Lola Rouge at the Naumi Hotel showcases a High Tea that is a is a feast for all the senses. The colourful room, the delicious fragrant food and the parlour feel atmosphere make this High Tea a must try.
The Naumi Hotel like to do things differently and when you enter the hotel to find Lola Rouge on Cuba Street, Wellington you are hit with the sight of the bold, brave and beautiful colours. The dining room has a parlour feel with deep reds and for the High Tea, picture frames as table tops and highly patterned plates and serve wear.
The current High Tea Theme is, Tea and Canvas Affair. The dining room and entrance showcased art from The Kiwi Art house Gallery and the tables were topped with picture frames filled with bright patterns. The colours of the High tea food matched the surroundings and decor perfectly.
The Tea and Canvas Affair High Tea was presented in two parts, the savoury and sweet scone and the cage tower filled with both savoury and sweet treats. The food is designed to have a Paris meets Asia feel and the mixing of flavours such as the Blueberry Mille Feuille with Yuzu Cream showcased this theme.
To begin our journey we began with the warm shiitake mushroom scone and the delicious black garlic buHer, the scone was the perfect and the buHer an added delight. The duck sausage roll was a surprise and worked well. The duck meat was a sausage consistency and work very well. All of the savoury items were packed with flavour while remaining delicate.
The second scone was a neat package of flavour, initially we were surprised at the lack of jam, on tasting the scone we realised it wasn’t needed. The sweet fruity jackfruit and coconut worked with the clotted cream and no jam was needed.
On the sweet levels we very much enjoyed the very different flavours. The Matcha in the opera cake, the yuzu in the mille-feuille and the distinct mandarin flavour of the friand were works of art in themselves.
The dining room was filled with happy chatter, groups of friends enjoying their food and the staff were attentive. All of the food was great quality and it is clear that a real effort has been made by Chef Jason Ng and his team.
High Tea Lola Rouge Menu:
Savoury Selection:
- Dough Bakery Milk Loaf
- Curried Egg Mayo
- Chive Duck Sausage Roll
- Plum Gel
- Buckwheat Blini
- Japanese Prawn Salad
- Tobiko
- Chervil Crab Rangoon
- Apricot & Black Vinegar Dip
Scones:
- Shiitake Mushroom Scone
- Black Garlic Butter Coconut & Jackfruit Scone
- Clotted Cream Sweet CreaGons
- Matcha & Strawberry Opera Cake
- Blueberry Mille-Feuille
- Yuzu Cream Hazelnut Choux Bun
- Callebaut 70% Pistachio Macaron Mandarin & Elderflower Friand
Beverage Menu:
- Impressions in Pink $20
- Gin, Rose & Hibiscus Tea, Cointreau, Lime, Tonic
- Bubble Trouble $20
- Vanilla Vodka, White Chocolate Liquor, Blue Curacao, Blue Berry Syrup, Lemon, Sugar, Egg White
T2 tea wear was used, the tables were clever picture frames for the theme and the tea has its own menu, there was a total of 20 choices of Dilmah Tea.
After experiencing the thoughtfulness behind this seasons theme, I will be watching for what happens next.
