Hi Steemers, and thanks for checking out the second post in my series, The Best Restaurant in the World, in which I go to every restaurant in the world* and then review them, rate them, and put them in a fight to the death against each other!
*Not really.
If you want to hear a little more about the premise and about the first restaurant in the series, it's here: https://steemit.com/life/@page-traveler/the-best-restaurant-in-the-world-kirishima-in-penang-malaysia
For the moment, Kirishima, a restaurant Lonely Planet considers to be the most authentic Japanese food in Penang, has the top spot. While I had some criticisms, I enjoyed our meal, and it got a "Go" recommendation for me. Not bad – but is it enough to keep Kirishima in the top spot for another round?
Today's challenger, 1885, is a restaurant inside the elegant and pricey E&O Hotel. It has an impressive 4.6 rating on Google Maps – this in a town where ratings skew low! – and people rave about their high tea on Trip Adviser. I love high tea, so this gives 1885 the advantage that I'm almost sure to enjoy their high tea, but also the disadvantage that my standards are very high. Enough background – let's get to the rating and review!
We didn't have reservations for high tea, but the head waiter kindly fit us in anyway. My first impressions of the dining room were very positive. It's cool and refreshing in contrast to the air outside, with a view of the turquoise sea and fresh flowers on each table. The service was absolutely exquisite. To be perfectly honest, I don't normally notice how good or bad service is in a restaurant unless it's so bad it's actively insulting or so good it's amazing. This was amazing.
Once seated at our little table at one side of the room, we were given our menus. High tea at 1885 has a set menu, and all you choose is your tea. There were about eight options, and several were appealing to me. I selected a green tea, while my husband chose something chocolate flavored.
As Alice Walker once said, "To the English, tea is really a picnic indoors." It wasn't long before our picnic arrived, and it looked a little like this.
The scones looked promising, if a little low on the clotted cream. And then there was this:
There was also a tray of desserts, which I don't have a picture of. Filled with excitement, we decided to start with the scones, move on to savories, and end with the desserts.
The tea set-up was quite interesting as well. There was a type of device I'd never seen before, and you can just see it in the picture above. It had a little tilting filter that you pour the tea through on its way to your cup, and then a base for any excess tea from the leaves to drip into. It was a lot of fun to use.
Unfortunately, the tea did not measure up to the atmosphere and equipment. In terms of quality, it was second rate at best. In addition, my green tea wasn't suitable for the brewing method. It grew oversteeped and bitter, and there was really no way for me to prevent it. My husband's chocolate tea didn't have an oversteeping problem, but it simply wasn't very good.
The scones were pleasant, but not great. They had a doughy, heavy quality, rather than the light flakiness of the best scones. The sandwiches were beautifully presented, but it was all too evident that they had been made well in advance. The pastries were the highlight of the tea – both were absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, several of the cakes and cookies had a rather artificial taste.
Overall, it was a pleasant tea in beautiful surroundings. Unfortunately, some of the most important elements of the tea itself just weren't equal to them.
To sum up:
Atmosphere: 5/5
Food: 3/5
To go or not to go: Don't go for foodies and tea fanatics (because there are better high teas), go for people who love fine atmosphere and aren't picky about having the best tea (it is still an enjoyable experience).
Price: $$$ for Malaysia, $$ by global standards
Global rank at time of review: #2
The Best Restaurant in the World
- Kirishima Japanese Restaurant in Penang, Malaysia
- 1885 in Penang Malaysia
Well, there you have it. While I did enjoy our high tea, it only gains a conditional "go" rating, and it's just not enough to topple Kirishima from the top spot. Thank you for reading, and please tune in next time, when our contender will be one of the famous hawker stalls of Penang!