The Melbourne Series #5 - High Tea at The Langham Hotel

The spectacular chocolate fountain at the Aria Bar and Lounge's weekend Chocolate Bar Afternoon High Tea.

 

Time to dress up in your finest floral frock and paint on the red lipstick. Today I am taking you on yet another high tea experience and it's a glorious one made even more exciting for you, if you are a chocoholic.

 

The Langham Hotel is ideally situated in the heart of Melbourne city at trendy Southbank; home of fine dining and central to the best tourist attractions in town. (The towering Eureka Skydeck88 is just a short walk from this quality hotel's entrance.)

From the moment you enter the foyer here, you will leave the world of the everyday behind literally and enter a luxurious place where you will be sensually seduced by a décor and atmosphere which is truly beautiful to behold.

 

 

Giant chandeliers, delicate scents of ferns and florals, sparkling brass, cool marble, lamps and linens

 

 

Carriage lamps, cascading waterfalls, subdued crystal lighting, water soundscapes...

 

Add the sensual tinkering of the live piano music, which trickles down from the pianist above, and envelops the bustling foyer...Yes, it's lovely isn't it!

I was awash with the sensuality and presence of the place.

It is simply stunning and scores maximum points on impressive factor - and it just gets better.

 

We were here to review the weekend Chocolate Bar High Tea offered at the sumptuous Aria Bar and Lounge. Weekend High Tea at The Langham is a special chocolate affair and a little different to your standard afternoon tea experience. For starters, high tea begins in the manner we were familiar with, but the traditional top tier of your platter is presented instead, on a giant table of goodies worth waiting for.

 

Our afternoon began with our tiered platters containing delicious and healthy savouries served with a glass of sparkling. These are the lovely essentials with which all high tea's commence and are the healthy component of the luncheon.

We enjoyed ribbon sandwiches with an assortment of fillings such as smoked salmon, cucumber, egg mayonnaise and cress and cream cheese and chives. There were savouries and quiches, warm and tantalising.

Scones were offered too, as is standard fare, with strawberry jam and fresh clotted cream - delicious!

 

Pictured are two high tea services, on the left is a vegetarian selection, the right, the regular offering.

 

We paced ourselves for the best part of this high tea experience however, which was yet to come.

Before we were seated, we passed by this incredible, centrally placed table display of cakes and chocolates, truly capable of making any diet redundant:

 

 

A magnificent Perspex Eiffel Tower of chocolate desserts surrounded by more chocolate based delicacies than I have ever seen in my lifetime. Wow!

 

 

Inviting tarts, truffles, mousse, custards and fudges, all chocolate themed...there was so much on offer and all of it in a word - exquisite! Everything was catalogued with cards to help make the selection easier. I tried hard to pay attention to the names but in the end, the visual appeal just swept me away and I taste-tested on looks alone and without regret.

Glorious liquid chocolate tarts set in perfectly sculpted chocolate cups topped with chocolate leaves

 

These stunning little bombs in an impossible shade of red were knockouts! Not only were they exceedingly pretty but the taste was amazing!

 

 

La Cherise: Belgian dark chocolate mousse 58%, Morelo cherries, macaroon base and red spray glaze: Divine

 Tea was served in heavy silver pots with that posh, traditional English look about them that begets pinky-pointing. I enjoyed bottomless cups of the Silk Road Blend consisting of the finest Chinese Silver Needle white tea with aromatic jasmine flowers and whole Iranian rosebuds; gloriously flavoured and scented and perfect for setting off the chocolate flavours of the afternoon.

 

High tea at the Aria Bar and Lounge is such a cosmopolitan affair. The idea of a smorgasbord of chocolate is a wonderful one and extremely pleasurable to both view and sample. When else would you ever have the chance to absorb so many beautiful sights and tastes? The flavours were magnificent and my only disappointment was the fact that I couldn't eat more! I am already planning a return visit here, with full intentions of eating my way through the offerings.

 

Here is a high tea experience for a very special occasion, made even greater by the fact that you are dining in the centre of a wonderful city with the best of its sights within short reach. There was genuine atmosphere in the Aria Bar and Lounge and it was a 'bustling' experience in every positive light, dining here.

Really though, who needs a special occasion to dine like this? Just let yourself deserve it and go!

 

There are a variety of signature High Teas on offer at The Langham Hotel in Melbourne. You can visit the website here to see which experience you'd like to try or to make a booking.

Reviewed here is The Chocolate Bar Afternoon Tea which operates on Saturdays and Sundays from 12-2pm and 2.30-4.30pm and costs $75 per person with some additional charges applying for beverages. For bookings call 1800 641 107.

 

 

 The Langham, Melbourne. 1 Southgate Avenue, Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria, 3006. Australia.

*Myself and a guest experienced a high tea at The Langham Hotel Melbourne

 in exchange for my thoughts presented in this review.

 

Linking for IBOT