Guilty pleasures

Shanghai

A stolen afternoon indulging in high tea can perk up your week. Shi Yingying shows you the best places

Many top-class hotels in Shanghai offer afternoon tea specials, but the most popular are probably the elegant sessions at The Peninsula Shanghai and Swisstel Grand Shanghai. Order high tea, nibble on finger sandwiches, and indulge in scones and clotted cream and be transported into another era when the pace was more unhurried and leisurely.

The colonials may be hidden in a page of history, but some of the legacy still lingers in modern day Shanghai - manifested in traditions like The Peninsula's afternoon tea, vastly popular since the hotel opened its doors in March this year.

The queue for tea speaks volumes.

"You are lucky here in Shanghai because the queue is even longer in Hong Kong," says Terrence Crandall, the executive chef. "Even on weekends, we have people standing out here in line and waiting."

The Peninsula takes no reservations for its afternoon tea. No one is given any preferential treatment and everyone lines up for the tea service, which starts at 2 pm and lasts till 6 pm. A tip: Get there 15 minutes in advance if it's a weekend, and skip lunch.

Once you are seated, however, service is prompt and within minutes you have before you the silver teapot, cups, tea strainers and a three-tiered tray of temptations.

Apart from the classic selections of Assam, Darjeeling and Earl Grey and traditional Chinese teas like Jasmine and Pu'er, there are also the sweet fruit infusions of peach and mango, organic green tea and the Peninsula blend. With more than 20 tea varieties to choose from, you have to take your time browsing through the selection.

The choices for dessert are simpler. There are the sweets - raspberry cheesecake, strawberry rhubarb tart and dark chocolate entremets - which fill the top two tiers of the cake tray along with plain and apple scones. On the bottom, the savory selections include citrus prawn salad, fennel slaw on brioche, smoked bacon onion quiche, black truffle and more.

Traditionally, you start from the bottom, finishing the finger sandwiches first before moving up to the cakes and pastries. Linger over the scones, which can leave the serious gourmet speechless - and busy slathering more satiny Devonshire clotted cream made from milk left sitting for over 24 hours and then scalded slowly over low heat for a rich and buttery flavor.

"We make the jam and lemon curd here but the clotted cream comes from London," says Crandall. "You won't find it in Shanghai really, nobody else goes that far to get the real one."

And as you savor the elegant meal, a string quartet serenades from the balcony, adding to the atmosphere of the ritual.

For a more casual but no less appealing experience, consider the Swisstel Grand Shanghai's chocolate high tea.

Also located in the lobby, the high tea here focuses on the star ingredient - chocolate.

The flawless chocolate fondue, brownies and the cappuccino mousse will definitely cheer you up on a rainy afternoon, and the live piano music with the beautiful female vocalist just gilds the lily.