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Afternoon tea in the surroundings of a top hotel is one of life’s decadent delights and it’s a fabulous way to end a day of Christmas shopping and crawling in the car along the kingdom’s highways.
There is nowhere better to recharge the batteries, savour the views of manic Manama over the water and soak up the splendour of the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay than within the majestic confines of its Bay View Lounge.
As a beautiful blonde tinkled the ivories on a grand piano, assistant director of food & beverage Mohamed Abdelhai helped the good lady wife, Kathryn (another beautiful blonde, I might add) and yours truly to our table.
Until the New Year ticks in, a lavish Festive Afternoon Tea has been introduced featuring a host of seasonal treats which has allowed Executive Sous Chef Ravneet Singh Manchanda and his colleagues in the kitchen to spice up their regular treats with some special ingredients to celebrate the season in style.
I seem to have known Chef Ravneet, who comes from the Punjab, forever. With a culinary tour taking in Singapore and Dubai, he was an original member of the Four Seasons’ pre-opening team having moved across from the Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain.
I also remember him giving me a station-to-station tour of the hotel Friday’s Brunch offering so that I could appreciate why regular diners absolutely love the ever-changing additions to the fare. It’s clear to see why as the memory lingers on, the Mexican chicken bites were magnificent and the deep-fried octopus with spring onion an impressive treat too.
So what could they possibly do to give the afternoon tea some festive flair? Answer: with patience and powerful preparation, that’s how!
He delivered three tiers of triumphant delicacies to our table to share. It included honey-glazed turkey presented in party-perfect pin-wheel sandwich style with cranberry sauce, decorated with a little gold leaf.
But the true patience and perfection came to the fore with a Pulled Beef Vol-au-vent, so delicate and delightful I’m sure it would have floated into the sky in search of Santa’s sleigh if I hadn’t snapped it up so swiftly.
The beef is pressure-packed and cooked at 64 degrees for 72 hours, no less, and then flaked into each small round case of puff pastry. A touch of onion jam led to a taste explosion and I was in danger of getting my tinsel in a tangle (it would have been tonsils but I had them surgically removed … but that’s a story for another day).
Other delights were a sensational Quiche Lorraine with perfectly roasted, buttered chestnuts and a croissant filled with slices of smoked salmon that have been cured over two days in a brine to infuse the flesh and smoked for one.
All that, and more, and we haven’t even reached the second tier which featured cinnamon and jam cookies, apple mousse and chocolate bonbons that wouldn’t have looked out of place as a Christmas tree decoration.
The top tier contained just what the doctor ordered to go with a cuppa, mince pies, chocolate macaroons and Linzer torte, a perfect pastry, named after one of the most festive places on the planet, the Austrian city of Linz.
What a clever way to introduce my good friend Executive Pastry Chef Imad Boukli to the conversation, as I grabbed him out of the kitchen as he was putting the finishing touches to his latest piece of culinary artistry.
A veteran to Four Seasons, Chef Imad also joined the pre-opening team here in 2014. Prior to moving to Bahrain, he lived all over the Middle East working as a pastry chef at several properties including five star hotels in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh.
We’re so lucky he’s here. To help convey a true Christmas spirit, the hotel has dressed up its grand lobby in glorious holiday décor in elegant colours of gold, holiday-inspired floral arrangements and much more. A handmade chocolate Christmas tree in the middle has been made by Chef Imad’s own hands and is a spectacular, yet mouthwatering addition to the celebrations.
Also check out the almost 5m tall artwork made from 80kg of fine chocolate and the irresistible tray of festive creations, temptingly on display close by in the Bay View Lounge. The chocolate log, in particular, is to die for.
Afternoon tea was introduced to the world by the English upper class in London to fill the gap between lunch and dinner and was quickly picked up by the masses in the provinces with a twist, such as cream teas, which are particularly popular in Devon and Cornwall.
We couldn’t leave without biting into some warm scones, fresh cream (apparently clotted cream didn’t take off with the locals) with a choice of raspberry jam and lemon curd which, for the festive season, has a welcome addition of ginger scones added to the regular choice to vanilla, raisin, apple & cinnamon and chocolate-chip versions.
No sooner were they placed on the plate they were sc...gone!
Festive Afternoon Tea is served every afternoon from 3pm to 9pm at Bay View Lounge priced at BD15++, or BD 28++ for two. The scones are just 600fils++ per piece!
