Tea with Mum

Dear Mumsy and I were invited to afternoon high tea in London over the weekend. Some lovely friends had purchased tea for 4 through a Groupon deal. I would never pass up an opportunity to spend some precious time with my mum, and anyway my friend Monica would be there, so away we went.....  I'll let my wonderful mum describe it for you.....

Well, yes, as my sweet daughter says, we were invited to the traditional English Tea with American friends that just moved here earlier this year. It was their first experience and we were happy to accompany them. The venue was a place called Altitude 360. It is on the 29th floor of the Millbank Tower in the Westminster area of London. The views of the city are breathtaking. It's so pleasant to sit there and enjoy tea while taking in the scenery through the surrounding windows.

Teen/Mum Tea for Four

Spectacular view: Thames River with London Eye and Parliament

Here is a picture of the delectable 3-tiered serving platter they bring out to the table. Finger sandwiches on bottom, scones on top, sweets in the middle.

And of course here is the cup of tea. You have a choice of several herb-infused teas, black teas, chai, or green tea. I went with the traditional English tea.

The teacups were so large I was holding mine with two hands, making it difficult to do the proper pinkies-up grasp.

There was an assortment of sandwiches including:

• Cucumber
• Salmon
• Prawn (shrimp)
• Egg salad
• Chicken
• Cheese with caramelized onion
• Ham and (strong) mustard

The scones can be topped with lemon curd, clotted cream, and jam.

Dessert included:

• Profiteroles (cream puffs)
• Shortbread
• Chocolate cake
• Meringue

As you can see in this "After" picture below, it was all quite tasty!

We noticed that there were no forks provided, just knives. That settled the question of whether it was okay to eat with our hands, it was all finger-food.

Afterwards we walked back to Waterloo train station along the river just across from the iconic Parliament building and the Big Ben clock tower. It was a picture perfect ending to a delightful afternoon tea.