The English
Cake Company aka The Cakery has been known for their quality baked goods,
but they also do what we think is one of the best value-for-money high teas in
town.
For Rs. 990 per head (you need a minimum head-count of two people though), you
get a there’s-too-much-food-here assortment. Every
morsel is delicious, and you also get to customize it to your own
palette.
How It Works
Unlike at hotels, where you typically get high teas, and only on certain
days and times, at the ECC you can call them up a day before on 0112 501 344
and reserve your high tea for whatever time. When you get to the counter, they
have the delightful option of customizing what exactly you want to
have.
The Selection
Step 1 was choosing your stacks, and they’ve got a great range of these
grilled sandwiches – tuna, smoked salmon, garlic prawns, cuttlefish and veg
options like roasted pepper, tomato, cheese, roasted vegetable, cheese, pol
sambol and seeni sambol. There’s one stack split into four mini sandwiches, and
we asked for two stuffings – roasted vegetable and garlic prawns. The prawns
were juicy and flavoursome and the veg sandwich was an interesting surprise,
stuffed with a whole load of tasty veggies, mushroom and melting
cheese.
Step 2, 3 and maybe 4 – I lost track – all were cake related. You basically
get to pick a new cake from every row of their glass display case. We got some
chocolate cookie, baked chocolate, passion fruit and cheesecake, and everything
was unsurprisingly soft, gooey and made from high quality ingredients. My
personal favourite was the cheesecake and blueberry – very soft, creamy, with a
yummy crumbly layer of biscuit at the bottom. Also the classic chocolate
brownies with cream were da bomb.
You also get to pick what kind of tart you want – this was another one of my
favourites – the smoked salmon tart. This was perfectly and freshly baked,
crisp at the edges, with warm, tender shredded salmon at its centre. It’s the
Cake Company, but I enjoy their savouries way more than the
cakes.
Finally you get to pick your drinks – any of the bottled juices from the
fridge or from the long menu of hot and cold coffees. We got a tall, cold glass
of hazelnut and chocolate blended with coffee, and the cafe mocha which came
recommended. They won in this department as well – ridiculous, I know – very
skilfully blended ratio of chocolate and coffee that very, very few coffee
places in Colombo manage to pull off.
Ambience & Service
The ECC is a very small space, with two tables inside in the A/C – we’d
suggest you sit outside though, it’s quiet with a nice review of the sky and
trees on this residential street.
Service is generally excellent here because it’s such a small space, so
interaction is pretty much 1:1. The people behind the counter were extremely
friendly and helpful.
Finally
We left this high tea very happy and very stuffed. Unlike at your typical
high teas / buffets, these guys also let you takeaway whatever you can’t finish
when you’re there. If you just visited on a random day and individually bought
the goodies we had, you’d probably end up spending about Rs. 3000+. So for Rs.
990, this is an amazing deal, and they get extra points for the range of
selection and customization available. If you’re looking to do a high quality
high tea, this one should be way up on your list. We’d give it a 5 out of 5.
