For this whole month of October, Hilton Kuala Lumpur has been abuzz with a host of activities and they all have something to do with Britain. Yes, they celebrated the GREAT Festival and it’s all about the very best of what Britain has to offer. This campaign was held in collaboration with the British High Commission Kuala Lumpur.
With the hotel transformed into a food experience venue with daily activities from its 10 restaurants and bars, guests had the opportunity to explore the unique tastes of Britain. Led by the only British Executive Chef in 5 star hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Warren Brown, who heads the hotel’s culinary team, the campaign certainly took on a very delicious trail.
We were privileged to be invited to one of their “Food is GREAT” special events – the Twinings Tea Meets Dinner. It was held in Graze at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur. At this Tea Pairing Dinner, Twining Tea’s Ambassador for South-East Asia, Charles Arthur Smith (you see, the name was already so British!) was present. Throughout dinner, Charles introduced and explained a bit about each of the teas that were paired with the 6 courses served.
Twinings Tea needs no introduction. With a history of more than 300 years, this very British product has been a household name ever since Thomas Twinings started the business in 1706.
Fine quality teas were paired with a special menu created by Hilton Kuala Lumpur’s Chef de Cuisine, Marc Fery. While waiting for dinner to be served, we were served refreshing tea concoctions Cucumber Blossom and Sake Blossom.
Pre-dinner drinks
The teas we had with this dinner were all Twinings’ Signature Blends – an exquisite collection of teas and infusions developed by their expert blenders.
Delicate Darjeeling
Dinner started off with Green Pea Risotto, Olives & Pan-seared Scallop paired with Delicate Darjeeling. I liked the light fruity and floral notes of this Darjeeling which balanced the clear sweet flavours of the risotto and scallop.
Next was a lovely slice of Earl Grey Cured Loch Fyne Salmon bathed with Lemon Butter Sauce propped by a bunch of spinach. The salmon had been cured with the tea for 24 hours before pan-searing it.
Earl Grey Citrus
The Earl Grey Citrus, from a blend of top-end Ceylon and China black tea was lightly perfumed with bergamot and grapefruit, giving it that extra sublime dimension. Its amber color was a true indication of the tea quality, grown exclusively in the Darjeeling area, more than 3,000 feet above sea level.
At this point, a palate cleanser, Champagne Granite with Camomile Foam was served. This was paired with a calming golden-tinged Sublime Chamomile. Inhaling the smooth distinctive honeyed fragrance of the camomile flowers, I could almost feel my muscles relaxing by the minute. The premium camomile were handpicked in a family-run farm cultivated exclusively for Twinings in Croatia.
The Jubilee Tea was designed by Stephen Twinings as a celebratory tea. It’s a combination of Yunnan and Assam-grown black tea with robust aromas. This same tea was used to smoke the Duck Breast, our main course for the evening. Although I found the smoked duck a tad rare, the flavours were spot-on.
Dessert was a decadent Raspberry & Mango Tart with Chantilly Cream and paired with Sweet Berry Fusion tea. The fruity tangy fusion tea complemented the tart well.
To round off dinner, we were treated to some pretty After Eight Mints crafted by Chef Fery. I chose to have some Camomile Minty Tea with these – really lovely.
GRAZE
Hilton Kuala Lumpur
3 Jalan Stesen Sentral
Kuala Lumpur Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2264-2264
More information about Twinings Tea here