For those of you who might not know about it, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has arrived in Manhattan. This is a semi-annual event which is held in New York in February and September every year. If you think you see everything in New York, just wait until Fashion Week hits because it really gives the Avant-garde crowd their chance to strut their stuff. I was not surprised to see one of my favorite spots—Mandarin Oriental Lobby Lounge—was celebrating Fashion Week by hosting a Fashion Tea. The question wasn’t if I was going to attend, it was when. I grabbed my buddy, Suse from Manhattan by Way of Mayberry and headed to Columbus Circle to partake in this chic tea and to do some great people watching at the Lobby Lounge.
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| Mandarin Oriental's Lobby Lounge Fashion Tea |
After an enjoyable afternoon with Suse these are our highlights:
SAVORY SELECTIONS & SCONES
The fashion tea consists of four tea sandwiches:
- Smoked Salmon, Cucumber, Lemon Caper Mouse on Marble Rye
- Black Forest Ham, Vermont Smoked Cheddar, Honey Dijon on Brioche
- Asian Chicken Salad, Napa Cabbage, Roasted Peanuts on Whole Wheat
- Soybean Hummus, Sea Salt, Goat Cheese, Watercress on Multi-Grain
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| Savory Selections & Scones |
Our personal favorite was the Asian Chicken Salad! Simply delicious! The other thing we could not get enough of was the scones, the scones, the scones! Did I mention the scones? These are the Mandarin Oriental’s Signature Scones which are served with Devon Cream and house-made marmalade. The marmalade was so good. I seriously could have eaten it with a spoon out of the dish. A little side note, if you want more than your allotted share of scones, it is an additional $4 per scone and it is worth it.
THE TEA
What is an afternoon tea, without the tea? I am always raving about the gorgeous tea selections at the Lobby Lounge. I did it for the Nutcracker Tea and the Chinese New Year Tea of Togetherness so why should I stop there? Suse and I tried the Organic Lychee Green Tea from the Mandarin Tealeaves collection and it was AMAZING. Especially with the orange blossom honey, yummy.
SWEET TEMPTATIONS
There is no need for me to state that this is my favorite part of any meal but it is! Whoever came up with this menu is totally creative and I give them serious props. Making their way down the runway is:
JIMMY CHOO CARAMEL TART
Introducing this season’s look in caramel and milk chocolate mousse in a chocolate tart shell with chocolate garnish. This one was my personal favorite; I loved the chocolate mousse which I am going to call it “chocolate charmeuse”. In case you are wondering, I will NEVER tire of chocolate.
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| Jimmy Choo Caramel Tart |
DVF BATTEN BURGE
Next up is the pink and white cake “madras” filled with raspberry jam and covered in an almond marzipan coating. Just look at the bold colors with this look. Simply fabulous!
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| DVF Batten Burge |
HOT COCO CHANEL
When I think of Miss Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel, the word that comes to mind is Classic. And that is what you get with this chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream. Please note, Suse and I were unsure about eating the Chanel piece in the pudding. We tried it and it tasted a little different so you might want check with someone before you go there like we did. The only thing I would suggest changing is to possibly name this piece in the collection the “Haute Coco Chanel” and to possibly make it some type of classic hot cocoa to keep it classic Chanel. Just a suggestion, but if the Mandarin decides to name it that, I want a percentage!
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| Hot Coco Chanel |
DONNA KARROT CAKE
This was
the only collection featured in the fashion tea show that did not need a
description. Suse adored the carrot
cake. Notice the attention to detail
with the “paillettes” on top which just so happen to be little pieces of golden
chocolate. FIERCE!
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| Donna Karrot Cake |
APPLE BROWN BETSEY
JOHNSON
This was
the showstopper for Suse. This almond
tart shell with apple filling and crumb top is accented with a fabulous white
chocolate hat. I definitely want this piece—does
it only come in sample sizes?
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| Apple Brown Betsey Johnson |
THE FINALE
You have
until February 16th to make it over to the Lobby Lounge to have some fun with the
Fashion Tea. It will be a nice break in-between the shows. You better hurry up
before these items are out of season.
Epicurean Girl’s Conclusion: 5
VIPs
Mandarin
Oriental’s Fashion Tea gets our highest rating of 5 VIPs.
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