Escaping the pandemonium of Hanoi with high tea in a glass tower high above the city.
Our experience
Hanoi is a city that one will either love or hate. For us, it was completely not what we expected. After two days, we were done with the chaos, and had no qualms jumping into a cheap Grab taxi to ride 40 minutes away to the outskirts of the city to check out the InterContinental Landmark 72 Hotel. Why here? This hotel offers an elegant high tea respite from the pandemonium of the city.
On our visit, the InterContinental’s high tea was priced at VND 899,000 for two persons (roughly USD $35-40). The high tea is experienced in the stunning Hive Lounge, a glamourous space that reminded us very much of the sky high hotels in Hong Kong. The wrap-around windows of the Hive Lounge afford a breathtaking panoramic view of the city, and the ambience of the loung is subdued. During our visit, the other dining patrons included local businessmen and a handful of Korean tourists.
As for the high tea, it was served in a traditional three-tier manner. Be forewarned that the high tea food was more Western in style, than Vietnamese. The savouries, for example, included an assortment of sandwiches, quiches and mini burger sliders, filled with ingredients like brie, hummus, pesto, guacomole etc. Likewise, the sweets were all finely crafted, with a French sensibility, and infused with overwhelmingly Western dessert flavours. The one partial exception was a rose lychee choux pastry. There was also a choice of cakes from a cake trolley, but these too were Western in style and flavour — banana cake, lemon cake, strawberry cake, chocolate cake, red velvet cake etc. By the end of the high tea, we were very full, but if you have more stomach space, the Intercontinental offered an interesting Korean bingsu dessert menu, and those snow ice towers looked very enticing.
Our verdict
Whereas high tea in NYC is almost always, an underwhelming experience, high tea in the UK and in Asia almost always makes for a splendid dessert adventure. The Intercontinetal Hanoi’s afternoon tea is one such beautifully crafted example. However, in lacking much of a discernible Vietnamese influence (which we would have very much preferred to see), just like its glass tower-like venue, it feels a world away from the city in which it is located.
Dessert adventure checklist
- ☑ Dessert destination: Intercontinental Landmark 72 Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam.
- ☑ Budget: $$ (approx USD$ 25-30 pp).
- ☑ Sweet irresistibles: High Tea.
- ☑ The short and sweet story: Escaping the pandemonium of Hanoi with a high tea in a glass tower above the city.
- Travel notes:
- How long? We recommend 1 full day in Hanoi to check out the city, but any extra day can be used for daytrips to Ninh Binh, Halong Bay etc.
- When to vist? We visited in mid-March. It was warm and slightly humid, in the range of 25-30 degrees Celsius. It became somewhat cool in the evening, so a light outer layer is needed.
- Where to stay? Almost every travel guide will recommend staying in the Old Quarter. We regret it completely. No complaints about the 5-star hotel we stayed in, but the surrounding area is chaotic. We were afraid of becoming roadkill at each and every step. 😦 The city is not a “walking city.” We recommend staying closer to the French Quarter or near the West Lake instead. It’s very cheap to get around the city by Grab.
