afternoon tea kuala lumpur

Afternoon Tea, Carcosa Seri Negara, Kuala Lumpur

Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
Tea on the Verandah
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
The Drawing Room, Carcosa Seri Negara
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
English Afternoon Tea
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
Bites from the English Afternoon Tea
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
Salmon Croissants
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
Scones with Strawberry Jam and Clotted Cream
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
Plain and Raisin Scones
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
Tea Service

 

Bringing
Nostalgia Back into Afternoon Tea, Carcosaย 
Seriย Negara

Words by Craig Selby
Photos by The Yum List
As a kid, my favourite experiences were high tea at the Rose Gardens, or at this exclusive mountain-sideย restaurant that I used to love. As I grew older, this love for a good high teaย continued, and as I move from country to country, I have always managed to findย somewhere in each city that offers me the opportunity to reminisce days goneย by. The building may be different, the platters on offer different, but theย emotions that the experience conjures up certainly arenโ€™t.
In Kuala Lumpur, the fire of theseย memories was recently stoked by a visit to Carcosa Seri Negara, a beautifulย historic property set amidst sprawling grounds, yet just a stoneโ€™s throw fromย the hustle and bustle of KL Sentral and the city centre. Two beautifullyย restored period mansions offer sanctuary from the heat and the noise of theย real world, with a casual restaurant for high teas and light meals in oneย mansion, and a luxury hotel and formal banquet facility in the other. Englandโ€™sย Queen Elisabeth II stayed here, and I can say the suite she had was to die for.
Carcosa Seri Negara, Afternoon Tea, Tourist sites, must visits in KL
The Verandah

What I enjoyed most about myย Carcosa experience is the combination of personalised butler style service,ย along with the expansive balconies where one can sit and be at one with nature.ย High tea is served both inside the building in a beautiful Victorian styleย dining room, complete with antique furniture (but all the modern conveniences)ย or outside on the terrace in comfy and spacious old wicker chairs, overlooking theย manicured lawns and flora and fauna in the immediate background. We choseย outside, to commune with nature. A rainy day (well, it is KL after all), weย were protected from the drizzle (and no doubt the heat) by rattan blinds, andย strategically placed furniture โ€“ designed to get the best of the environment,ย without letting the environment get the best of us.

Afternoon Tea at Carcosa is aย culinary delight. With a standard high tea running seven days a week, they alsoย offer a traditional Malay option on weekends โ€“ local delights prepared and servedย to the same high standards. Whilst this visit I opted for the English afternoonย tea, I know that I will be back to experience the Malay version pretty soon โ€“
something clearly not to be missed.
The tea component is so important,ย and Carcosa offers an exceptionally broad list of quality teas, but the teas weย would normally get at great restaurants, but also a selection of qualityย infused and flavoured teas not commonly seen elsewhere. For the โ€˜afternoon tea infidelsโ€™,ย there is a small selection of coffee available as well. I selected Earl Grey tea,
my personal favourite, along with my usual request for thinly sliced lemonย slices on the side. Not often in Malaysia do they get the lemon slices requestย right โ€“ slices are slices, not chunks, and I really did appreciate our waitersย attention to detail in producing five thinly sliced, seedless lemon slices.ย Perfection for my tea. In true butler style, tea is served from the pot (withย its own saucer I may add) and refreshed regularly by our impeccably uniformedย waiter.
A silver three tier sampling platterย is presented at the table, with three layers of different bite sized delicaciesย from the kitchen. Scones and jam โ€“ ok, so what tea would be complete withoutย this โ€“ sandwiches and croissants, and cakes and desserts.
The scones were exceptional โ€“ someย of the best in Malaysia to date. Not too dense, they had a light fluffinessย about them, but still solid enough to hold together upon bite. Freshly madeย strawberry jam aplenty, along with clotted cream, an old British tradition,ย accompanied these little gems, and gave the right balance to the flavour andย texture combination.
The selection of sandwiches hadย salmon, cucumber and egg. The salmon croissant was a mini croissant with aย generous helping of sliced smoked salmon; the cucumber sandwiches were parcelsย of freshly baked white loaf with piles of thinly sliced cucumber. Nothing beatsย a stack of thinly sliced cucumber on freshly buttered bread โ€“ it transforms theย taste and certainly arouses nostalgic memories. The egg mayo sandwich was alsoย nice, a simple addition to the trio.
The cakes platter had a selectionย of petite sized desserts – Fruit Cake, Carrotย Cake, Chocolate Fuillitte, Apple crumble, Vanilla Cream Brulee, Home Madeย Cookies. Each delicious in their own right, my partner in crime for the dayย enjoyed the crรจme brulee the most, whilst I opted for the hearty texturedย carrot cake. To me, a great carrot cake has lots of personality, and theย texture of the cake reveals that more than anything else. Covered in thickย icing is also a balance, as the coarse healthy texture of the cake is subduedย with icing oozing into every mouthful. What more could I want?
The afternoon drew on, and sittingย on the terrace enjoying the solitude that Carcosa offers, certainly provided anย excellent respite from the daily hassles of work and business. Definitely aย place to go for a truly enjoyable experience, Carcosa is a testament to anย older way of life, reminding us that even within a busy city, there is always aย time and place to step back and let nature into our lives, with some prettyย awesome food to boot.
map to Carcosa seri negara, afternoon tea
Map to Carcosa Seri Negara

 

Reason to visit: ย Traditional afternoon tea in superb setting
The Drawing Room
Carcosa Seri Negara
Taman Tasik Perdana
Persiaran Mahameru
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
+6 03 2295 0888

16 Comments

  1. Oooo…I'd love this! I love English cream tea. Raisin scones with clotted cream and jam. Yummmm!!!!

  2. I like the natural sunlight and the deco, lovely. ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. it's an ominously cloudy and thundery afternoon in kl now, with the likelihood of a stormy evening to make us all wet and miserable in traffic tonight. so the fantasy of having a cheerful tea at carcosa sounds like bliss, especially now! ๐Ÿ˜€

    • Indeed! Even though it is so close to the city centre, you don't hear a sound of traffic. It really feels as though you are miles from anywhere.

  4. wow, i would like to visits here too~ but it seems like too expensive~ >.<~

    Regards,
    http://www.lonelyreload.com (A Growing Teenager Diary) ..

  5. scones, strawberry and clotted cream with a pot of hot tea will be lovely!

  6. It is one of the best in Kuala Lumpur for sure!

    Wilson
    PlacesAndFoods.com

  7. what a lovely pampering session! lovely goodies, hot sweet tea, beautiful afternoon… what more can one ask for? ๐Ÿ˜‰

  8. may i know how much is the high tea set?

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