The Art Gallery of New South Wales Restaurant, Sydney, New South Wales

High tea and Picasso, when you've had enough Picasso, it must be time for tea!

The view across Woolloomooloo Bay from the Art Gallery of NSW's cafe/restaurant is really spectacular - enough to lift one's mind and spirit toward the lofty heights of the finest of fine art - the partaking of tea with a little something.

The $55 per person, you get an all-day ticket to attend the Picasso exhibition (which ends 25th March 2012) and High Tea. The exhibition costs $25 per entry, so if we do the math, that leaves a food and beverage allowance in the mid-to-high range of Australian High Tea Price-o-meter.

Now, The High Tea Inspectors make a point of following the old adage of "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". This policy means that we sometimes eat a good deal more High Tea than we review. Given this, I might be a teensy bit bold on this occasion, and note that the service was, unfortunately, not first rate. But really, we all have bad days and therefore this can happen pretty well anywhere you go. Moving on to more pleasant things, the view is divine and the food was very good - it was fresh and there was plenty of it. An interesting and non-traditonal inclusion was pumpkin soup served with a teaspoon - curiouser and curiouser!

If you are in Sydney and have the merest artistic inclination, I highly recommend the Art Gallery. I enjoyed the magnificent Australian collections - all beautifully curated. I have a soft spot for "The sea hath its pearls" by William Henry Margetson - so keep an eye out for that. Then when gallery fatigue sets in, take yourself off for a coffee/pot of tea/slice of cake at the cafe and admire this brilliant city.

Lounge on the Park, Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur

"A slice of Mandarin"

As a foodie’s paradise it could only be so long before Kuala Lumpur would be on the High Tea Inspectors’ radar, and following our colleagues a week after their Ritz-Carlton experience, we took one for the team at the glorious Mandarin Oriental Lounge.

Situated in the heart of KL, the Lounge is perfectly placed to rest and indulge for an hour or two, after a morning of sightseeing or shopping at the Petronas Towers and Suria KLCC mall, which are mere metres from the Mandarin.

The plush surroundings, live music and friendly staff create a beautiful space of relaxed comfort, and with a view of tropical gardens we were left in no doubt that we were still very much in Malaysia.

With a tough choice of two afternoon tea spreads - the traditional ‘Royal English’ afternoon tea just edged out the chocolate version for us.

The dainty treats that arrived were faultless. Four perfect, pillow-like sandwiches were fresh and full of delicious flavours – smoked salmon, chicken, egg salad and cucumber. Traditional but unbeatable classics.

A seemingly endless variety of tiny sweets were like jewels in both appearance and flavour – caramel cheesecake, crème brulee, lemon macaron, Madeleine, Dundee cake, raspberry mille feuille, fruit tartlet. And the small scones (plain and raisin) served with high quality jam, marmalade, lemon butter and cream were delicious.

I can’t go past an Osmanthus Green Tea when it is on the menu as it was at the Mandarin, and it was served in an elegant but understated china teapot to match the rest of the service.

As with KL in general – the Mandarin is a great value, 5 star experience – and if your hunger pangs aren’t satisfied, there is a lovely cake shop next to the lounge for takeaways.

Just a little extra;

At the end of May the High Tea Inspectors returned to the Mandarin in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate yet another 60th Birthday.  Thank you to the wonderful staff and violinist for the two rounds of happy birthday and to chef for the tasty birthday cake.

The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

"A nice cup of tea and a sit down"

After an eventful trip to India, the three intrepid inspectors landed in Kuala Lumpur in need of some respite/shopping. However, we can't be all play and no work so we decided to put our backs into a high tea marathon at the Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur.

Arriving a full hour too early, we were invited to have a nice cup of tea and a sit down until the food begins (from 3 - 5pm). We all agreed that this was most excellent service, fully anticipating a "computer says no" approach to early arrivers and so happy to be able to rest one's tootsies and build up an appetite with some jasmine tea.

Part of the charm is in choosing and for your process of discernment, the entire range of 42 teas is wheeled around along with vials so you can get a whiff of the good stuff before getting the usual. The teapots and teacups are stately china, and a nice touch is the tealight teapot keeper-warmerers.

When 3pm rolled around we were greeted by the familiar sight of the three tiers of treats, the top consisting of mini chicken pies, quiches, plain scones and apple caramel scones - a new twist on an old favourite. The second tier was gourmet open sandwiches, artfully arranged, though if one was to be picky (and one is) we might suggest that these may not have been made in the recent past. The bottom tier was full of jewel coloured sweets, cheesecake flanked in dark slabs of chocolate and studded with fresh mango pieces and raspberries! The way to anyone's heart to be sure. There was also raspberry macaroons, orange eclairs and pastry cups with fresh berries and gold leaf, to put that extra sparkle in your step.

All in all, a great high tea in the surrounds you'd expect from the Ritz-Carlton - the service was really superb and all for just 69MYR (A$23) - no dinner required.

The Byrneleigh Hotel, Nedlands, Western Australia

"A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon"

The high tea inspectors arrived promptly for the 12 noon to 2pm sitting of high tea at the Byrneleigh Hotel. Our session was well patronised- mainly women, however, I spotted two men!

