NO more crying in the gin-ton' about the good old days.
They're back - or coming back - and not a moment too soon for our dying breed of ‘old colonials’ who, in quiet, fleeting, nostalgic moments, remember how things once were and lament their passing.
Afternoon tea is once more playing to packed houses in the former colonies of Singapore and Hong Kong, albeit an even more refined version.
In Singapore, at the venerable Raffles serves it up in the style you would expect but seemed, for a while there, to be confusing it with another great institution, tiffin which could be some mulligatawny and a light curry to keep you going between main meals.
Unlike afternoon tea, which you had to go out for, tiffin mostly arrived at your place of work, transported by dabbawallas or tiffinwallas.
The tiffin tradition has remained strong in southern India, Sri Lanka and Nepal and parts of Malaysia.
There should be more of it!
Afternoon tea has been on the comeback trail for some years now - the iconic Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon and the throwback, must-do Empress in the heart of downtown Victoria, British Columbia, where 100,000 people a year advance book for this relic of British influence in Canada.
In Hong Kong, Bonnie Gokson, responsible for the most talked-about restaurant and bar in town, has reinvented afternoon tea, served, how else, in surroundings for the see and be-seen crowd - yet another example of how the hand-over of Hong Kong to China was not exactly ‘total’.
Gokson's guests can opt for sumptuous sofas or lounge on a terrace with 360 degree views of the world's most beautiful harbour. (Did I say that?)
Favourites here are six savoury dishes - chicken roll sandwich, crumpet with cream cheese and smoked salmon, green asparagus roll sandwich, Indian-style nachos, SEVVA poori (explanation later), vegetable spring roll and Ms B's favourite sweet treats from the cake corner include a to-die-for ginger cheese creation, lemon cookies, turtle pie and an original crunch-cake.
The sophisticated three-tiered assorted platter of savouries and sweets with tea (or coffee if you must) is served Monday-Saturday from 3-6pm, and costs HK$360 (about $50) for two, plus service charge.
SEVVA (BG decrees it be pronounced savour) with its wrap-around terrace is on top of Hong Kong Central District's designer shopping mall, Princes Building.
Call ahead (852) 2537 1388 or do so the minute you hit town to ensure you don't come home disappointed. And, not to be outdone …
THE St Regis Singapore is promoting a ‘decadent’ no less, afternoon tea experience at their Les Saveurs brasseries.
The elegant lobby level venue overlooking the pool, was an overnight success both with international visitor and the ever-eager and affluent Singaporean dining-out crowd (which is just about all of them) and those out to impress business associates.
It has been left to pastry chef Alain Herber to tempt and delight guests with mouth-watering creations like hazelnut Paris-Brest, rum baba with passion fruit, rose, chocolate and passion fruit macaroons, blueberry tarts, milk chocolate tart with crunchy hazelnut and chocolate cake with fancy assorted nuts. (Herber, by the way, moved to the Lion City from St Regis Bora Bora and was previously at the legendary Hotel de Crillon, Paris.)
More down to earth fare, if such is possible at a St Regis (Singapore or anywhere else) includes a range of scones with organic homemade jams from Normandy, chocolates, fruits, specialty cookies and two-tiers of exquisite finger sandwiches (of course, the cucumber open-face and the creative salmon with seaweed are on the list).
Tea selection is no easier with 21 loose-leaf teas from Dammann Frères (it dates back to 1692), and an array of original refreshing options ranging from favourite blends like Seven Perfumes (a China-Ceylon combination improved with flavours of lemon, bergamot, fresh fig, lotus flowers, pitanga, peel of orange and petals of red and white roses.
Still undecided? There is also a blend of China-India teas with rhubarb, wild strawberry, cornflower and sunflower petals, all in fine china.
Takes the common cuppa to dizzy new heights . . . and not a teabag in sight!
St Regis Singapore, even if just for a drop-by, should be on everyone's Singapore itinerary. It's in the Orchard District hub.
For more information on St. Regis Hotels & Resorts,visit stregis.com/singapore.
Les Saveurs only seats 122 and its Afternoon (Tea) Affair runs from 3pm-5pm. It will cost you S$45 per adult or $50 with a Moet and Chandon Rose starter. | 
