Afternoon Tea in Shanghai- -China

Afternoon Tea Around Shanghai

There are so many places that one can have afternoon tea in Shanghai and I am enjoying trying them out. Here are three places I have been to and I plan on trying a few more.

I will edit and update this post after I try a few more places. Afternoon Tea is all the current rave! You can find it at hotels, restaurants, bakeries, and small tea shops!

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IF you are going to do it why not do it at one of Hilton’s top luxury hotels on The Bund in Shanghai -WALDORF ASTORIA! There are two buildings- one which is newly built and modern and the other has been restored and is called the heritage building.

1) Waldorf Astoria: The Bund

The historic Waldorf Astoria is nothing short of top elegance. The hotel is beautiful, the service was lovely, and their afternoon tea set was ¥688 for two people. Approximately ¥344 a person. I did not see individual pricing, so you definitely want to go with a friend.

You are paying for the location- THE BUND, the venue- It’s The WALDORF, the amazing food , the stellar service, and there was even live music!

You are served a three-tier tray of delights! The bottom layer had savory dishes, the middle layer had scones with jams and creams to spread on top, and the top layer was full of lovely sweets! It was a delight!

I absolutely loved having afternoon tea here! If my wallet allows I would do it again with a group of friends!

Cost: ¥688 (Local and International Cards Accepted) About $107 USD

Location:

English Address:

Heritage Buliding, 2 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu

New Tower, 88 Sichuan Zhing Lu, near Guangdong Lu

Chinese Address:

上海外滩华尔道夫酒店中山东一路2号,

近广东路, 四川中路88号, 近广东路

Nearest Metro: 30 minutes to E. Nanjing Road – you probably want to catch a DIDI- unless you want the long walk (China’s version of Uber) OR A TAXI

Website: http://www.waldorfastoriashanghai.com

Phone– 6322 9988 (In China)

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2) Eli Falafel: Xuhui

Eli Falafel is a tiny Lebanese restaurant in Xuhui. It’s more for take away, but there are a few table to sit down and eat. The food is healthy, not greasy, and they have a great menu full of Lebanese items. But …. This post is about afternoon tea so here it goes….

ON, Sunday January 24 I was walking and passed by Eli Falafel and saw a sign that said Lebanese Afternoon Tea from 2-5 during the week.

I absolutely live for afternoon tea – then it said Lebanese afternoon tea and I was too thrilled to try some Lebanese treats & enjoy tea on my official first day of holiday.

My friend and I arrived around 2:30/ 14:30 the next day- Monday the 25th and the sign was still in the window.

When we prepared to order the employee told us about all the different teas that the restaurant has. I didn’t think that there was a language barrier at all, but I said, “We would like afternoon tea please” and she responded “Huh?”

I was so confused. Again, I said “we would like to have afternoon tea. You have a sign in the window” and she said, “No. No afternoon tea.”

I didn’t understand this. I watched an employee wipe the sign off and place it in the window and they all told me no tea. So, I asked for clarity sake “No afternoon tea today? Or forever?” I picked up the sign and showed her and she said “No tea. Ever” and took the sign and put it behind her workstation.

This was so frustrating. If there’s no afternoon tea, then the sign shouldn’t be in the window for advertising. Who knows what happened and why they don’t have it anymore? But the sign isn’t in the window anymore. Ha!

I wonder if Lebanese afternoon tea will be available again, but it was not available for me this week and this was my plan to start my holiday. Ugh!

The. Worst.

I am sharing the flyer here. I was bummed …. But it happens.

I will say we did eat at the restaurant. Our lunch was fine, but it just wasn’t what we expected or what we planned on having.

Cost: ¥98 – I guess – since we didn’t actually have it. About $15 USD

Location:

English Address:

294 Wulumuqi Zhong Lu, near Wuyuan Lu

Chinese Address:

乌鲁木齐中路294号, 近五原路

Nearest Metro: 10 minutes from Changshu Road

11Am-10PM Daily

Phone: 5401 7778 (In China)

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3) Chartres Garden:  Xuhui

This restaurant  in Xuhui is always packed- usually with young’ish locals and not many expats. I have been wanting to check it out for dessert for a long time, but went with friends today for afternoon tea.

This was a fun afternoon tea experience. Two of the ladies who joined never had afternoon tea before, so I was happy to share my love for it with them. I “found” this place through a friend and it is lovely. There are two parts to the restaurant and there is even a small bakery! Who doesn’t love fresh bread and butter? I think most of us do!

If you live in China OR have lived in China this restaurant is a one step up – higher quality WAGAS type restaurant. A little bit of everything on the menu and options if you are vegetarian- I can’t say that I noticed vegan options on the menu. We didn’t eat, but just perused the full menu.

My friends and I had a grand time today. It was refreshing, and lovely, and a great experience.

It was an inexpensive afternoon tea experience, which was nice. There weren’t many employees who knew English so the manager helped us- Elsa was lovely. Our service was a little slow, we think they could have forgotten to put our order in, but we had great conversation so that helped for sure. You can choose one tea (plenty to choose from) and one dessert of your choice for ¥98 which is about $15 USD.

Cost: ¥98 (Local and International Cards Accepted)

Location:

English Address:

855 Huashan Lu, near Fuxing Xi Lu

Chinese Address:

华山路855号，近复兴西路

Nearest Metro: 15 minutes from Shanghai Library

Phone: 6212 8085 (In China)

My personal ratings ….

1: Waldorf Astoria 10/10

2: Eli Falafel 0/10

3: Chartres Garden 8.5/10

We are ending the month of January on a great note. There is still a lot happening in the world – and us expats are aware of it all, but while we are on holiday, have time to –RELAX-RELATE-RELEASE (A Different World, ha!) We are finding moments for connecting and having good experiences…. I am so thankful for these moments.

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#FearlessinShanghai #Thankful #joychangeslives #KMarieTakesChina #BlackGirlMagic #KarlaGirlLivingLife #BlackGirlJoy #LivingMyLifeLikeItsGolden #ChinaorBust #ChinaAintReady #BlackInShanghai #BlackInChina #BlackAmericanInChina #LookOutWorldHereComesKarla  #KarlaGirlJoy #BlackGirlInShanghai #eatsleeppartyrepeat #givingisgood #givingisfun #WakandaForever #ShuriAndNakiaAndOkoye #MelaninMagic #Blessed #-FaithfulIsMyGod

“life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all”  – Hellen Keller

*I choose ADVENTURE*