Kung Hei Fat Choy! Wish everybody good luck and good health in the Year of Golden Snake! :D
CNY is all about food, food and food. In case you've got tired of radish cake and year cake before the holiday has even started, I recommend you to celebrate with Intercontinental's deliciously festive Chinese tea set!
Look at this beautiful 3-tier lacquered box in red colour! It makes me feel 鴻運當頭 instantly! ;)
Top tier (from left to right): braised abalone and mushroom tart, fried taro and shrimp dumpling#, golden crab claw
# named according to what my taste buds told me. Not sure about the official name!
Middle tier: (from top to bottom): barbecued pork bun, puff pastry with pork in Portuguese sauce#, baked sesame flatbread#
Bottom tier (from left to right): mung bean paste dumpling with mango, yuzu & lemon custard cream dumpling, almond coconut egg white tart with candy ginger
The dim sum was lovely. The top tier was the most luxurious (did you see the gold flakes on the abalone tart?) and tastiest of all. I loved the creamy taro puff, the plump crab claw, and the succulent abalone! :9 The middle tier was not as amazing but it was decent enough. The sweet delicacies on the bottom tier were a feast to the eyes. Do try the rose-colour dumpling even though it's too pretty to eat - the fragrant mango and smooth mung bean paste will leave you no regret.
Served along with the tea set was a basket of dried longan and chestnut madeleines (中式雞蛋糕), which carried the blessings of 步步高陞 or 快高長大. Apparently 雞蛋糕 is the Chinese answer to scone. Guess what, it tastes really good when it has an elegant English/French name! :P
The tea set was rounded off by a small bowl of nourishing sweet soup. This sweet soup containing lily buds, lotus seeds, glutinous rice dumplings, is a classic CNY dessert. It symbolizes 百年好合, 連生貴子, and 一家團圓 - which basically means a happy family life! Though personally, I would like to avoid lotus seeds for the time being... :P
To complete our auspicious Chinese tea experience, we ordered Zhejing Super Long Jing (i.e. dragon well tea) for the 意頭 of 龍精虎猛 -
and Calendula Beauty, a blooming flower tea meaning 花開富貴. :) Both were delicate green teas from Fook Ming Tong; they complemented the flavourful food perfectly.
I wore this merry-go-round ring to tea because it carries lucky meaning too! What new year blessings does it remind you of? ;)
THE VERDICT
Ambience: A-
Service: B+
Food: B++
Overall remarks: Simply the best Chinese afternoon tea set in Hong Kong. Look no further if you want a more innovative way to celebrate CNY or to kill time between family meals. It is expensive but it may be cheaper than playing mahjong! ;)
INFO
Lobby Lounge (website)Lobby Level, Intercontinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Afternoon tea: 2:30 - 6:00pm (Mon - Fri), 2:00-6:00pm (Sat, Sun & PHs)
The Red Box Contemporary Chinese Tea Set: $548 (Mon - Fri) or $568 (Sat, Sun & PHs) for 2 persons
* Champagne tea set and traditional afternoon tea set also available
* Champagne tea set and traditional afternoon tea set also available
** Afternoon tea menu is updated seasonally. Enjoy the current menu from now till 24 February 2013!
