Introduction

On the last day, the official programme of the conference I’m attending ends at noon, and my flight out of Bangkok is not until later in the evening, after 21h. What on earth could I possibly get up to until then? Of course, I’m nothing if not prepared. I’ve planned ahead, and have a booking for afternoon tea at the Shangri-la down by the Chao Praya river.

After the conference I return to the SO/ Bangkok and change into something a bit more laid back. By public transport it takes about 45 minutes to get to the Shangri-la. First, I catch the metro from Lumpini to Silom. It’s really not that far to walk, but it’s just too damn hot and humid, and I don’t want to arrive for tea drenched in sweat. At Silom I connect to the BTS railway station at Sala Daeng and ride four stops to Sapan Taksin. On a side note, you can tap in and out on the metro, but not on the BTS, where single tickets can only be purchased using cash. From Sapan Taksin it’s a walk of about five minutes to the Shangri-la.

The Bangkok Shangri-La Hotel

Several of the traditional grand hotels are located in the same area of Bangkok. The Mandarin Oriental is right next door, and The Peninsula sits across the river.

The lobby and lounge are very grand and oppulent. I’m not sure I would want to stay at the hotel, though. It seems a bit stuffy and just on the brink of looking dated.

The Service

I have a table reserved for afternoon tea right by the large floor to ceiling windows overlooking the river. We are brought to our table straight away and showed the menu. The service is excellent. Throughout the afternoon tea, the staff make sure our drinks are constantly replenished. They also remove dishes and generally tidy the table as we go along.

The Afternoon Tea

Given how hot it is, I first ask for a bottle of sparkling water. Much to my surprise, the server brings a bottle of sparkling Evian, which I wasn’t even aware existed.

The tea menu is limited. I order the Earl Grey, which is excellent and has a subtle hint of saffron, similar to the tea I had at The Peninsula in Istanbul earlier in the year, but more subtle.

The food arrives on a three-tier étagère, with the scones delivered separately. The afternoon tea at the Shangri-la clearly follows the French tradition, which emphasizes sweet dishes over savouries.

There are four different canapés. One is a beef tataki, which I ask to be swapped for something else. On the far left we have egg and crab meat, followed by a cracker of tartare cream cheese with strawberry, a puff pastry of chicken and shrimp, and then another cracker as a substitute for the beef tataki.

The scones are warm, and there are two plain ones, and two scones with raisins. They are served with mascarpone, a rich marmalade and a very sweet strawberry jam.

The whole afternoon tea is strawberry themed. As a rule, I rather like strawberries – who wouldn’t? Even so, I have to admit that half way through the afternoon tea, it starts to get a bit much. Apart from the fact that the sweets are all very sweet, the taste of strawberry is too dominant and overpowering, so that everything ends up tasting pretty much the same. At some point, I just give up, I can’t take it any more – too sweet, too strawberry!

Conclusion

The afternoon tea at the Shangri-la Bangkok was nice. The service is impeccable and the views of the river are great. It’s a nice way to spend an afternoon, watching the bustling activity on the water, ranging from long barges weighed down by their cargo, to cruise boats in garish colours and carrying an alarming number of tourists that is likely beyond what is legal.

However, while the food was well prepared, for my taste it was just a bit too much: too much strawberry and too sweet. I would have preferred a more balanced distribution between sweets and savouries and a greater variety of flavours that just strawberries with strawberries in strawberries with strawberry sauce.