Hilton Colombo is back with a revamped high tea menu, including three new varieties. The range includes a set made from locally sourced tea, the traditional British high tea with a Western twist, and keeping true to Sri Lankan spirit, a locally
inspired menu. What makes this experience unique is the hot platter that comes along with the cold food stand, where guests can indulge in some warm, freshly made delicacies.
The high tea also offers coffee served any way you like, or bottomless Ceylon tea, which is available on request.
We had the opportunity to try all three of their delightful sets.
Tea-Inspired Affair
As a scone enthusiast, their plain and raisin scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam was the first item that caught my eye. Our expectations were met after a bite into these soft scones – the chef informed us that even the jam that comes along with it is made in-house, adding a homemade touch to it. These scoones are a standard item on each platter.
Next up, we tried the jasmine green tea-perfumed sushi with teriyaki chicken – the taste of tea was not so strong in this, but the sushi was as good as always. A personal favourite from this platter was the slow roasted beef tenderloin with Nuwara Eliya pekoe tea béarnaise in yorkshire pudding; with a combination of sweet and savory, the texture was interesting to say the least.
Moving on to the desserts, we particularly enjoyed the berliner salted caramel with black tea and the chocolate tea fudge – perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth.
Local Affair
This platter had many items that Sri Lanka is renowned for, like the curried vegetable puff, milk toffee, pol pani pancake, and kalu dodol; all prepared to five-star standards.
One item that had our taste buds singing was the devilled chicken jam sandwich with boiled egg on a brioche toast – the sweetness of the jam complemented the spiciness of the chicken without either flavour being too overwhelming.
The curry leaf pesto shrimp and seeni sambol in sesame was another hit! The chef had also curated a special Ceylon club sandwich made with black pork roast, spicy omelette, cheese and tomato with curry mayo – which was also specially made in-house for this platter.
For dessert, we loved the coconut honey cake, which had all the flavours that Sri Lanka is best known for. This platter is perfect for anyone that doesnt mind a bit of spice, or anyone that wants to experience the essence of Sri Lanka through food; I have to say that this platter was definitely our favourite.
Western Affair
The Western platter still retained elements of a traditional high tea, like the beef and Guinness beer pie with peas, and the roast beef with pickle gherkins and garlic mayo bagel, while having Hilton’s own unique spin to it. I’m not the biggest fan of cucumber, but upon the chef’s insistence, I tried the cucumber salad with mint and plain yoghurt on white toast bread – despite my avoidance of cucumbers, the mix of mint made this salad quite refreshing to indulge on a hot day. An item we would recommend you try would be the smoked mahi mahi marinated with fennel and lemon in filo cups topped with crème fresh; fish has always been synonymous with acidic flavour, and the harmony between fish topped with lemon and cream is a blessing on the tongue.
This platter also had an interesting range of desserts; all presented with bright colours that make it almost too pretty to eat. The strawberry ice truffle was soft and melted in our mouths, and the choux praline was another amazing dessert.
We highly recommend you stop by Hilton to enjoy any (or all) of these platters. Made for two, they all come with generous portions and can easily feed three people – we can promise that you’d leave with a full stomach and happy heart.
The high tea takes place from 2.30 to 6 p.m. every day.
