Langham Hotel Palm Court Afternoon Tea with Cherish Finden (Hong Kong) - ♕♕♕♕ 1/2
The official name of this afternoon tea set is "Stephen Webster Bijoux Tea" and is available from the 21st to the 29th of April, thanks to Asia Tatler Dining for the information and also my dining friend who is a member of the hotel group. The pastry creations are by award winning pastry chef Cherish Finden who flew in from London, the desserts this time are inspired by the Stephen someone's jewelry collection as a cross over event. Since Cherish is here right now in Hong Kong I do think she should become the center of focus and her creations are quite impressive indeed. The savoury items meanwhile are still done by the hotel internally and probably look better than they actually should taste, as the balance isn't quite right there. It just needs some minor tweaks to be much better in execution. Can I just order the desserts please?
My first time eating here -
It is actually quite a nice lounge and I grew to love the seats and the environment..
Poached Rhubarb and Custard -
The first dessert amuse bouche.. Interesting how they do this here, it's almost like a dedicated dessert house. The taste is as expected, it doesn't give surprises but was decent.
Moet Champagne -
The price includes one glass of this,
and also tea or coffee.
The Menu - $ 318 per Person
This is substantially pricier than the normal afternoon tea set at Palm Court HK, in fact almost double the price. However I thought! it was actually worth it for you're eating the famed Cherish Finden's desserts right here in HK and she is only here for slightly more than 1 week. Who cares much about Stephen Webster Bijoux? Who is he some Richard Branson lookalike?
It Arrives - This is 2 Person's Portion
When this arrived, I think both of us weren't exactly happy to see that the top stack and 2nd stack looked the same. It makes you less happier than otherwise. However the overall food composition was better than many places in town, at least by looks. *Taste is another matter
Savoury Stack -
The recipes sound sophisticated, and the presentation was there. There were even mini Scotch Quail eggs. Some of these SOUNDED better than they taste. For example the Iberico Ham with Caramelized Fig Compote one was very salty and too sweet all at once, and the Maine Lobster with Salmon purse had way too little lobster and tasted only of salmon. ~ 6.9/10
Beetroot tart of Foie Gras, Black Truffle and Purple Onion Marmalade -
This looked promising, and it was quite strong in foie gras taste in its waffle cone. The black truffle taste however was nowhere to be found…
Japan Fancy Sencha -
This wa! s quite aromatic and interestingly tasted a bit like Kyoto 羊羹.
The other Earl Grey we had was definitely not made very good and duller, the same brand of tea drank at Grand Hyatt or Island Shangri-La was much better. Tea seems to be like coffee – you need to have the right technique and luck to make it well?
Red Peppercorn Apple Shortbread, with Dark Chocolate -
This looked interesting and also features on the London's Palm Court menu.
The texture was surprisingly more like ginger breadman than a crumbly short bread. ~ 5/10
Red Ruby Dome -
Valrhona white chocolate crème with str! awberry and white balsamic. This looked pretty and tasted equally impressive, with a financier base and a jammy centre (I also have a picture of that if anyone insists on seeing it).. ~ 9/10
Mother of Pearl Apricot and Jasmine -
Another Winner! This was really jasmine like and had an apricot centre inside that pearl jewelry, with some strands of hard cracked sugar on top. This tasted really awesome actually, it was the surprise package of the day for me and really impressive. ~ 10/10
Pistachio Tower with Emerald -
Roasted pistachio chantilly with airy meringue sponge. This sprang a surprise, as inside there were little bits of crispy meringues. I didn't enjoy the look of this but in the mouth it was interest! ing. N ot enough pistachio taste though. ~ 6.9/10
Diamond Jubilee - Guinness Macaron with Blackcurrant Jelly
Notice the transparent diamond like shape in the middle. This is so ingenious and reminds us that the jubilee dessert is still part of the Jewelry cross-over theme. And it looked more pretty in real life than the photo shows. The macaron texture was textbook perfect. I wished for more Guinness taste but Cherish explained that this was only lightly perfumed and would be mostly fruity. She knows what she is doing. ~ 8/10
Raisins and Chocolate Scones with Clotted Cream, Preserves and Butter -
It was strange to see butter, which we didn't touch. May be they forgot to put in butter into their doughs as it tasted like it. Actually the scones were quite good in the local context, at least they weren't dense or dry. It could have been less moist inside and outside. Didn't like their jam though as I can't remember having such ordinary jam quality elsewhere. ~ 6.9/10
Price: $ 318 + 10% includes a glass of Champagne
Ease of Access: 2/5 (Difficult to find this hotel walking under the subway labyrinth)
Food: ♕♕♕ to ♕♕♕♕♕
Opening Hours -
Monday to Friday from 3:00p.m to 5:30p.m
Two sessions are available from 2:15p.m to 4:15p.m and 4:30p.m to 6:30p.m on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday
Address: 尖沙咀北京道8號香港朗廷酒店大堂
Lobby level, The Langham Hong Kong, 8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Read More @ Source Ebaby!'s Chinese Food Explorations 1
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