Bring out the scones, cakes, macaroons and cucumber sandwiches, it’s time for afternoon tea in Hong Kong! Last week I experienced another Hong Kong first: Afternoon or, 'high tea' at Café Grey Deluxe in the Upper House. In 1881, Henry James wrote:

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”

I love this quote as I think it best explains the importance and prominence of afternoon tea in British culture. The introduction to afternoon tea began in England just 40 years earlier by Anna, the Seventh Dutchess of Bedford. Back then, it was typical to only eat two meals a day, with the second meal not starting until later in the evening, around 8 p.m. To tide her over, Anna started inviting friends to her home around 4 p.m. to have snacks and tea. Thus, the late-day tea craze began.

In Hong Kong, afternoon tea has only grown in popularity since the fall of the British rule in the 1990’s. Today, you can find several restaurants and hotels hosting afternoon tea between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., each with a unique sampling of teas, and snacks, as well as twists that fuse the traditional British tea culture with present day Chinese cuisine.

For my first timer experience, I opted to dine at Café Grey Deluxe at the Upper House, well, because it was close by, and I heard they had some amazing wall to wall views from their 49th floor. The Café atmosphere is most definitely swanky. I was relieved to have checked the website ahead of time for dress code recommendations which indicated “smart casual” – whatever that means. I felt fine in my black, long sleeve romper.

Once I was seated, I was greeted with the large menu. The right side of the menu described the food options (of which you are served all of it) and the left side displayed the tea options. I chose chamomile tea, one of my favorites. Not long after placing my order, I received the  snack arrangements and a nice hot pot of tea. In addition to snacks, I enjoyed a side of homemade preserves and jams, Devonshire clotted cream and honey. The honey was the perfect pairing with my tea.

The menu offers selections for both single parties like myself, or parties of two or more. The number of snacks you receive is based on the number of your party. For me, I received 10 small delights and could make my way through most of them. Towards the end, I was definitely struggling to finish it all, but made sure to take a bite of everything so I could say I tried it.

Overall, I thought the tastes were all great, with only a few selections that I probably would not have picked, given the chance. My favorite tea sandwich was the vitello tonnato roll with Kalamata olives (sorry, no photo of this one, too hungry). The best mini dessert in my opinion, was the bitter chocolate pavé with mint and cacao nibs. There were also a few raspberries served with this dessert which made the tartness even more delectable paired with the dark chocolate and mint. My least favorite snack was the caramel-tonka bean gateaux with poached Williams pears. I’m not a big fan of pear.

After about an hour and a half of tea sipping, eating and people watching, I was pleasantly full and ready for the check. At Café Grey Deluxe, single tea party seekers will be expected to pay $250 HKD (a little more than $30 USD) for afternoon tea. This price is fairly middle range as you can find places far more expensive around Hong Kong, it all depends on what you’re looking for.

For my next tea adventure, I’m going to try the traditional British afternoon tea at the Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel. In the colonial period, the Peninsula Hotel was one of the few luxury hotels in Hong Kong, and one of the original places hosting afternoon tea. Many travel websites regard afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel as one of the few remaining traditions from Hong Kong’s colonial period, and a ‘must-do’ activity before you die.