Champagne was served on arrival a bit of a waste on our mainly tee-totaller group. There was an excellent selection of teas, with the pure green, earl grey and darjeeling being selected.

Platters of lovely scones were served with the teas and coffees along with raspberry chilli jam and cream. These were definitely the highlight, very tasty indeed.

After most of the scones were finished, two three tiered stands arrived laden with mini open sandwiches topped with a selection of beef, chicken, smoked salmon and camembert along with savoury tarts, carrot cake and chocolate brownies.

The food was plentiful and we all had more than enough. We had a most enjoyable few hours and thought it was excellent value as we had 2 for 1 vouchers. Booyah!

Sweet Country Abode, Midvale, Western Australia

Come and enjoy!

The High Tea Inspectors have tried many places offering high, morning and afternoon tea. As we only write positive reviews quite a few don't make our blog. However, High Tea at Sweet Country Abode in the industrial area of Midvale is quite outstanding.

A booking in advance is required with a minimum of two people.

On arriving I was hesitant as to what to expect but waiting for us inside was our beautifully laid table, gorgeous china, table cloth and cloth napkins, tasteful cutlery and flowers.

Extra large teapots were served, our choice was the lovely English Breakfast tea. Then the three tiers of mini sandwiches, warm savouries, petite slices, cakes and warm scones with plenty of jam and cream.

Not very often do we find that we cannot finish all that is offered but on this occasion we were all most content.

Sweet Country Abode is tucked out of the way for most people but is worth the trip and outstanding value for money. I recommend you give this place a try. Mum gave it 12 out of 10, I say very well done.

Captain’s Desert Camp, Wadi Rum, Jordan

Delights in the Desert!

The gentle pleasures of afternoon tea are universal of course, but sometimes found in unexpected places, as discovered on a recent brief sojourn in Jordan.

On a 4WD trip from through Wadi Rum - country made famous in the West by Lawrence of Arabia’s revolt and used to represent the surface of Mars in the film ‘Red Planet’ - was the last place I expected to be treated to some of the best biscuits I have ever tasted – but these were to be the icing on the cake of an exceptional journey.

Some 68km from the port city of Aqaba, Wadi Rum is the largest ‘wadi’ in Jordan and home to Bedouin tribes who welcome adventure tourists and daytrippers to take a tiny glimpse into their nomadic way of life and witness the remarkable canyons and petroglyphs of their desert home.

We arrived at the Captain’s Desert Camp, which is essentially an open tent, and were invited to enjoy local homemade (& homegrown) specialities – including tea with a mixture of local spices, locally grown dates and sesame biscuits.

Perhaps it was the desert air or the general atmospherics of this remarkable place – but these were the best biscuits I have ever tasted and kept going back for more.

They certainly capped off an amazing day of high adventure and hospitality.

The Ritz, London, England

Pure indulgence at the Ritz!

The High Tea inspector's most cherished wish was to experience afternoon tea at the Ritz London- and during the month of May this dream came true!

After reading Helen Simpson's book on High Tea at the Ritz I have been looking forward to this outing and I believe this could be the ultimate goal of all tea lovers.

High tea is offered at the Ritz London in the wonderful Palm Court. The Palm Court is quite magnificent- the decor is elegant and delivers a relaxed ambience in which to sit and soak in the splendour and listen to the pianist tapping out the many requests from the very well dressed tea lovers.

Immaculately presented waiters showed us to our lovers' seat table and offered the quite extensive choice of teas or coffee available. My husband's choice was the Chun Lee and mine was the Jasmine. We both enjoyed our selections, however, I tried the Chun Lee and was happy I went with the Jasmine. The three tiered cake stand came out with the second tier plate empty- this had me a little puzzled. On the bottom plate was afternoon tea sandwiches, smoked salmon, egg mayonnaise, cheddar on sundried tomato bread, ham, chicken and mayonnaise and cucumber. All were delightful, my favourite was the chicken and mayonnaise. Waiters with large platters of extra sandwiches went from table to table offering more sandwiches.

After the sandwiches the waiter removed the empty second plate and to my delight returned with warm freshly baked scones with home made strawberry jam and clotted cream. Oh my, they were very special indeed and I was quite determined to have my two scones whilst realising that there was still another tier to go. Around again went the waiters with extra warm scones for anyone who could possibly have room for more.

Tea pots were constantly refreshed and by this stage the high tea inspector was feeling like she was in paradise. Then for the third tier, afternoon tea pastries and fresh cream cakes. I must admit it was quite the struggle to do them justice, they were all beautifully presented and a taste sensation. My favourite being the fruit and custard basket, yum. Unable to finish our cake selection the waiter was more than happy to send a fresh plate to our room- now that is service!

To avoid disappointment you will need to book for your choice of either Traditional, Champagne or Celebration afternoon tea. I booked back in January and there was only two places available. Also there is a dress code requiring men to wear a jacket and tie also no jeans and trainers.

For a totally satisfying indulgence I recommend anyone who can, try the High Tea at the Ritz London. They do it so well.