Asian Afternoon Tea – Ramside Hall, Durham

Recently, we were very kindly invited along to try Fusion at Ramside Hall’s spin on an afternoon tea – Asian style with the Asian Afternoon Tea.

With promises of a more savoury side to the afternoon tea, I was all excited – Insider secret, I don’t really like cake!

You may remember reading my review of Fusion at Ramside Hall HERE when it first opened. Based in the spa annexe of the long standing Durham hotel, Fusion provides light asian fare to spa-goers, residents and people who just come for the good food.

For all I like the pomp + circumstance of an Afternoon Tea and have indeed reviewed many here on the website, I am just more of a savoury gal and sometimes the sweet side is just lost on me. So when I learned Fusion offer an Asian afternoon tea with both a sweet side AND an abundance of savoury treats I knew it was the one for me. At £18.95, it is a fairly average price for a hotel offering and when you see the sheer quantity of food presented, you certainly cannot disagree that it is outstanding value.

Using specially blended tea with it’s own Ramside mix, the afternoon tea gets off to a good start with hot tea and a menu of what’s to come. There’s even a dedicated cocktail list to help inject even a little more decadence.

Unlike the more traditional set up, we were presented with our warm savouries to whet our whistle. A selection of dim sum (vegetable, prawn + pork) came with a trio of moreish dipping sauces. Fresh duck spring rolls, a prawn tartlet and a bang bang chicken wrap completed the selection. Not a dried up cucumber sandwich in sight – heaven! A very generous selection and one that showcases the best of what Fusion can offer if you were to dine for a full meal.

With a slight break to let the food go down, the sweet platter arrived and it was a feast for your eyes. A stacked display with a well considered selection of desserts.

The creme brulee and sugar cookie were outstanding, as was the chilli and chocolate brownie but we both felt the scones lacked any pzazz. The mini macaron and pana cotta rounded out the afternoon tea well.

We finished the meal with a cocktail and a pleasantly full tummy. We absolutely loved this twist on an afternoon tea! Service was impeccable throughout from our server. It did take a little while to get someones attention when we first arrived as there’s no hostess station between the door and the large bar but on a busy Saturday afternoon, seeing a full local restaurant is fine by us!

If you are a bit bored of the usual afternoon tea’s that the region has to offer, then I fully recommend trying something new with the Asian Afternoon Tea. You’ll love it!

 

 

 

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