Tea with the most elegant of flavours

WITH COFFEE now out and fine brews of tea definitely in, it comes as little surprise to see long queues forming at the newly opened Harrods Tea Room at Siam Paragon.

It’s taken two years of negotiation and a further year to actually set up, but London’s most fashionable tearoom finally opened its doors last month and has been packed ever since with diners eager to try the distinct flavour and aroma of quality tea leaves.

“Thai consumers follow European trends rather than American. They tend to dress up luxuriously and the casual sporting style is less popular. If we compare coffee and tea, tea is a statement of luxury,” says Boonchai Kongpakpaisarn, chief executive of LME, leaders in the ready-to-wear fashion market, who brought Harrods Tea Room to Thailand.

The fashion line, says Boonchai, is no longer sufficient to serve the lifestyles of today’s urbanites and a classy food and beverage segment aims to fill the gap.

“Food and beverages today are not about what you eat and drink. They’re a lifestyle statement, it’s how you present yourself. And as Thai consumers tend to prefer the European lifestyle, food and beverages must logically follow,” he says.

The idea for bringing the tearoom to Thailand was conceived five years when Boonchai took a break at the Harrods Tea Room in Ginza, Japan. Impressed by the great tastes and understated luxury, he returned home eager to bring this tearoom to Bangkok.

It proved harder than he’d anticipated and he finally called on long-time business partner Thai-MC (Mitsubishi Corporation Japan) for help. Their bid to have the Bangkok tearoom as a sub-franchise under aJapan’s Asian regional franchise was finally successful.

The 280-square-metre tearoom with a mezzanine floor is typically British in terms of decor with a high ceiling, marble floor and floor-to-ceiling windows. It can accommodate about 80 guests in total.

“The interior design is clean and clear making it comfortable for casual all-day dining” says Boonchai, who invested about Bt300 million for the two year operation.

The classic British afternoon tea sets are available from 10am to 5pm and come complete with Harrods signature scones and assorted fruit jams. Designed for two people, the Mayfair set (Bt990) is as filling as a full meal.

You get roast beef sandwich (or ham and piccalilli if beef is not your thing), smoked salmon and cream cheese, tuna mayonnaise, egg and water cress sandwich, and lobster roll, together with four traditional Harrods scones – two butter, one sweet raisin, and one Earl Grey. The scones are served with clotted cream, rose and lychee jam, strawberry vinegar jam, and lemon curd. 

And there are also the Harrods tea fancies, which include mini chocolate dome, mini lemon tart, English berry trifle, Earl Grey eclair and a macaroon blanc with champagne stuffing. They come with two choices of tea from a selection that features Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Afternoon Special, 1849 Blend to Vanilla Excellence, Moroccan Blend and Whole Rose Buds.

The Chelsea set (Bt390) is ideal if you are on your own and features two scones (plain and rose Earl Grey) with clotted cream and assorted jams, two macaroons with orange and English rose stuffing, as well as a lemon curd cupcake. 

Harrods Tea Room is also the place to go for all-day dining. Start with Chef’s Creation Salad (Bt280) featuring yellow fin tuna, Scottish smoked salmon and egg mimosa together with mixed greens, crispy bacon and honey balsamic dressing.

Perfect for brunch is the Deluxe Foie Gras Benedict (Bt450) with truffle poached eggs on toasted bread with foie gras and hollandaise sauce.

“Apart from the signature dishes, we’ve recommended that London Harrods create special dishes that we believe will please the Thai palate. As Thais prefer foie gras and truffle, our menus then offer egg benedict foie gras, truffle omelette and truffle cappuccino soup. Thais tend to eat less beef so pork lasagna is also available.

“Harrods know well that it doesn’t make sense to import everything from London – from tableware to ingredients – if we can source locally items of the same standards. The price of each dish is thus not overpriced but reasonable,” says Boonchai.

The traditional British comfort food of Bangers and Mash (Bt320) features Cumberland sausage, a pork delight that originated in the ancient county of Cumberland, with truffle mashed potato. 

London Metro Fish & Chips (Bt390) features beer battered cod served with English fries that are cut thick and deep-fried to ensure a mash-like texture inside and a crisp outside. Four kinds of dips are on offer - mushy pea, tartar sauce, malt vinegar and tomato ketchup.

Travelling from Knightbridge of London are Roasted Beef (Bt520) with Yorkshire pudding, fine beans and onion gravy, and Harrods Heritage Wellington (Bt550) - hand-wrapped beef (or fish for your choice) baked in puff pastry and served with grilled asparagus and new potatoes. 

Harrods Boutique is located opposite the tearoom and offers an array of branded goods such as teas, coffees, chocolates, hampers as well as the famous Harrods bears and bags. 

Another three branches are expected to open this year at Central World’s Groove zone, Central Embassy and The EmQuartier. 

 

 

CHIC EATS

>>Harrods Tea Room is open daily from 10 to 10. It is on the ground floor of Siam Paragon. 

Call (02) 683 9300.