Doing high tea right

By Madushka Balasuriya

The only downside to being as ubiquitous a hospitality brand as Harpo’s is that tweaks and additions made to any of its many restaurants and cafés can sometimes fly under the radar. Such is the case for the recently unveiled Wine & Tea Room at The Bayleaf in Colombo, where nine months on from opening night its existence still remains a mystery to some. 

While Harpo’s, and especially Bayleaf, has long been renowned for its impeccable take on Italian flavours, the Wine & Tea Room offers a more intimate experience to that found elsewhere in the restaurant, be they the numerous alfresco dining options or the more loquacious surrounds offered at the in-house bar. 

Located in the room just left of the entrance, it is an admittedly small area with a single long rectangular high table taking up a good portion of the room real estate. Nevertheless, it gainfully steers clear of being cramped, as a party of up to 10 can readily be accommodated. This is all the more impressive considering a good third of the room is reserved for the two temperature controlled glass cubicles storing over 100 bottles of red and white wine each. Sandwiched in between the two, in the centre wall, are shelves of authentic artisan Sri Lankan tea courtesy TEAELI.

This review will primarily focus on the high tea component of the Wine & Tea room, but keep reading for a little taste of what you can experience once the sun sets and drinks start flowing.

 

Taking high tea back to its roots

High tea in Sri Lanka has slowly but surely morphed into something very different to what was initially intended. Sri Lankans are not shy when it comes to their diets, nor should they be, however the transitioning of the concept of high tea into something more akin to, say, brunch, has somewhat diluted the experience.

Unlike brunch, high tea is not meant to be a meal amalgamation but rather a light filler between lunch and dinner; a brief caffeine and sugar-infused pick-me-up to help you kick on through the rest of the day if you will. What it is not supposed to do is leave you in a food coma. Bayleaf manages to strike just the right chord on that front.

The first thing you notice about the menu is its size; with five savoury items, five sweet, and a selection of teas, it’s not extensive by any means. Look at it another way however, and you realise, neither is it bloated. Three options are available, and can be ordered per person – three (Rs. 800), five (Rs. 900), or seven (Rs. 1,075) high tea items with any flavour of tea – for a minimum of three and a maximum of 10. The food must also be ordered 24 hours in advance so as to ensure its freshness.

Finger sandwiches

When you’re known for Italian food, it makes little sense to stray from what makes you great, and what Italian cuisine itself is most known for is its simplicity. Italian cooks strive for quality over quantity. This menu delivers on that promise, sticking to tried and tested flavours and executing them masterfully.

Cucumber and Cream Cheese with White Bread

To describe something as simple in modern times is often seen as harsh criticism, but in this case it is a badge of honour. The flavours are indeed simple – light, fresh, crunchy cucumber and smooth, velvety cream cheese, all packed neatly in-between two fresh slices of bread – but that only serves to consummate the flavours. A delightful way to start any meal.

Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Éclair

If the cucumber and cream cheese was simplicity embodied, this was simplicity with a refined twist. Smoked salmon and cream cheese are by no means strange bedfellows, but to pair those flavours in the heart of the soft shell of an éclair is rather quite genius. When it comes to food the understanding of texture is oftentimes the difference between good and great, and the lightness of the choux dough only serves to emphasise the rich salmon and cream cheese pairing.

Chicken, Avocado with Lime Mayonnaise

Full disclosure: I have a heavy biased towards anything avocado. On that note it’ll be no surprise to read, that despite the presence of a protein in the chicken, the overwhelming highlight is the fresh, green avocado, while the lime mayonnaise infuses a gratifying and welcome hit of sweetness. For the avocado lovers it is a must-have.

Focaccia filled with Mozzarella, Sun Dried Tomato and Pesto

Again a wonderful use of tried and tested flavours, executed to perfection. The mozzarella and the tomato offer up a sweet and savoury combo, while the pesto - made in-house and consisting of cashew, parmesan and basil - packs in even more flavour, as well as providing some much needed wetness. The focaccia meanwhile is perfectly toasted, giving the dish a crucial crunchy element.

