It has always been quite an adventure to travel the world in search of the next High Tea experience that is waiting for us. On our way to the Raffles Floral Afternoon Tea we reminisced about all the High Tea experiences we’ve had since the birth of The Luxury Life satisfyingly crossing the countries off one by one by the high tea memories we collected. Reeling off our tea achievements, we were excited to welcome what the Raffles experience had in store for us. We felt quite confident that nothing could surprise us at this point in our travel diary of Afternoon Teas.
The whole process of a high tea is a kind of ritual, every detail heightening the overall satisfaction of the diner. Something as simple as reclining into the comfortable gold coloured chairs at Raffles and admiring the almost supernaturally bright colours of the delectable delicacies creates an experience one cannot forget. By merely walking into the space we instantly felt like royalty, everything around us was so indulgent in the most spectacular way. With high ceilings supported by huge hieroglyphic pillars and an endless row of Forever Rose flowers blooming a brilliant red through their glass-encased homes you are sure to feel like a cross between a British royal and an Egyptian princess or prince (boys can fancy high tea too).
We began our Raffles journey by selecting the tea that was going to accompany our treats for the day. For us it was a no brainer, being inspired by our surroundings we had to try the rose infused tea. The menu itself was filled with new and inventive goodies that you wouldn’t find at your average high tea places. What we appreciated most was that many old high tea favourites were dusted off and given a bright new perspective.
We were absolutely blown away by the “Chilled Herb Poached Prawn Salad”. This ‘prawn salad’ came with its very own mason jar half-filled with chunky grains of salt. Snuggled in this salty foundation was the tip of a perfectly rounded miniature ice-cream cone boasting inside it a poached prawn with an orange slice next to it. We had no clue that anything could have tasted as good as the simple combination of prawn and orange paired as one.
After talking to the very talented pastry chef Wolfgang Wagenleitner we soon realised that this dynamic duo of prawn and orange consisted of more complexities than we thought. The entire treat actually consisted of elderflower Jelly, creamy avocado, red chilli, celery, prawn and orange segments. We were informed that the wonderfully crunchy cone takes a lot of skill to make and is the trickiest aspect of this delicious little puzzle. (Maybe we won’t be attempting it at home just yet!) This was an insanely luxurious twist on a traditional salad and one we would try again and again…and again.
Another inventive and incredibly enjoyable savoury treat was the “Wagyu beef slider”. This was very unique for an afternoon tea and it was this type of ‘outside the box’ thinking that made this experience exciting. The wagyu beef sliders consisted of chipotle sauce but don’t let that scare you if you’re not a chilli fan. This adorably sized burger was perfectly balanced in all its flavours and the chilli did not overpower anything else in the burger. The “Jasmine Tea Infused Chicken Roulade” was also scrumptious, playing around with a combination of sweet and savoury flavours.
Our desserts entitled “sweet temptations” were just that, all very tempting in aesthetic and taste. Gleaming with vibrant and cheerful pops of colour each treat was more intricate than the last. A personal style tied all the treats together and you could immediately see that they were made with great skill and confidence. There was such an overflow of sweets to choose from that it was hard to decide where to begin. One thing was for sure, we were eager to dig in especially after Wolfgang Wagenleitner let us in on his secret to staying young…a daily dose of sugar!
An immediate standout dessert for us was the “Golden Chocolate Pyramid” which blended in perfectly with the whole theme and ambiance of Raffles Dubai. Chocolate lovers you will be in paradise with one taste of this particular treat. The “Orange Lollipops” were a fun addition to the table, they were sizeable cake tops and did everything you’d want a good cake top to do. If you’re like us (a macaroon enthusiast) you’ll be delighted to try the two different types on offer and spoil yourself with the “Lavender Honey Macaroon” and the “Pistachio Macaroon”. Both macaroons were decadently sweet and satisfying just as a good macaroon should be. We preferred the pistachio option and sat there enjoying each pistachio filled bite thoroughly.
What happened next was a rookie mistake on our part when we decided to give the treats a break and attack the scones for the time being. Grand in size, even one scone will make you feel so fantastically full and you get both the “Dry Rose Petal Scones” and the “Scones with Raisins!” The dry rose petal scones were the more alluring of the two but both had the flawless dough consistency you’d wish all scones in the world would possess. After this, it was a losing battle to try and finish all the desserts sitting in front of us perfectly perched on their golden tiers.
Having a solid attempt to finish everything we reluctantly left the Afternoon Tea feeling stuffed and content. What we learnt is to make sure you ask for some desserts to be taken home or to be taken to your hotel room for some light snacking later on. Even though we didn’t quite manage to finish everything we remember a strong awareness that we’d order it all again in a heartbeat. Maybe next time we’ll be able to eat it all in one sitting!
If you’d like more information about what we tasted at Raffles that afternoon please go to our images below where the full menu is set out.
Details
Daily, 2 PM - 7 PM
Raffles Salon, Raffles Hotel
The Floral Afternoon Tea by Raffles is priced at AED 290 for two people and AED 490 for two people including a flute of bubbly each.