-inspired works of art continue with the sweet components. There before you, caged within the golden enclosure, a carefully crafted selection of cakes, tarts, chocolates and other desserts is just waiting to be liberated and devoured. Every fashionista needs a good lipstick and powder pallet, and the same is true in chocolate form. This edible duo is comprised of milk, dark and white chocolate, as well as decorative sugar paste.
Accessorizing correctly is a must in the fashion world, and the Haute Couture afternoon tea has spared no detail, with the mango-coloured, high-heeled shoe, filled with bourbon vanilla cream and topped with fresh raspberries, as well as the green tea mousse-filled handbag, sitting on a shortbread cookie. The devil is certainly in the detail, and these sinful bites are wickedly to die for.
Not taking itself too seriously, one of the most amusing afternoon tea offerings is the blueberry-feuille pannacotta. The smooth white 'cooked-cream' is topped with a layer of blueberry puree and served in a small glass. This is playfully topped with a whimsical ruffled underskirt disk of blueberry and white chocolate, out of which two chocolate legs in red shoes jut, as if a model had fallen in, whilst over-zealously trying to get a taste.
If you love a tart or two, you will not be disappointed by these two: the vanilla creme brulee tart is decorated with gold button blueberries and a colourfully-striped white chocolate badge; and the caramel fleur de sel sphere tart, which is a sculptural icon, with a chocolate hoop, adorning a chocolate tart case filled with salted caramel and bedecked with gel mousse globes, fresh cream, a blueberry and little chocolate pods.
No afternoon tea is worthy of its name, without the inclusion of scones, cream and a preserve. The Shangri-La provides a set of vanilla scone and blackcurrant scone, together with a homemade rose-lychee jam and Devonshire clotted cream. If you've ever asked yourself the question of jam or cream first, it's mostly definitely jam first!
Last but by no means least, two of the largest items on the tiers are the fashion-worthy layered bars. The chicly styled and elegantly presented strawberry layer cake sees multiple fine sheets of sponge, jam and cream stacked to perfection, and embellished with fresh strawberries and puree. A chocolate lover's dream, the hazelnut Jivara zebra plaisir, as the name suggests, is a real pleasure, including the indulgent 40% cacao version of Valrhona chocolate from France. Zebra refers to the design on top of this rich chocolate bar that deserves to be shared.
The divinely crafted, beautifully adorable treats deliver on creativity, flavour and eye-appeal, as style and substance coalesce. This is, admittedly, copious amounts of food for two, but you do have four hours to while away, from 2pm-6pm. This is ample time, to style your way through, and sample everything in this fabulous fashion frenzy of tasty morsels. Hot water refills in your pot of tea are free, and so too is the spectacular view of river life, which never gets old.
This extra special, high-fashion interpretation of afternoon tea, with all of its delicious delicacies, is available every day from now until the end of January 2019.
For information or reservations, at either the Chocolate Boutique or the Lobby Lounge, call Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok on 02 236 9952 and 02 236 7777, or email [email protected], or click to http://www.golden-circle.com/thetable/restaurants-bars/shangri-la-hotel-bangkok/chocolate-boutique.
