Madam Fu Grand Cafe Chinois

I met up with a couple of old uni friends for afternoon tea in Hong Kong the other week, and one of them suggested we go to Tai Kwun. Tai Kwun roughly translates to "big establishment" in Chinese. It is the former police station in Central, Hong Kong and the site dates back to 1864. Apart from the barracks,the site includes a magistrates court and a victorian prison.

Madam Fu

Our rendezvous was at a cafe called Madam Fu Grand Cafe Chinois and is located on the third floor of the barracks.

There are 8 different dining sections at Madam Fu's, 6 lavishly designed dining rooms and 2 verandas overlooking the main parade ground of Tai Kwan. I wished I had time to see all the different rooms but the purpose of my visit was primarily to catch up with uni friends more than anything else.

Fu Bar

I did manage to get a look at one of the rooms as it was just next to where we sat. This is the Fu Bar. It was elegantly designed with wacky paintings on the walls, and grand leather upholstered seats at the tables. A rich green velvet curtain was draped across the bar area, as if it was getting ready for the opening of a dramatic theater performance. The exquisitely designed dining room looked so elegant, and I think they would be perfect for dinner and drinks.

Red and Blue Veranda

My friends and I sat at one of the two verandas. They are called the Red and Blue Veranda, and sprawl across the front of this grand colonial building. This is the Blue Veranda.

We sat at the Red Veranda. The veranda overlooks the courtyard, and is a much more relaxing and better venue for afternoon tea than the charming dining rooms. The seating area consisted of red chaise lounges adorned with soft comfy pink and purple velvet cushions.

Palm trees were placed by the balcony creating a colonial feel. The most understated yet luxury touch to all this, are the lamps. They are crafted out of Hermes scarves!!!

The Menu

Madam Fu does a high tea set which cost HKD250 per person or HKD450 for two. That is roughly USD57 / USD32. Considering the setting, the historical significance of the building, and that this is Hong Kong, one of the most expensive cities in the world, this what you would expect to pay.

The high tea set consist of 10 items and a drink. One of my friend and myself had just finished lunch, the other was on a diet, so we just ordered a high tea set for one and an extra dish to share and nibble.

Table setting

The emerald jade colour tea set was very fitting for the environment. I liked how it was elegant but not overly flashy. Also, they used plain white plates and teapot instead of the full set of pattern tableware. This didn't overcrowd the table otherwise it would have killed the whole elegant setting creating a rather OTT scene.

Afternoon tea or high tea?

Afternoon tea is a very English thing, and if you're not aware, there's actually a difference between afternoon tea and high tea. The former is a meal created by the rich upper class in the old days, whilst high tea is eaten by labourers after they come home from a hard day's work. So I'm actually a bit surprised they call this high tea here and not afternoon tea!

I spent a lovely afternoon here with my uni friends, reminiscing old times, chatting about life and family and enjoying our afternoon tea within such a lovely environment.

 

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