[Paris] Tea Time at Le Meurice

Categories paris
[Paris] Tea Time at Le Meurice

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Le Dalí at Le Meurice

Add: 228 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Tel: +33 1 44 58 10 10
Hours: [breakfast] 8~11:30am [lunch] 12:30~3pm [tea time] 3:30~6pm [dinner] 7:30~10:30pm
Website: www.dorchestercollection.com/en/paris/le-meurice
Price: [tea sets] €46~64 [tea] €14~18 [pastries] €16
Visited on: Apr 2014

A dear friend was visiting Paris last week with her husband and, knowing her penchant for tea and desserts in sumptuous surroundings, I decided to have our afternoon rendezvous at Le Meurice, a historical hotel re-designed by Philippe Starck in 2007 to infuse 18th century opulence with contemporary chic. Tea time here takes places at Le Dalí, a gorgeous space named after the surrealist painter Salvador Dalí, who spent at least one month per year at the hotel. Apparently Dalí once demanded that a herd of sheep be brought to his room, then shot them with his pistol (filled with blank bullets) upon their arrival.  Another time, he asked the staff to capture flies for him in the Tuileries Garden, paying them five francs (around one euro) per fly. Yup.

sugared & spiced - tea time at le meurice

sugared & spiced - tea time at le meurice

sugared & spiced - tea time at le meurice

But I digress. Back to tea time at Le Meurice, ahem. I am fortunate to have previously met Cédric Grolet, the head pastry chef at Le Meurice, and when he heard that I was coming to tea with friends, he simply said – “Choose your tea, and I will take care of the pastries.” And there, I knew we were in good hands.

sugared & spiced - tea time at le meurice

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[Paris] Mamie Gâteaux

Categories paris
[Paris] Mamie Gâteaux

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Mamie Gâteaux

Add: 66 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris
Tel: +33 1 42 22 32 15
Hours: [Tue-Sat] 11:30am~6pm
Website: www.mamie-gateaux.com
Price: [drinks] €2~5 [sweets] €4.5~5.5
Tasted on: May 2013

Cozy little tea room located on a quiet corner in the 6eme arrondissement, 3 minutes away from Le Bon Marché. Wooden furniture, homemade pastries, friendly waitstaff. Simply lovely.

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[Paris] Mariage Frères

Categories paris
[Paris] Mariage Frères

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Mariage Frères

Add*: 13 Rue des Grands Augustins 75006 Paris
Tel: 01 40 51 82 50
Hours: 10:30am~7:30pm
Website: www.mariagefreres.com
Price: [afternoon tea set] €18~37 [tea] €9~12 [desserts] €11~16
Visited on: Nov 2012

Tea lovers, you have undoubtedly heard of Mariage Frères, the oldest tea importer in France. In each of their colonially decorated boutiques, over 600 varieties of teas are layed out apothecary style, tempting visitors with intriguing names like Thé Sur le Nil, Thé l’Opéra, Marco Polo, or Montagne de Jade. I often find myself opening jars after jars, sniffing each exotic blends to see which fits my mood at the moment, and either purchase them by the gram, or enjoy a pot right away in the tea salon along with some tea-infused desserts. A soothing afternoon, guaranteed.

*3 Salon de Thé locations available in Paris, check website for full listing.

(Picture taken right before the salon closed, hence the empty room.)

A good way to enjoy a pot of tea with some dessert bites is Time for Tea (€22), which includes an assortment of tea-flavoured mini desserts served with a tea of your choice.

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[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The Living Room, Park Hyatt (2)

Categories paris
[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The Living Room, Park Hyatt (2)

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The Living Room at Park Hyatt

Address: 87/F, Park Hyatt Shanghai, 100 Century Avenue, near Dongtai Lu 世纪大道100号, 上海柏悅酒店87楼, 近东泰路
Tel: 6888 1234
Hours: [Afternoon Tea] 2:00pm~6:00pm
Price: [Afternoon Tea Set] 218 RMB + 15%, [Tea/Coffee] 60~65 RMB + 15%
Website: www.parkhyattshanghai.com
Visited on: 2012-02-24

I’m quite a fan of Park Hyatt’s afternoon tea set, but this time I went back to try their alluring array of à la carte desserts. Cream puffs, fresh fruit tarts, cheese cakes, mango puddings, chocolate mousse…ready for a sugar high afternoon?

The Living Room at Park Hyatt

The view

Caught this reflection by chance…please excuse the digression :)

Reflection

Reflected 

Voilà, here they are. Classic French pastries baked fresh daily, just sitting there quietly in their glistening crystal shields, tempting folks like you and I with their alluring colors.

