Advertise: 020 7936 9030 www.bluetomato.co.uk Afternoon Tea 33

hink of it as food fashion, and atthe front of the stylishprocession is Mango Tree,parading the arrival of their newafternoon tea selection.

Nothing suits a summer’s evening (or theearly onslaught of hunger) better than bite-size portions and a warm pot of tea. Oh, howvery British of us to say so. Fortunately ThaiHigh Tea takes these British ideals (and lovefor a good ol’ cuppa) to new, more inventiveproportions.

The selection of nibbles are served on a tallwicker tray — an authentic touch whichmakes you long to be sat in a matching hutsomewhere in Thailand. We aren’t quite thatlucky unfortunately (damn crunch), butthankfully this longing for authenticity wassubdued by the food on offer. Each platter —which is £15 a head — consists of vegetablespring rolls, chicken crisps, aubergine cups (aBlue Tomato favourite), raw cuts of tuna ontoasted bread, mini madeleines and three —yes three — pieces of banana cake. However,we would have been happy with bread andbutter as long as it came served with theirchocolate glazed coconut and caramel sauce— a side so sweet and creamy that it’sdifficult not to dip your fingers in (we didn’t aswe want to be invited back...)

Afternoon tea is served from 3pm - 5:30pm,Monday - Friday. Mango Tree, 46 GrosvenorPlace, SW1 020 7823 1888

Thai High Tea There’s only one thing that getsBlue Tomato more excited than the thought ofsummer — and that’s the thought of summerbeing filled with beautiful Thai food.

TTea-time facts• Afternoon tea reportedly originates from

the 1840s when Anna Russell, the 7thDuchess of Bedford, complained ofhaving ‘that sinking feeling’ mid-afternoon.

• It became popular in the days whenBritish people only tended to eatbreakfast and a late evening meal.

• Afternoon tea is also referred to as ‘lowtea’ as it was customary to serve it onlow tables in the host’s drawing room.It is quite different from high tea,although these days the boundaries aremore blurred.

• ‘High tea’ may sound majestic, but itwas actually for the lower classes whowould have something more substantialto eat later in the day - often replacingtheir evening meal. This was served ona high dinner table and certainly not ina drawing room.

Which tea are you?BlackcurrantDecaf BreakfastEarl GreyEnglish BreakfastEstate DarjeelingFormosa OolongJasmine GreenCitrus MintGingerRaspberry Nectar

Tea

“What better way to spend the afternoonthan nibbling authentic Thai bites anddrinking exotic teas!” Jimmy Choo

“I would dip anything in that coconut andcaramel sauce” Gabrielle (so would we, sowould we!)

“I could eat the banana cake for the rest ofmy life and be happy” Beverley Knight

afternoon

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