Baguette with Milano Salami with Sweet Cheese and Garlic Herb Mayonnaise

My least favourite dish, but purely because I’m generally not a fan of baguettes. That though is a matter of textural preference, and I have no gripes when it comes to the flavours with the sweet cheese, salami and garlic herb combo putting forward a final, perfectly carried out offering of sweet and savoury.

 

Sweet

If you’ve ever dined at a Harpo’s establishment before you will know what to expect when it comes to their desserts. If you haven’t, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Mini Brownies with Chocolate Sauce

Everyone is familiar with what to expect when it comes to brownies, but with that familiarity comes pressure to deliver. That said, there is something beautiful about having your expectations surpassed. That is what this exquisitely chocolate treat brings to the table. Apologies in advance if I’ve now set expectations too high!

Blueberry Pannacotta

Panna cotta is Italian for ‘cooked cream’ and as such it is a quintessential Italian dessert, one as much about texture as it is about flavour; a sweetened cream is thickened with gelatine and moulded; ensuring a smooth texture is vital. Often paired with a fruity sauce, this blueberry pannacotta is top of its class.

Sponge Slice and a Chocolate Cake Bite

If you’re not looking for something too decadent, the sponge slice is for you. The lightness -fluffiness, even - of the sponge goes down easily and is aided by the hits of chocolate and nuts. A tasty option if you want something chocolatey but don’t want to stump for the richness of a brownie.

Tiramisu served in Espresso Cup

Tiramisu does what it says on the label. The name for the popular coffee-flavoured Italian custard dessert quite literally translates to “pick me up”, “cheer me up” or “lift me up”. Served in an espresso cup, this dish does just that. However my only gripe is that the different layers - ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, and flavoured with cocoa - of a tiramisu maybe don’t fully lend themselves to presentation in a espresso cup. Definitely leaves you wanting more.

 

Scones

There is a reason why a separate subsection in this review is reserved purely for scones; a scone is that rare item of food that has the ability to transport you. In this case it is to the English countryside or, if you want a Sri Lankan spin on it, a cold morning in Nuwara Eliya. 

The hallmark of a well-made scone – essentially a single-serving quick bread/cake – is that of it being simultaneously soft and firm, so as to not crumble at the slightest pressure. We had multiple scones for this review and each one was perfection. 

But alas, no scone is complete without its accompaniments of clotted cream and jam. The jam was freshly made, not too sweet interspersed with bits of fresh strawberry. However the real star was the clotted cream. Too many restaurants serve regular cream, or whipped cream, with their scones; this, in my honest opinion, is a travesty. The clotted cream provides the subtle sweetness and, most importantly, the textural element that truly elevates any good scone. Simply put, at Bayleaf the high tea is worth it for the scones alone.

 

Tea

Daily FT already reviewed some of the teas from TEAELI for our Park Street Mews review, so we won’t go into too much detail now. In that we stated how much we loved the Chilli Chocolate, and this time around we were able to try another favourite, the Ginger Honeycomb Black Tea. If you’re looking for a low calorie beverage to bookend your meal, you can’t go wrong with the Ginger Honeycomb; it’s light, refreshing, and tasty, and it accomplishes all that without the need for even a single granule of sugar.

 

Recommendation

High tea is all the rage in Colombo at the moment, and indeed you will find several offerings that offer more variety than Bayleaf, however you will be hard-pressed to find one with more consistent quality across the board.

Quality, in fact, that not only runs through the menu but the entire experience. The tone for the ambience in the room is set by the intimate, single table setting, while the availability of a high-end Marshall speaker, plugged in and ready to play your own music if you so please, rounds it off.

The wine room also has a veritable steal of a deal for the evenings, in which you can book the room for up to 10 individuals (minimum of five) at a rate of Rs. 5,000 nett per person, which buys your dining party two bottles of wine, and a three-course meal.

Harpo Gooneratne, the man behind it all, coined the hashtag #PizzaPastaMusicPeople. While the Bayleaf Wine & Tea Room eschews the pizza and pasta in favour of slightly different Italian flavours, it definitely embodies Harpo’s philosophy. As far as late afternoon/early evening excursions go, the Wine & Tea Room is a class apart.

-Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera