Festive Afternoon Tea - Intercontinental Hotel (again)

When we first came to Hong Kong in the summer of 2016, it was our first Asian adventure and we were quite overwhelmed. We loved the clean streets, the choice - especially of places to eat - and both the calmness and the bustle of this fast-growing city. What cemented my love for Hong Kong, was the fantastic Afternoon Tea at the Intercontinental. For sure it was the meal of the year and also straight into my all-time top 5 of culinary experiences.

So here we are, experienced Hong Kong the very different although equally stunning time at Christmas. We’d already enjoyed a festive tea at the Mandarin Oriental, on the condition we will come back and have one here, overlooking the harbour, one of the world’s greatest views.

The intercontinental doesn’t take bookings and both times we have been lucky and seated in mere moments. However, the lounge is a huge space and people rarely have to wait for long even when there is a line waiting. We sat almost at the same place and once again there was live music accompany our exquisite tea. The service is friendly yet discreet and Intercontinental’s chefs are creative while putting fun and colourful spin on the delights bought out to us. The tea is served first and topped up as often as is needed and the food arrives pretty soon afterwards.

This is one where it’s hard to tell the savouries from the sweets as they are all too pretty to eat - you can see the savouries are on the top tray in the photos. And yet we do, eventually, even if taking most of the cakes back with us to devour over a couple of evenings.

I could just move in here. I’m already looking forward to the third and maybe the fourth visit when we return. Perhaps next time we’ll have another meal in this sublime ambassador to Hong Kong’s impeccable elegance.