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[Shanghai] Manne et Sante’ [2]

Categories restaurant
[Shanghai] Manne et Sante’ [2]

Manne et Sante’

Add: 96 Shaoxing Lu, near Shanxi Nan Lu / 绍兴路96号, 近陕西南路
Tel: 5465 6297
Hours: 8am~10pm
Price: [afternoon tea] minimum spend 50 RMB/person,  [lunch/dinner] approx. 100 RMB/person
Visited: Mar 2012

It’s been a long while since I last visited Manne et Sante’, and I’m feeling very fortunate to have rediscovered this hidden gem. Take a look at this post, which will hopefully convince you to venture up its shabby and twisting staircase (be careful not to hit your head on the way up). Comfortable leather sofas, natural light streaming in from large window panes, Ella Fitzgerald in the air, and most impressively – affordable and delicious dishes! I wasn’t expecting much given the tiny size of the cafe and the presumably small kitchen, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

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[Hong Kong] Chez Patrick Deli

Categories hong kong
[Hong Kong] Chez Patrick Deli

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Chez Patrick Deli

Address: 1/F, 5 Star Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong / 香港灣仔星街5號1樓
Tel: (852) 2527 1408
Hours: 11:00am~11:00pm
Website: chezpatrick.hk
Prices: [lunch] 90~220HKD, [afternoon tea] 90HKD, [dinner] 300~380HKD
Visited on: 2011-12-24

When I stumbled upon Chez Patrick Deli, I was instantly attracted by the warm glow that flowed through its floor-to-ceiling windows. In plain view – a rustic yet modern interior, wooden furnitures, dark timber fishes, pendant lighting. I just had to go in to find out what this is about.

Star Street

A quick browse of the menu will tell you what Chez Patrick Deli is: an all day French bistro serving homey dishes. The cherry on top? It’s got a grocery counter that stocks a fine selection homemade products – perfect for lunch or dinner takeouts.

Chez Patrick Deli

Interior

Pendant lighting

As it was 3:00pm in the afternoon, I sat down for an afternoon tea set (90HKD), which includes tea or coffee plus one “douceur” of your choice – tart, cake, crepe, floating island, creme caramel, or eclair. I opted for a cup of latte, though the tea selection by Mariage Frères was also very attractive, and certainly brought back fond memories of my evening in Ghent, Belgium.

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[Shanghai] Song Fang Maison de Thé 宋芳茶館

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Song Fang Maison de Thé 宋芳茶館

Song Fang Maison de Thé 宋芳茶館

Add: 227 Yongjia Lu, near Shanxi Nan Lu /永嘉路277号, 近陝西南路
Tel: 6433 8283
Price: [tea] 40~70 RMB/pot, [cake] ~40 RMB
Website: www.songfangtea.com
Visited: Dec 2011

Song Fang Maison de Thé is an enchanting tea salon located in a converted former French Concession lane house. From the 1st floor retail space, climb up the winding wooden staircase to arrive at its bright and airy tea salon adorned with vintage tin cans, wicker chairs, and nostalgic floral red prints from Northern China – you probably wouldn’t have guessed that this place is opened by a French lady, would you? With light jazz floating in the background, this is a truly stylish retreat.


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[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The PuLi

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Afternoon Tea at The PuLi

The PuLi Hotel & Spa

Add: 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Zhong Lu / 常德路1号，近延安中路
Tel: 3203 9999
 Hours: [afternoon tea] 2:30-5:30pm
Website: www.thepuli.com
Price: [afternoon tea] 240 + 15% RMB/set, +100 RMB for Moet & Chandon Brut NV
Visited: Dec 2011

Please note that this is an arranged tasting.

In this cold weather, there’s not much better than spending a warm and delicious afternoon at The PuLi Hotel & Spa. The sun-filled lobby, an elegant space that feels a world away from the dizzying Shanghai city center, is a most ideal place to enjoy the hotel’s newly launched afternoon tea service.


For a even more secluded experience, head upstairs to Jing’An Restaurant, an understated yet stylish dining room overlooking Jing’An Park. You can also choose to take the tea service out on the terrace, but let’s save that for a warmer day…

Instead of the typical three tier tea stand, we were presented with a gorgeous wooden lacquer box, and instantly I knew PuLi’s afternoon tea would be quite different from anything else I’ve tried in this city. The price: 240 +15% RMB for a set (enough to feed two), or 340 +15% RMB with a glass of champagne.

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[Shanghai] Hof (2)

Categories shanghai
[Shanghai] Hof (2)

Hof

Add: 30 Sinan Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu 思南路30号, 近淮海中路
Tel: 6093 2058 / 6093 2052
Hours: [Tue-Thu] 11am-midnight [Fri-Sun] 11am-1am
Price: [cakes] 30~42 RMB [truffles] 10-13 RMB [wine] 38-55 RMB/glass
Visited: Nov 2011

Hof is old news, but its selection of chocolate desserts never fails to draw a steady crowd.

I arrived at 2pm sharp to claim my reservation, and was luckily given the innermost sofa seats.

The two of us went a little crazy and ordered 4 cakes and 3 chocolate truffles…but you can’t blame us, everything looked too alluring. And yes, we finished ’em all. Mmhmm.


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