One of the many elements of temptation to feature in a tea set—aside from the pastries and sweet treats, of course—is the pretty tableware on display, and The Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur’s new afternoon tea stands as an excellent example. Their Celest Thoi x Noritake collaboration – which runs till 13 May – brings couture and crockery together, producing a flower-bedecked afternoon tea served on an exclusive chinaware range.
Malaysian bridal designer Celest Thoi, as the first designer outside of Japan to be commissioned by Japanese tableware specialists Noritake, has created a set of fine china decorated with delicate flowers like buttercups, lupine, and St. John’s wort. To match Thoi’s ultra-feminine aesthetic, Mandarin Oriental’s pastry team has created an afternoon tea infused with Japanese flavours including green tea, adzuki beans, and sakura blossoms.
A three-tiered tea set (priced at RM158 per person) offers miniature pastries such as raspberry cheesecake covered in mochi snow skin, barbecued eel sandwiches with soba noodles on a charcoal bun, and black sesame seed scones. Those who are particularly enamoured of the Celest Thoi x Noritake tableware have the option of purchasing pieces of the collection online, at Noritake’s boutique in Bangsar, or directly at the hotel if they’re eager to bring a set home.
