I recently paid a visit to Connect Lounge, one of Marco Polo Ortigas' signature outlets, to try out their new and more sophisticated approach on afternoon drinks - Afternoon High Tea!
From 2pm to 6pm daily, guests can enjoy a customized set of pastries from a wide array of selections such as cakes and mini sandwiches paired with coffee or tea for only Php 788.
It's something that your significant other would definitely enjoy, and it doesn't cost very much either. In fact, it's actually really affordable. Did I mention that your Php 788 is already good for two persons? For that amount, you get to spend a cozy afternoon in a five-star hotel with your loved one, eating pastries and sipping tea with an amazing view of the city in the background.
Who doesn't want that, right? All you have to do is choose your drinks, your baguettes, and the toppings to go with it, and you're all set!
Here are the options so you can think about what you want to try before your visit:
Baguettes: Corn, Parsley, Squid Ink, Tomato, and Regular
Sauces: Hummus, Corn, Guacamole, Thousand Island, and Honey Mustard
Toppings: Smoked Salmon, Salami, Prosciutto, Shrimp, Chicken, and Parma Ham
While waiting for our food to come out, we were served their Amuse Bouche Sherbet of the Day - Watermelon and Mango! I was honestly excited for this because I have always wanted to start a meal with dessert! Haha!
The sherbets were a great way to refresh, especially since we had to walk a bit before getting to Marco Polo (their parking lot was full at the time so we had to park somewhere else).
The chef did all the mixing and matching and which topping goes best with what. It didn't take very long for the food to arrive, along with the tea we picked - English Breakfast for Tim and Green Tea for me.
Our food came in a beautiful three-tiered stand. On top are English scones with strawberry jam and heavy cream on the side. In the middle are the assorted baguettes with toppings that I had picked. And at the bottom, their pastries for the day.
Tim couldn't help but notice how much cream I was placing on my scone. Haha ang sarap eh!
It wasn't overly sweet and complemented our teas very well.
Tim, on the other hand, couldn't wait to dive into the baguettes. We shared each piece, taking small bites, and savoring every last one.
I'm glad I picked an assortment so we were really able to try out most of Connect Lounge's afternoon tea offerings. My favorite is the shrimp, while Tim loves the Smoked Salmon.
I'm someone who enjoys drinking tea more than coffee so this was a really fun and relaxing experience for me.
If tea isn't your thing though, you can opt to upgrade yours to a glass of champagne, smoothie, iced tea, or their special cocktail of the week.
Onto dessert!
They served us their pastries of the day, again, an assortment of flavors - from green tea, chocolate brownie, apple crumble, and blackberry gelatin.
They also threw in some sausage rolls for those needing a bit more meat in their lives.
We ended tea with more dessert and I couldn't be any happier. We were each given cups of the most amazing chocolate fondant with vanilla and chocolate sauce on the side.
It's a rich chocolate cake with a gooey center that everyone will surely love. And if that isn't chocolatey enough for you, you can choose to add more sauce to it.
I decided to go with the vanilla sauce since I was already feeling guilty about eating too much sweets. Although if we're being honest here, I did end up finishing most of Tim's fondant. HAHA. Happy (and hyper) girl right here. :D
Thank you so much to Marco Polo Manila for the wonderful afternoon!
Visit the Connect Lounge on the 24th Floor, Marco Polo Hotel, Sapphire Street cor. Meralco Avenue, Ortigas, Pasig City.
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