To some Singaporeans, Bangkok is all about shopping, shopping and more shopping. Foodies like us value eating more than anything else. On the third day of our Bangkok trip, The Chewys had the luxury of sleeping in and subsequently took a Grab car to Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. We were staying at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit and the journey from our hotel took about 20 minutes due to a slight midday traffic jam.
Thankfully, the girls were pretty well-behaved along our way there and upon reaching Mandarin Oriental, we were captivated by the beautiful and luxurious hotel interior.
Overlooking the Chao Phraya river, the Authors’ Lounge at Mandarin Oriental is one of Bangkok’s most photographed locations. It was originally an open roofed garden with a tortoise pond and since 1976, the Authors’ Lounge features a glass roof and is the place to enjoy afternoon tea. Over the last three centuries, many famous writers have stayed at the hotel and their photographs are showcased in the newly restored Authors’ Lounge. The ‘Heritage Authors’ Noël Coward, James Michener, Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad are now immortalised in four new private lounges.
I am always cautious and want to avoid any disappointment when it comes to holiday planning, so I reserved a table for the four of us a couple of weeks before our trip. I booked the earliest slot for afternoon tea at 12pm and perhaps it was a weekday, we got to choose where we wanted to sit. What I didn’t like was that Mini misschewy started to whine because it was close to her nap time and one of the staff forewarned us that if Cayla continued to make noise, we would have to be moved to a table at a corner as it would disturb other (non-existent) guests. I mean young children are bound to laugh, cry or talk loudly. She could have ushered us to a corner table in the first place. It resulted in us jumping up every time one of the girls let out any form of sound exceeding 60 to 75 decibels and we had to constantly shush them. LOLOLOL.
Moving on..! The Author’s Lounge offers three types of afternoon tea sets. If you are a vegetarian, there’s something for you! Apart from that, there is a choice of Western Afternoon Tea Set and The Oriental Afternoon Tea Set. If you are dining alone, I would definitely recommend that you go for the Oriental set where the items are traditionally Thai. Dining with friends? Then you should have the best of both worlds! Each set costs ฿1450++ per person and is inclusive of free flow tea of coffee.
My choice of tea: Pink Garden Tea – Regal garden roses accent this green tea blended with notes of Provencal red fruits. A blooming bouquet as blissful as a summer day.
His choice of tea (without even having to look at the menu): Moroccan Mint Tea – A great favourite, this fine TWG Tea green tea is perfectly blended with suave and strong Sahara mint. A timeless classic.
We didn’t have to wait long for both the afternoon tea sets to be served. Yaaay! And look! So Instagram-worthy!
Little Tai Tais in training 😛
I love the use of ceramic tiered tiffin to present the oriental set! Traditional with a touch of class.
We really enjoyed The Oriental Afternoon Tea Set. Most of our favorites were the savory food items such as:
– Lime-marinated crabmeat sandwich with lemongrass and chilli
– Minced chicken, chilli and black olive sandwich
– Roasted pandan chicken
– Steamed Thai dumplings
From the selection of pastries, these were pretty unforgettable:
– Kanom Sai Sai, sweet coconut pudding wrapped in banana leaf
– Steamed pumpkin custard
– Mango tartlet with vanilla cream
– Candy bale fruit chiffon cake
We were impressed by the Oriental set but that doesn’t mean we paid any less attention to the Western Afternoon Tea Set.
Here are some of the finger sandwiches that we reckon are worthy of mention:
– Green asparagus dips in clear tomato aspic on white sour dough bread
– Smoked ham, sun dried tomato and honeydew melon
– Open-faced smoked salmon, sour cream and beetroot sandwich
– Cucumber, dill and cream cheese on oat bread
Apart from the chocolate desserts, these were quite nice and refreshing:
– Minted light cream and strawberry sphere
– Vanilla yoghurt cream, streusel and pineapple chutney
If you only have time to indulge in one afternoon tea session in Bangkok, make the Authors’ Lounge at Mandarin Oriental your choice! Hope you guys have enjoyed our Mandarin Oriental Bangkok afternoon tea review! Stay connected with us on Facebook and on Instagram 🙂
Authors’ Lounge
48 Oriental Avenue
Bangkok 10500
Thailand
Tel: +66 (2) 659 9000 ext 7390-4
Email: mobkk-reservations@mohg.com
Afternoon tea timing:
12pm – 6pm (Last order at 5.30pm)
