Valrhona Chocolate Afternoon Tea at the Langham Sydney

When someone says the team at the Langham Hotel in Sydney is running a Valrhona Chocolate Afternoon Tea, well colour me excited.

The Langham is situated in the iconic Rocks district in Sydney on Kent street, where you are treated to the beautiful scenery of the Barangaroo waters and dramatic views of the Harbour bridge. Upon arriving at the hotel, you are greeted by a wonderfully polished hotel lobby and ushered to the newly renovated Kitchens on Kent where afternoon tea is served.

As we are seated at our table upon plush couches adorned with fluffy pillows, I can’t help but smile as I people watch. Tiers upon tiers of delicious food dotted around the room, clinking of champagne glasses can be heard as the bigger tables celebrated the welcoming of newborns, birthdays and upcoming nuptials. We settled into our table and I couldn’t help but be in awe of the table setting itself. The dining set is wonderfully traditional, pink and floral designs adorned the fine bone china provided by Wedgwood and intricate glassware is none other than Riedel Crystal. How luxurious!

The special that we have come to indulge in is the Valrhona Chocolate Afternoon Tea. The white gloved wait staff run us through todays menu, a perfect balance of sweet and savoury – with an extensive tea list to match – iced tea also included if you worked up a sweat on the way in! My guest and I both opted for the iced tea options and you guessed it, a glass of Regional Australian sparkling, each to toast the lovely afternoon ahead! Not long after our glasses were full of sparkling, the double kitchen doors burst open with food arriving upon our table.

Starting with the savoury options, the roast beef and watercress is nestled between brown bread with a little kick from the smear of horseradish mayonnaise. Next up is a creamy free range egg, white finger sandwich with chives. Following on is a modern brioche bun filled with prawn, cos lettuce and spicy cocktail sauce.

Also on the savoury tier, is a warm Shepard’s pie, buttery traditional quiche Lorraine, a finger sized rye crouton topped with honey roasted butternut pumpkin with toasted oats and garnished with pepitas. To finish off the savoury fare, citrus and beetroot cured salmon topped with salmon roe, crème fraiche and watercress served on a spoon to give you the perfect bite.

Now we journey onto the main event, the Valrhona chocolate house-made pastries and teacakes.

It is so hard to pick a favourite…so I picked two! First up is the Hazelnut praline, chocolate tart made with Valrhona’s Azélia 35% – a fusion of chocolate, milk and hazelnuts. Absolutely divine, for anyone who is a lover of anything hazelnut and chocolate, the tart is not to be missed! My other absolute favourite is the banana chocolate verrine and I can tell you, it is so good that you’ll eye your guests one too and sheepishly ask if they’re going to finish it and hope they say no! The verrine is deliciously smooth, if you think that the combination is going to be overwhelmingly rich, you thought wrong! Made with Valrhona’s Jivara 40%, the notes of malt and vanilla from the chocolate cuts through through the rich flavour of the banana to create a wonderful balance in the treat.

After my order of a pot of Wedgwood Original Blend black tea arrives, I journey towards the dark chocolate flourless cake made with Valhrona’s Caraïbe 66%, the bite sized cake is everything you want in a flourless cake – fudge like and decadent. Next is the double chocolate cheese cake, made with a mixture of Valrhona’s Caramelia 36% and Opalys 33% – the use of both chocolates gave the cheese cake a velvet like texture and a soft, richness in chocolate flavour. To finish off the sweet tier is a chocolate cherry macaron made with Valrhona’s Guanaja 70%, the bitterness of the chocolate accentuates the flavour of the cherry and is reminiscent of a black forest cake – in macaron form.

With very little room left in my pants to expand, I couldn’t leave without gorging on the signature Langham scones, of course heavily topped with the house-made strawberry jam and cream.

The Langham hotel is a 5 star hotel and a purveyor of 5 star experiences; and as expected, the team at Kitchens on Kent did not disappoint. The afternoon tea fare is faultless and the addition of the Valrhona Chocolate elevates the high tea experience.

Valrhona Chocolate Afternoon Tea Menu:

Savoury:

• Miniature Shepherds pie
• Traditional quiche Lorraine
• Honey Roast butternut, rye crouton, toasted oats, pepitas
• Citrus and beetroot cured Tasmanian Salmon, roe, crème fraiche, cress

Finger Sandwiches:

• Roast beef, watercress, horseradish mayonnaise, brown bread
• Free range egg, chives, white finger sandwich
• Prawn, cos lettuce, spicy cocktail sauce, brioche

Homemade Pastries & Tea Cakes:

• Dark chocolate flourless cake, with Valrhona Caraibe 66%
• Hazelnut praline chocolate tart, with Valrhona Azelia 35%
• Banana chocolate verrine, with Valrhona Jivara 40%
• Chocolate cherry macarons, with Valrhona Guanaja 70%
• Double chocolate cheese cake, with Valrhona Caramelia 36%, Valrhona Opalys 33%

Scones:

• Scones with house made strawberry jam and cream

 

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