Salon de Thé de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong

Salmon de Thé at Joel Robuchon

After a long day of shopping in Hong Kong, there's nothing I want more than to sit down and rest my feet because they're usually absolutely killing me! I knew that there was a Joel Robuchon restaurant in the Landmark building so we made that our shopping rest point for some afternoon tea one day. Though the actual restaurant is up one level, there is a Salon de Thé (or tea room) on the third level which is a more casual dining area.

Teas

We shared a high tea set for two, which was HKD$315 (approx AUD$40 at the time). This included two pots of tea of our choice, which came in delightful coloured cast iron teapots. One pot was filled with a fragrant peach tea, while the other was classic English Breakfast. Charm was also won over by a special iced tea which included fresh berries, cubes of mango and a scoop of strawberry sorbet.

Sandwiches and scones

We start with the savouries and the scones with a wooden plank of assorted sandwiches and scones arriving on the table.

Sandwiches: Tuna and poached egg; Lobster sandwich with tarragon; Premium ham with mustard seed; Norwegian smoked salmon with caviar

Sandwiches: Tuna and poached egg; Lobster sandwich with tarragon; Premium ham with mustard seed; Norwegian smoked salmon with caviar[/caption]
The sandwiches are prettily presented and perfectly rectangular with the crusts cut off. I'm particularly impressed with the smoked salmon roses that are arranged on top of the crusty bread on the second sandwich.

Homemade natural raisin and lemon scones with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam

The scones are served with clotted cream and strawberry and rhubarb jam. There are two of each type of scone - plain and raisin and lemon.

Homemade natural and raisin lemon scones with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam

They're not the best scones I've had, being a little more cakey than I prefer, but I can't go past how cute and perfect they look.

Pastries

The platter of pastries is a sight to behold, with five individual, delicate pastries each with their own flavours, and some petit fours on the side.

Pastries: Exotique; Paris-brest; Mont-blan; Macaroon-ganache; Blueberry cheesecake; Petit fours

We start with the paris-brest which is a puffed choux pastry with a hazelnut cream. The Exotique is a passionfruit and white chocolate cake topped with some glazed raspberry halves as well. My favourite is the blueberry cheesecake, which is a light cheesecake with fresh blueberries and some crushed nuts. Usually there is a chestnut mont-blanc pastry but today it's been replaced by a mint and chocolate pastry. The macaroon-ganache pastry (their spelling, not mine) is a chocolate ganache base topped with three macarons, a thin strip of chocolate and a touch of gold leaf.

On the side are some petit fours including some pieces of walnut brownie, chocolate covered orange and tiny cubes of sugar coated jellies.

It's a lovely afternoon tea and we're content to sit around, picking at the delicate pastries, sipping our cups of tea in the luxe surrounds of the Landmark building. The service is great and we're never rushed to finish up. We end up relaxing there for a good couple of hours until we're ready to pick up our shopping bags and do some more retail therapy!

Salon de Thé de Joel Robuchon
Shop 315, The Landmark
Central, Hong Kong
Ph: +852 2166 9000
Open 7 days from 8am-8pm
Lunch from noon, Afternoon tea from 3pm, Dinner from 6pm


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