The
CNY aside, February is always a busy yet rewarding month for men and
women alike. We plan what to buy, where to dine, and how to spend the
romantic night together. Everwhere you have special treats and menu for
Valetine…
As I can hardly resist a nice afternoon tea, I was excited to try the Island Shangri-la’s recent special that is only available for a short while. As if a decent cuppa and fine little sweets are not enough, this afternoon tea came with Pierre Jouet’s Rose. Having afternoon tea in a Harbour-side hotel with your loved ones sounds, I know, cliché, but you do have a decent Champange here to brighten things up. It was foggy day when I was there for a media event; that glass of champagne was particularly helpful.
The scone here is commendable; it is difficult to find a nice piece of scone these days, even in London, let alone in Hong Kong. I was still haunted by my recent experience in one of the big name hotels in London, but the scone here was a pleasant surprise, though it is by no means perfect. It got a nice fluffy texture; it would be better if it is more buttery. The flavour needs some more work. I had much worse but I indeed had better ones.
The menu
was, I presume, tailored to suit the champagne. I found the lobster sandwich, Alaskan
crabmeat sandwich and foie gras terrine went particularly well with the
champagne. The champagne marinated Gravlax was very refreshing; could be a good
appetizer for my dinner.
Many of
the sweets are worth trying. I would recommend the cherry and champagne
cheesecake and the mascarpone and champagne rollcake. I am not a big fan of
cheesecake but I did like this one. It was not heavy at all and actually quite balanced
between the cheesy and sweet flavours. The rollcake was very moist and filled
with creamy mascarpone. Shangri-La should consider keeping these items in their
cake shop. But it was the Amour cake that won the day. It was beautifully constructed
sponge cake with champagne infused cream layers, with shiny bubbles on top, possibly
a tribute to the champagne. I could easily finish my slice.
Apart
from the tiny glitches here and there, this thematic afternoon tea was
beautiful. The chef’s effort in pairing the food with the champagne was
particularly commendable. There was no “tea” per se here; this French interpretation of tea works just fine for
me.
Island Shangri-La
| Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central, Hong Kong |
Service:wwwwwww1/2w
Environment: wwwwwww1/2w
