Located at : 1 Galle Face, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka

Visited on           : 11 Sep, 2020

Price                    : LKR 1,950++ (serves 01)

Availability         : Daily, 15:00 – 17:00

We were quite looking forward to enjoying Sapphyr Lounge’s Afternoon High Tea platter after a long time and were a bit sceptical when, upon calling, we were told that they had changed it up. In fact, they offer just the one option now, post-lockdown – which, I guess, makes sense economically. They also serve in individual portions now. We decided to give it a go.

The platter comprises:

. Savouries

• Smoked salmon bagel
• Ham and cheese pinwheel
• Grilled vegetable crostini
• Chicken slider
• Lamb pot pie
• Seafood and leek puff
• Prawn cake with papaya salad
• Tomato arancini

. Sweets

• Strawberry shortcake
• Oreo cheesecake
• Passion fruit and mango macaron spears
• Coffee chocolate crémeux

. Scones – homemade vanilla and raisin scones with strawberry jam, cream cheese and lemon curd

. Tea or coffee

There was much to love about the savouries on the new stand. My personal favourite was the chicken slider – a juicy patty with crunchy lettuce, mayo and pickled gherkin held together in a warm sesame bun. So much win! I also particularly liked the prawn cake (although the papaya salad should have ideally been rawer), which had great flavour. The homely lamb pot pie topped with mash, the crisp arancini and the seafood and leek puff were all pretty good too, adding more warmth and a combination of tastes and textures to the whole experience.

From the sandwiches, the smoked salmon bagel was what I enjoyed the most. It would have been nicer if the bread base of the grilled vegetable crostini was a bit crisp. The ham and cheese pinwheel was a bit bread-heavy, but I guess it does take quite a bit of compressed bread to hold the pinwheel structure in place. The garnish and dressing on top added an interesting element of taste, though.

The scones were light and soft on the inside, and the accompanying berry jam was delightful as always. I do like their lemon curd, too.

The strawberry shortcake, hands down, takes the prize among the sweet lot (yes, that’s quite something coming from a chocolate person!). It was absolutely delectable – layers of melt-in-your-mouth soft sponge with intermittent layers of a light strawberry cream, beautifully encased in a coloured white chocolate shell and topped with a touch of cream and cut strawberry. So, so good is what it was. The Oreo cheesecake, too, was quite nice with its smooth, soft-ish texture and biscuit base. The milk chocolate garnish on top was spot-on in terms of taste.

The passion fruit and mango macaron spear felt like a breath of fresh air, introducing a bit of a lightness into the mix with its fresh fruit and curd. The coffee chocolate crémeux, too, was enjoyable albeit a bit rich.

All in all, we were really glad to have tried this new-look Afternoon High Tea platter. Sapphyr Lounge has done well once again, as with the previous version, to come up with the perfect mix of eye-catching and tasty sweet and savoury items.

Yummy Rating: 4.5 / 5.0