Munchies: The Library at Shilla Hotel for Afternoon Tea

I know I said that I would update about Busan, and I will, but I ventured out with some friends for Afternoon Tea, and it just needs to be written about.

It was a taste of England, right in the heart of Seoul.

For those who know me, and know me well, it comes as no surprise that I make it a point to take about tea. More specifically, I make it a point to go to Afternoon or High Tea. What may come as a surprise is that it's taken me almost two and a half months to finally go out for tea here in Seoul.

Part of the reason for this delay is that, and this should come as no surprise, Seoul/South Korea isn't exactly keen on English tea service. Tea houses are aplenty, but they are decidedly Eastern in service, presentation, selection, and ceremony. And for good reason too.

So what is a girl to do when craving for a nice, dark, cup of tea, a flaky scone, and some clotted cream?

Even trying to find a tucked away English tea house was difficult to find--most places that had a so-called Afternoon Tea Service actually only had tea available with a variety of dessert. You can get that in any cafe, in any city, and for a lot cheaper than they were promoting. A random assortment of tea, served with with whatever bakery's signature cake? No thank you. That is not what I want.

I found that hotels are your best bet for a decent English Tea Service. No buffets, no dessert platters masking as a tea tray, no teabags.

Today, I opted for the Shilla Hotel's Afternoon Tea Service held in their Library.

Before we get into the tea service proper, a word on the Shilla Hotel. It is gorgeous. The staff was friendly and spoke English, which was nice, and the structure itself is a mixture of modern design and Korean traditional architecture.

The lobby has a stunning chandelier display made of crystals what was simply breathtaking.

Shilla's Library is dark wood and lots of light, which is nothing less than handsome.



Like many places in Korea there is a smoking and non-smoking section. We opted for the non-smoking.

The Menu:

A decent menu that includes all the favorites, and two unusual teas for variety: Pearl Jasmine and Wedding Imperial.

There are three kinds of service you may order: traditional, champagne, and the champagne Piper Heidsieck.

I opted for the traditional tea served with the Wedding Imperial. Mostly because I can find Earl Grey and English Breakfast anywhere, and wanted to try something different in this tasting.

This was exactly the cup of tea that I needed. Fragrant, acidic, scents of caramel and delicious sweetness. A splash of milk and I was in heaven.

Tea, poured into your cup, served table side.

Yes. On the left, my friends, is clotted cream. I could die.

The Assortment:

The Standouts:

Pieces of Roquefort between croissant-like bread, touched with a dab of real, honest to goodness, honey.

Raisin scone. Not dense as a rock like the Starbucks kind. Buttery. Moist. And yes, that golden sheen is due to egg wash <3

Macaroon. There was another macaroon on the top tier of the stand (purple), but this one was larger, and, I suppose the best way to describe it would be to say that it was an artisan macaroon. It was malformed but well-crafted as only handmade baked goods can be.

The Disappointments:

I don't know exactly what this little cake was supposed to be--the best I can figure is that, taste wise, it resembled the sponge cake often found in sticky toffee pudding, the different here being, of course, no toffee sauce. There was nothing exceptional about the cake, and it would have been fine, if it didn't taste like it had sat in a refrigerator for an extended period of time.

Super duper dense chocolate cake. There was dark chocolate in the center. Maybe I was expecting too much, but this fell rather flat for me--and I love myself some chocolate. The texture and everything was fine, but much like the other sponge cake, it tasted like refrigerator. And not even the strong taste of dark chocolate could change that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the tea service at the Shilla hotel. Someone asked me if how it compared to any other tea services that I had been to, both in the US and in England, and for the most part it was pretty comparable. There was nothing, on the whole, that I thought was seriously lacking and I would definitely come back again.

The Library at the Shilla Hotel, Seoul
202 Jangchung-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea 100-856

Directions:
-subway line 3. Dongguk University Station (Dongdaeipgu), exit 5