The Gallery Weekend High Tea Buffet @ Sheraton on the Park, St James

The only thing that can top a high tea in our books is a high tea buffet – which is what The Gallery has created for its weekend tea lovers to enjoy in its freshly revamped lounge, with modern metallic accents completing the stylish decor.

The high tea buffet is priced from $55 a head, including your choice of coffee or tea (or $79 if you prefer a glass of champagne) and two hours of unlimited access to a smorgasbord of finger sandwiches, mini savoury pastries, mini pies, scones (of course) and an extensive selection of beautifully decorated sweet treats.

We always underestimate how filling high teas are (especially when they’re served on the traditional three tier stands) and it’s no different with a buffet – we started off strong, trying all of their finger sandwiches (there were about 6 variations when we went) including our favourite Smoked Salmon with creme fraiche and red onion on white bread, and an interesting Egg with Corn Relish on rye bread.

Next, we hit up the hot savoury pastries stand, which was split between a hidden shelf to the side of the Creme Brulee bar being manned by a chef and the scones station. The mini beef pie was tasty, as was the crispy bite-sized curry puff and the salmon quiche rounded out the hot savoury trio for us.

Moving onto the scones, The Gallery’s rendition was quite crusty on the outside, but fell away to reveal a fluffy interior that soaked up the delicious strawberry jam and Devonshire cream, satisfying the scone cravings I’ve been having this winter. We also got one of their freshly made Creme Brulees to share, since they’re a pretty generous sized serving.

By this stage, our tastebuds had run the full spectrum of flavours and textures, but with the fragrant Ceylon Silver Tips White and the richly flavoured Uda Watte teas to help us digest, we found some room in our stomachs to sample a selection of their gorgeously presented desserts.

Our favourite was the delectable Salted Caramel Tart, while the Kiwi Meringue and the mini Raspberry Vanilla Panacotta were refreshing ways to break up the chocolate. Some of the more whimsical sweet treats that were on offer included cute little rainbow cupcakes and colourful cake pops that brought out our inner kids.