Afternoon tea at Galle Face Hotel

Lowering of the flag at sunset 

A bagpipe player 

The classical South Asian musicians

Text and pix by Shiran Illanperuma

The iconic Galle Face Hotel, built in 1864, needs no introduction to residents of Colombo. Boasting pristine colonial architecture, a legacy of excellence in service and arguably one of the best beach sunsets in the city, there’s not much more the management needs to do to seal its place among the upper echelon of the country’s hotels.In an effort to add further value however is the recently-introduced “Afternoon Tea” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., on a terrace overlooking the sun as it slowly slides into the Indian Ocean. The whole affair is pleasingly set to the pacifying tunes of a classical South Asian live band.

Combined with the hotel’s architecture, the gently pulsing tides of the ocean nearby and a balmy evening breeze, the experience is elevated by a veneer of colonial nostalgia.

Playfully priced after the year of the hotel’s inception, a single tower of sandwiches, cakes and other miscellaneous goodies, along with a side dish of hot savoury entrees feeds two people. Included in the per person price is also an intriguing pandan pancake (wrapped around a coconut and jaggery mixture) as well as a selection of the event’s eponymous beverage – tea.

The highs

The crab croquettes on sugarcane ‘stick’ are a delightful bite to kick off with. Crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside, flavoursome but not overly spiced – the bite manages to balance local and foreign techniques. Also on the plate are miniature vegetable rotis, lighter bite-sized versions of the roadside classic that have had the fieriness restrained for uninitiated palettes. 

The middle tier of the tower was loaded with a number sweet baked-goods worth mentioning. One that grabbed attention was the Portuguese-style ‘custard’ tart. But here the custard is replaced with wattalappam – perhaps not the most visually appealing choice but certainly a treat for the taste buds.

But what really stole the show on this level was the Dutch-influenced love cake. A Burgher classic, Galle Face Hotel’s variation is surprisingly light, crunchy and sweet without oozing oils and sugary syrup. A marvellously refined and back to basics take on a dish that needed little improving.

At the top of the tower, its crowning achievement perhaps, are the English scones served with fresh strawberries, cream and jam. For scone lovers, these should hit the spot with a rock hard crunchiness on the outer layer that cracks and gives way to an airy, buttery centre. All this is lifted exponentially when lathered in cream and jam.

 

The lows

Unfortunately, the mixed platter on offer also resulted in mixed results with a few dishes falling disappointingly off the mark despite sound conceptualisation. Certain east and south-east Asian inspired dishes did little justice to their original counterparts and the fact that dishes were premade and kept exposed to the elements meant that some suffered due to the salty air and humidity.

For example, the dim sums appear sloppily assembled with the dough on the crimped edges being stiff and undercooked. An attempted Vietnamese-style vegetarian rice paper roll again lacks refinement as the dish barely holds its ingredients in a

roll shape and feels soggy instead of fresh and crisp.

Another let down was the ambitious slivers of tropical fruit like mango wrapped in a thin layer of omelette. While not having a direct origin, the dish attempts to balance the sweet and savoury palate of East Asian cooking but falls short of the mark with the fruits oozing juices in the heat and almost tasting putrid when combined with the egg.

 

Conclusion

The management at Galle Face Hotel has attempted to curate an intercontinental experience with their afternoon tea. Many of the concepts and ideas at play are quite novel though the execution is lacking. 

However this could be forgiven by the fact that the Afternoon Tea is still in its early phase of introduction and is likely to evolve in the coming weeks and months as chefs figure out what works and what doesn’t.

An odd addition at the tail end of the whole experience are the bagpipe players who arrive with gusto in a procession to take down the Sri Lankan Flag at sunset. Depending on your mileage, the sheer novelty of this event could be entertaining or you may find it an unpleasantly loud intrusion into the winding down of your afternoon tea proceedings.

All in all, the experience is a mixed bag that feels like an ongoing experiment. The elements for success are there and I hope the management eventually finds its footing to deliver the well-rounded experience the iconic hotel – and its patrons – deserve.