One of my favourite bloggers now lives in Wellington, so when I was home in December it was pretty much a done deal that I would be having a high tea date with the one and only Kat from Lady Loves Cake. Kat had organised our High Tea at Hippopotamus which is located inside the Museum Art Hotel, opposite Te Papa and it’s rather funky…
…there was a reclining naked lady painted on the hotel wall and I adored it!
^^If only we could all eat afternoon tea in our birthday suits…imagine how many more scones we would be able to fit in without our clothes acting as gastric bands!
Sandwiches
I knew this wasn’t going to be a traditional high tea and that included the selection of gluten free savoury treats…
…which consisted of one tiny ham gluten free sarnie…
…a very yummy rice ball which was something I’ve never had at an afternoon tea before…
…and of course salmon! The savouries were extremely tasty and hit the spot, I loved the very diverse selection of gluten free savouries and I can safely say that the savoury selection was unique.
Scones
Kat had warned me there were no scones with this High Tea at Hippopotamus so I wasn’t disappointed…it just meant there were going to be more pastries to scoff!
Pastries
Once again like the gluten free savouries there was a huge variety of gluten free pastries on offer including panna cotta (which is quite common for gluten free afternoon teas these days for us gluten free foodies!)…
..the sweetest pineapple…
…and oh my goodness…lemon meringue cups! Can we please have more lemon meringue at afternoon tea…forget macarons…lemon meringue cups all the way…I really fancy one of these right now.
Now there was a mango rice roll which I had a little taste off…mango brings me out in hives so I left it on the plate but it was very different.
Tea
The High Tea at Hippopotamus serves up Dilmah tea in the cutest and brightest tea pots I’ve ever seen…and in true Kelly fashion…I was gossiping so much with Kat that I forgot to take a photo but trust me they have awesome teapots.
Atmosphere
Hippoptoamus has a stunning location overlooking the water…seriously Wellington was shining the day I was visiting so the views were to die for!
The Museum Art Hotel is very arty…go figure ah…I’m so descriptive!
And I loved it, it reminded me the Sanderson Hotel in London with all the quirky touches found around the hotel.
^^Yes that is a motorcycle located inside the hotel reception area…only in New Zealand!
And yes the famous Hippopotamus!
Service
The service on our visit was relaxed and not once did I have to top up my own tea…there was always someone on hand to fill me up. We never felt rushed during our high tea experience and were one of the last tables to leave…surprise surprise!
Would I recommend the High Tea at Hippopotamus – I think the High Tea is extremely well priced at NZD39 (UK£ 18) per person and offers a great selection of quirky touches, it’s not your traditional afternoon tea however it works well with the design of the hotel and it’s a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon in Wellington.
A big thank you to Kat for organising the high tea!
xx
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