Cake Painting Afternoon Tea at the Grand Hyatt - treat the artist in you
Kylie Knott
With Art Basel Hong Kong kicking off, one creative afternoon tea set is breaking all the rules your mother taught you about playing with food.
The Tiffin Lounge, at the Grand Hyatt hotel, Wan Chai, is serving up the Cake Painting Afternoon Tea, at which guests are invited to decorate their food in the colourful, cartoon style of Japanese-British artist Peter McDonald, who co-created the set with the restaurant's executive pastry chef, David White.
The traditional silver tiered cake stand has been replaced by a picture-frame tray, inside which cakes and biscuits provide canvases for creative souls.
Raspberry purée, sweet mango and kiwi sauce serve as the "paint" and a square of New York cheesecake wrapped in marzipan provides the main canvas. Struggling artists who aren't happy with their first creation can get their creative (and fruit) juices flowing on the second "canvas": a sponge cake.
For inspiration, four McDonald paintings are on display at the hotel.
While lovers of the conventional afternoon tea might turn their nose up at graffiting all over a time-honoured tradition, the activity should be considered as much a feast for the palette as for the palate.
"It's about engaging the senses," says the hotel's public relations manager, Eva Kwok.
The Cake Painting Afternoon Tea is available until March 31, from 3.30pm to 5.30pm daily, and costs HK$328 plus 10 per cent per person at weekends and HK$298 plus 10 per cent on weekdays, inclusive of unlimited visits to the ice-cream station.
The Grand Hyatt is at 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2584 7722.
