The afternoon tea set at the Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo’s lounge is one of the best in Tokyo, so it’s always popular and famously hard to book. The wide-open view over the city from the 38th floor is great and the desserts are supposedly top-notch, but I’d say the biggest draw is that every kind of tea is free-flowing, so you can take your time and enjoy lots of different teas. It’s always fully booked, and I’d heard the afternoon tea set is only served after lunch, but thanks to a friend’s help I got to have it at around 10 in the morning.
Starting with Armani chocolates..
I bought these as a thank-you gift for the person who went to the trouble of getting me a reservation that day. They were really happy with it. There’s one in my fridge too – when am I going to eat it..
A light start with the starters
The quality really puts Bvlgari’s afternoon tea set to shame. When it comes to flavor, I don’t think any hotel is as meticulous as the Mandarin. That’s why it was the six-star hotel I most wanted to visit.
Light cookies to go with the tea
Just cookies.
Out comes an exotic tea.
I think it was the Mandarin’s original blend, and it’s much stronger than it looks. I had a lunch appointment that day, so instead of the afternoon tea set I just ordered tea, which came in a pot – with the regular afternoon tea set it’s served by the cup, as much as you like.
The cup
Just savor the aroma and sip slowly.
Jam, butter, honey
Pretty standard.
Scones
I guess these are meant as a light meal. With this much, anyone with a small appetite would probably be satisfied even if they skipped lunch.
Sugar
Clumped-together crystals. The design was so so pretty that I had to take a picture.
Fruit to refresh the palate
And that’s just the starters ^_^
The old Bank of Japan building
It’s right next door to the Mandarin Oriental – you can see it directly below the lounge. If you look closely, the building is shaped like the character for yen (円), and there’s a theory that it was built that way on purpose.. It really does look like the yen character, which was so neat that I took a picture.
The dessert tray
When you say afternoon tea set, this dessert tray is the main event. It looks gorgeous, and the taste is just as good.. I only had a tiny taste, but it’s so tempting. None of the shortcomings I felt at the Shangri-La here. This time I only took pictures, sadly, but next time I’d like to enjoy it at leisure.
Front shot
It was backlit and hard to shoot, so the people who’d been sitting there kindly stood up for me. Thanks for helping with the photo. ^_^
A fresh tea
Whenever you finish, you can order any tea on the menu. Honestly it’s not cheap (around 4,200 yen), but if you drop by once in a while to soak up the luxurious atmosphere, I don’t think it’s all that expensive.