wellcome to peyton & byrne

What amuses me most about the Wellcome Collection is the fact that it reminds me of a chain supermarket in Hong Kong called Wellcome. I could never figure out if it was a case of poor engrish (did they mean Welcome?) or some strange amalgamation of ‘welcome’ and ‘well, come on in!’, but I digress. I’ve been wanting to go and explore the strange and wonderful objects there (Collection, not the supermarket, though the description can fit both…) for a while, and the draw of being able to sit down afterwards and have cakes and tea at the Peyton & Byrne cafe afterwards was too much to resist. Of course, I made such a big fuss over the cafe that my flatmate became suspicious that the museum itelf had no other redeeming features. But oh, how wrong was she!

book smarts

Judging by my epic post about afternoon tea a while back, it’s no secret that i’m something of a tea fiend. A tea fiend is easily excited by blends and tea leaves she has never experienced before, like dark red coat oolong, bohea lapsang and whole rosebud china black. She is also easily won over by attention to detail when it comes to serving up a cuppa. So if you place this delicate, Taiwanese hand-blown glass tea set in front of her when she was just expecting your average teapot and mug, well… be prepared for some happy raving.

tee is twee

Afternoon tea is undoubtedly one of Britain’s greatest contributions to mankind. Dear sirs and madams, I tip my hat off to you. I relish the way you can just sit back and nibble delicious sweet and savoury finger foods, sip many cups of hot tea, and lounge for as long as you like in a comfortable, relaxing environment. Everything is marvellous after you take some time off to indulge in a quality afternoon tea.

Luckily for those of us in Hong Kong, the practice of a good cup of tea and a sit down is easy to locate and partake in, considering the numerous hotels and cafes that will offer ‘traditional English high tea’ during the afternoons, and unsurprising when you remember that we were once a colonial city. The cost of a proper high tea in England is more than what I could afford as a student, and so the bulk of my three-tiered gluttonous explorations have been based in Hong Kong. I’ve generally been very satisfied with the quality of afternoon tea in the city, and so I was rather excited when my mom suggested we go to the members-only (while it sounds posh, in reality anyone can join) China Tee Club in Central.