Hai Pai at Andaz
Add: Andaz Shanghai, 88 Songshan Lu, near Taicang Lu / 嵩山路88号上海安达仕酒店1楼, 近太仓路
Tel: 2310 1720
Hours: [afternoon tea] 2:30~5:30pm
Website: www.andazshanghai.com
Price: 258 RMB + 15%/set for two
Visited: Feb 2012
Fellow afternoon tea-ers, here’s a new spot for you in Xintiandi. Andaz Hotel’s Hai Pai, a fusion restaurant with a modern Shanghainese spirit, recently launched afternoon tea service in both of its compartments. The right side is of a modern Shanghainese decor, while the left is in the style of a French bistro.
Hai Pai afternoon tea (258 RMB + 15%/set for two) is definitely one of the more affordable hotel afternoon tea sets out there. What it includes: the savory – 6 small dim sums, 2 cheese and ham sandwiches, 2 smoked salmon sandwiches and 2 mini lobster tarts; the sweet – 4 flavors of eclairs, 2 green tea madeleines, and 2 honey lemon madeleines. The size is about just right – it won’t leave you stuffed, but you probably won’t be needing a full dinner after this either.
Starting with the savories, we quite enjoyed the trio of dim sums: shrimp dumpling, vegetarian siew mai, and mixed steamed dumpling.
The finger sandwiches and tarts were fine, not too shabby.
As for the sweets, both the fresh fruits with vanilla cream and crème brûlée were simple but up to par. I especially liked the vanilla cream topping the berries, and the crème brûlée was quite lovely too, though it probably could’ve used a thicker caramelized crust.
The eclairs and madeleines are the same ones you can find at Eclair, though as I mentioned last time, I preferred the tarts at Eclair more than its eclairs.
This is the other side of Hai Pai, which is very nicely designed but a tad bit chilly both times I visited.
Afternoon Tea at Hai Pai wasn’t mind-blowing, but it’s a nicely put together set that can keep you entertained for an afternoon. FYI, it can also be enjoyed in the sleek hotel lobby lounge.
For more high tea options in Shanghai, take a look at the Shanghai Afternoon Tea Guide.