August 25, 2013

The Langham: Chocolate High Tea at the Aria Bar 2

Agnes southbank, suburb

Disclosure: I attended the Chocolate High Tea courtesy of The Langham and Media Moguls.

Afternoon teas seem to be hot, hot, hot this year. They’ve always been around but lots of new ones seem to have been launched in the past six months.

While that’s been happening, the classics keep chugging along.

For example: The Langham. They have been holding their Chocolate Bar afternoon tea in the Aria Bar for many years now. The last time I visited was a couple of years ago, and since then there’s been a change in head pastry chef, who has revamped all the chocolate treats to be a bit more modern.

In the weekends, the Chocolate Bar afternoon tea is $75 pp and includes access to the chocolate bar, plus a classic three tier tray which holds sandwiches, scones and sausage rolls.

Sandwich flavours are standard but very well done – smoked salmon, cucumber ribbon, egg mayonnaise and cress and cream cheese and chives.

Scones are both plain and fruit, served with jam and clotted cream.

And the bottom tier of the tray had mini sausage rolls.

This is served with a choice of leaf tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

But the chocolate bar is where The Langham differs from the other afternoon teas around Melbourne:

Chocolate rocks and pebbles
Chocolate marshmallow, Sao Thorne milk chocolate crumble, rice chocolate crispy, fleuntine, served with chocolate sauce

La Cherise
Belgian dark chocolate mousse 58% / Morelo cherries / macaron base / red glaze

The Pisa
Chocolate pisa cups / rhubarb compote / strawberry creme dome / dark chocolate ganache

Dominican white chocolate vanilla pannacotta 
Vanilla pannacotta with Dominican white chocolate 31% / Framboise coulis and mango jelly

Langham opera torte with tropical amer ganache
Pistachio jaconde / Framboise cream / Framboise jelly / Tropilla Amer 70% / Dark choc grande

Pear William Madagascar Park couverture tart
Chocolate tart / sliced pear William / Frangipane / Madagascar dark chocolate ganache 67%

Chewy banana and Costa Rica milk chocolate fudge top with salted caramel popcorn
Caramelised banana / Costa Rica milk chocolate 38% fudge / salted caramel popcorn

Cremoux
Giandjua and Java milk chocolate couverture 32% / rice bubbles / Fleuntine / chocolate dacquoise / Sao-thorne cremoux / topped with hazelnut cream and choc crispies

The Garden
Callebaut with white chocolate 28% / coconut mousse / Kensington mango jelly dome / macaron base / green dessicated coconut

Zen
Raspberry jelly with pistacho diplomat cream on a top of Vanuatu 44% milk chocolate and rice bubble plaque

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also chocolates.

Chocolate dipped biscotti.

Florentines.

There’s even a chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmallows for an even greater chocolate fix.

My favourite items from the chocolate bar were The Garden and the vanilla pannacotta, though I was quite impressed with how balanced all the treats were. Even after sampling pretty much everything, I didn’t walk away with a sugar headache. Joy! Classics are classic for a reason.

For more on the Chocolate High Tea, check out Ms I-Hua.

Aria Bar & Lounge
The Langham Melbourne
One Southgate Avenue
Southbank 3006
Phone: 1800 641 107
Web: ariabar.com.au