[Halal] It’s time to put on the Ritz! Afternoon tea at the Lobby Lounge, Ritz-Carlton came highly recommended when we asked where we could find the best afternoon high tea in KL.
We did have mixed reviews when we dined here recently. Read on to find out why.
The Ritz-Carlton afternoon tea
Established in 1997, The Ritz-Carlton in Jalan Imbi remains a benchmark for the best hospitality in town.
The Ritz-Carlton Afternoon Tea set here is also one of the most competitively priced among 5-star hotels in KL.
Priced at RM160 for two, the set comprises a pair of freshly baked scones with clotted cream and preserves, pies, quiches, assorted finger sandwiches and handcrafted desserts.
While the selection might not be as extensive as its counterparts – it was enough to keep us satiated for the afternoon.
Wide selection of tea at the Ritz
As mentioned, Ritz offers a wide array of tea selections.
We counted 31 offerings on their menu – from their signature Ritz blend (Tie Kuan Ying green oolong) to classics such as English Breakfast and Masala Chai, to more unique blends like Irish Whiskey Cream and Morgentaux.
Sweet Honeybush and Irish Whiskey Cream
We ordered Sweet Honeybush – a variation of the South African caffeine-free Rooibos with a hint of honey and vanilla, and a pot of Irish Whiskey Cream.
The latter was definitely an interesting one – while the aroma of Whiskey Cream was very prominent to the nose, it has quite a nice subdued sweet malty Assam tea base on the tongue.
The Rooibos was accurate to its description, and we enjoyed the vanilla scent wafting through the air as we took sips.
Scones, how we love thee
Make no mistake, we love scones!
We found the scones here to be decent as they were served warm. We did wish for it to be crispier on the outside but it had a nice soft interior texture.
The accompanying clotted cream and ham were lovely, and we did like that they served raspberry scone (instead of the one with raisins, which Ming dislikes).
Three-tier afternoon tea
Let’s begin on the three-tier afternoon tea set.
A lovely touch: the staff explained to us that we should enjoy the afternoon tea in three courses.
We started with the first course at the bottom tray – which comprises savoury baked items.
Course 1 – savouries
The savouries at the bottom tray comprises a pair of Scotch Eggs, Spinach Quiche and Chicken Pie.
Among the three, we enjoyed the Spinach quiche the most as it had a nice crumbly and buttery pastry. The egg filling was also soft and custardy, with moist and flavourful spinach.
Course 2 – tea sandwiches
For the middle-tier, we were served five slices of tea sandwiches.
The tea sandwiches were Cucumber and Japanese Mayo, Smoked Salmon, Egg Mayo, and Coronation Chicken.
Among the four, the smoked salmon stood out as we found the salmon to be quite delicious without being too salty.
The Coronation Chicken was an interesting offering as well as it has a strong turmeric flavour with some sourness from raisins.
Course 3 – Sweets
Finally, the top and final tier comprises five desserts.
The Matcha Mango Cheese Cake was quite spongey and cheesy, with a nice delicate mango flavour.
We found the Classic Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake to be dark and moist (good stuff!) while the Hummingbird Cake Tart was moist and filled with nuts.
We thought the Citrus Shortbread was the sweetest among the selection which provided a good contrast to the other sweets, while we found the Raspberry Vanilla Choux to be ordinary.
Summary
In summary, we really enjoyed the afternoon tea session here. Service was attentive and we enjoyed the wonderful selection of tea, and food most of the delicacies to be delicious and well-curated.
Here is where we had mixed reviews.
Apart from food, ambiance ranks highly on Ming’s checklist when it comes to a high tea venue and this place fell somewhat short, with not enough décor to set the mood.
She didn’t like the fact that anyone could walk in and out of the dining area between patrons who were enjoying a cuppa and a nice quiet conversation.
While live music from the harpist helped to elevate the experience, it was not enough to make this a memorable experience compared to other local and international high tea spots.
Max, on the other hand, enjoyed the food and service despite the lack of ambiance. He really had a good time unwinding and relaxing here, and he thought the live music from the harpist only improved the experience.
The Lobby Lounge, The Ritz-Carlton KL
Address: 168, Jalan Imbi, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 12pm-6pm daily
Phone: 018-306 3188
Reservations: wa.me
Website: https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/malaysia/kuala-lumpur/dining/the-lobby-lounge
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