An amalgamated British Tradition – Afternoon tea has now become one of the quaintest yet elegant ways to spend time with friends or colleagues all the while enjoying scrumptious and unique food items. Here’s a look into what Hilton Colombo offers you in their edition of Afternoon Tea.
What can you expect from Afternoon Tea at Hilton?
A well spread out mixture of traditional and non traditional food items and a range of teas and coffees to compliment different flavours of each food item. The all new lobby and lounge at Hilton sets the perfect ambiance to enjoy your company and upon your request the staff can even arrange Afternoon Tea at the deck ensuring that you would have a perfect evening in just the right way.
A local affair – Traditional Yet Modern
Hilton serves in my opinion one of the most elegant Afternoon tea platters in town. With a traditional 3 tiered high stand, you can indulge in a decent variety of traditional British as well as Sri Lankan food items. I chose the Sri Lankan platter but they do have a traditional British Platter as well for those who wish to experience the authentic British flavours.
The main attraction of the afternoon tea platter at Hilton is their three tiered tea tray. Perfect placement of each food item proves that attention to detail is key at Hilton. Although it may seem like a traditional platter at first, each food item comes with it’s own little twist.
From Savories to Sweets – A tasteful path
The top most tier is filled with savory items followed by middle and bottom tiers filled with sweet items. They also serve a separate mini platter of authentic local savories with a tangy tomato sauce.
Onion Sambol, Boiled Egg in Curry Leaf Bun
Caramelized onions stuffed in a soft bun and topped of with a perfectly boiled egg and crunchy lettuce. The slight sweetness from the onions goes perfectly with the creaminess of the egg and the lettuce adds a nice crunch as well.
Curried Vegetables and Cheddar Grilled Sandwich
This sandwich proves that a few simple spices can elevate the natural flavours of vegetables. The turmeric and the cumin complement the sweetness of carrots and beans and the sharp, salty taste of cheddar balance out the flavours of the sandwich filling.
Devilled Prawn with cheese in Mini Hot Dog
No one can resists prawns cooked with a nice blend of spices. Not only these prawns were juicy but soft in texture as well. It is certainly one of my favourite food items of the entire menu. The sweetness of the prawns with the mild spiciness of the sauce in my opinion was impeccable.
Slow Roasted Chicken, Coconut Sambol with Cheese Stack Godhamba
Godhamba Roti is a staple in Sri Lankan cuisine and it makes the perfect wrap to complement the flavours of roasted chicken and spicy coconut sambol. The chicken was creamy and the sambol did enhance the subtle smoky flavour of it even more.
Egg & Seeni Sambol Pol Roti
This was by far one of my favourite savory food items on this platter. It is literally a Sri Lankan version of an egg burger. A fried egg topped with seeni sambol and assembled between two pol roti, this combo quite literally encompasses authentic local flavours of traditional Sri Lankan cuisine.
Plain & Raisins Scones, Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam
Scone is a quintessential element of a traditional British Afternoon Tea and in this platter you will see a plain scone as well as a raisins scone which are distinctively fluffy in texture. The strawberry jam is another show stopping element and pairs perfectly well with either of the scones. Highly recommend you to try the scones with jam and whip cream.
Apart from the scones, they had an impressive range of sweets that reminded me of a classic British afternoon tea. The Pina Colada Pineapple Delight and Noisette Dacquoise Manjari Praline Crunch are two of my favourite picks out of the array of sweets. The texture of Pina Colada Delight was silky and the balance between the tartness and sweetness of each element in the dessert was perfect.
Noisette Dacquoise Manjari Praline Crunch had a nice brownie like consistency to it and definitely tasted much better than a brownie. If you have a sweet tooth, Mango & Raspberry Sensation is a must try for you. It was creamy in texture and you can taste the flavours of Mango and Raspberry distinctively.
Arguably English Breakfast tea is the perfect choice for after noon tea but when there is a twist I believe the tradition should be changed a bit. You can have your choice of beverage with afternoon tea but for this particular platter I would recommend a ginger tea. The sweetness of the ginger pairs perfectly with the spices added in each savoury items and enhances the flavours of the sweets as well. Always remember to have your tea while it’s still hot.
If you are planning to spend a memorable evening with your loved ones I would definitely suggest the L.A.B. – lounge and bar at Hilton. It is a little pricey but it surely is worthwhile.
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94 • LIFESTYLE 
Very well written and superbly informative article. Thank u
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