A Letter from Petra Eiko a German artist and author – Dear Oriental, each time your guests enter the grand entrance door they dive into a world of luxury. Your majestic appearance and spectacular setting inspire our imagination and your service gives each one of us the feeling of being royalty. You are the heart of the River of Kings! From my heart to yours, thank you.
As we travel around the world to share LingoHut some of our favorite things to do is getting to know the people and its language, taking walks around town, trying the local cuisine, learning the culture and traditions, and to us, a trip wouldn’t be complete without indulging in an afternoon tea, including this trip to Bangkok.
We selected to go to Mandarin Oriental’s Authors Lounge by the Chao Phraya River. The name “Authors Lounge” was selected because so many famous writers would go to the Mandarin Oriental to enjoy afternoon tea. This space, designed by an Italian architect, is so beautiful and exquisite to spend an afternoon with your loved one.
At this amazing location, you can select the oriental afternoon tea or western afternoon tea. Since we are in Bangkok my partner and I selected oriental afternoon tea. We were both so satisfied with our selection. We both selected a different tea to drink. I decided to take the Oriental tea and my partner the Darjeeling tea, both were delicious.
The setting of the table was lovely and elegant. Our surrounding was explosive to our mood, and the guitarist playing in the background enhanced the old-world charm ambiance of the lounge. The staff at the Oriental is one of a kind, never missing a step.
Our culinary journey began with coconut sorbet to cleanse our palate. What a lovely way to begin this delightful experience. The food was served in a ceramic steamer like basket; the colorful designs on the ceramic baskets were stunning.
Some of the savory treats we enjoyed were steamed butterfly pea dumplings filled with peppery crabmeat, crispy noodles, pineapple and minced peanut chicken, chicken green curry puff pastry, herbed vegetables and sweet corn in pastry, papaya salad wrapped in a rice sheet, chicken satay sandwich with sweet cucumber gel to name a few. I must tell you every bite was exquisite.
The selections of pastries did not let us down either. We feasted on coconut mango sticky rice (a Thai favorite), water chestnuts rubies in coconut milk, pandan and coconut milk soft cake. Let’s not forget the amazing warm scones, a plain and a mango one served with homemade jams, Devonshire clotted cream, mascarpone and good old butter.
While making the reservations a couple of weeks prior, we mentioned it was my birthday. As we sat there at the end of this mind-blowing experience the guitarist appeared playing happy birthday and a cart with a delicate cake came out with one more delicious treat to enjoy before the afternoon tea came to an end.
We felt like a prince and princess during this astonishing event. I understand why Princess Diana and Prince Charles selected this beautiful setting to have an afternoon tea while in Bangkok.
We received no compensation, free food, or other complimentary items from The Mandarin Oriental Hotel for this review. This article contains only our own honest thoughts and opinions. We do not work for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and receive no commission for any hotel purchases or bookings.