Girls have an appetite for pretty food or tasty food? 说说女生吃东西是因为漂亮而有食欲，还是因为味道而有食欲？

女生为什么会很享受下午茶的时光呢？大概是因为没有女生能够抵抗那么漂亮的小蛋糕，今天就说说我和女生朋友吃下午茶的经历。图片里大部分的下午茶都在在英国的餐厅，当然也有国内的图片。
Why is it that girls adore afternoon tea? It has a lot to do with how irresistible the little cakes look. Today I'm writing about my experiences with afternoon tea. I took most of these pictures in restaurants or Hotels in the UK. There are some from China too.

因为写得篇幅太长，又会打开很缓慢了，尤其是要中英文一起写得时候，所以我只好简略介绍一下曾经吃过的部分下午茶。只能粗略的介绍下，以后有机会再细细写每一家的特色。英国的下午茶，大部分都在五星级酒店里面。所以大部分吃下午茶的地方都有衣服的要求，叫做dress code，总之穿的比较正式总没有坏处呢。
伦敦的下午茶价格大概在人均30磅到80磅不等，下午茶的内容基本是无限量的，可以随意refresh。
Because of the length of this entry and the time it takes to write both chinese and english, i'm going to just go through the afternoon tea's in rough. In the future I will spend more time discussing each in detail.
Engish Afternoon Tea's are usually served in 5 star hotels. Therefore, it also usually a dress code. Nothing too fancy, just smart casual will do.The price is usually around 30 pounds to 80 pounds and basically is unlimited as you can ask to 'refresh' and they will refill the plates.

Stekch London

下午茶是一个让女生既能聊天又能享受美食的机会，给女生温暖的感觉。在优雅的氛围里往往可以让人们感受到心灵的祥和与家庭式的温暖，从而舒解一天的疲劳。所以有些女生利用上完课之后或者周末的时间，去下午茶好好放松，他们真的酷爱下午茶，几乎把伦敦的下午茶全都去了一遍。
To have afternoon tea is to indulge in both the companionship as well as the food itself. It's the combination that warms the heart. The environment is usually both graceful and warming. It reminds me of the atmosphere at home which makes me feel very comfortable and relaxing, taking away the stress after a long day. So, afternoon tea is a particularly good place to go after class or during weekends to relax and regain some energy, it's so popular that I imagine every single place in London that offers afternoon tea has been visited by countless Chinese girls.

这一家是位于利物浦最高的大楼上的下午茶，风景非常棒。
This is afternoon tea at Liverpool's tallest building. The views are fantastic

这是位于伦敦harods边上一家五星级酒店Pret a Portea at The Berkely。这一家是以时尚元素加进了下午茶，看看这Burberry的风衣，Moschino的包，都不忍心吃了。这一家在巴黎也有店。
This place is just by Harrods and is a 5 star hotel called Pret a Portea at The Berkeley. This is a very diverse afternoon tea as it is decorated with Burberry trench coats and Moschino bags. The decor is so nice I don't want to eat it. They also have another one in Paris．　

这是位于伦敦soho的Sanderson Restaurant and Bars。
This one is in London's soho called Sanderson Restaurant and Bars.

这一家是最早去过的，位于伦敦Ritz Carlton，也算是伦敦非常奢侈的酒店了，下午茶的也是属于顶配的，还提供香槟。
This is one of the earliest places I visited, London's Ritz Carlton. It is considered a high end hotel and the afternoon is the very best. They even serve it with Champagne.

这一家是伦敦的Palm Court，Langham hotel，这家下午茶去过两次，一次是复活节，一次是情人节，这一家下午茶很用心，做了特别为节日定制的下午茶，让我印象深刻的是这一家的scone是最好吃的。
This place is London's Palm Court, Langham Hotel, I've been to this place twice, the first time was easter, and second time was valentines day. They pay alot of attention to serving it with matching themes to the occasion. This is also the place that has the best tasting scones.

这一家位于伦敦著名商场harrods里的下午茶，各有特色。
This place is situated in London's famous luxury shopping mall, Harrods.

这是伦敦The Landmark的下午茶。
This is an afternoon tea inside The Landmark hotel.

这个是位于伦敦唐人街唐茶苑的下午茶。
This is an afternoon tea situated in London's China Town. The place is called Yauatcha and is a michelin starred restaurant.

这是位于伦敦piccadilly circus的下午茶。
This afternoon tea is one in London Piccadilly Circus.

这是伦敦Savoy Hotel的下午茶。
This is London's Savoy Hotel.

这一家是在布达佩斯的下午茶，最大的特点莫过于及其精致的装修。
This is an afternoon tea I had in Budapest. The highlight of this place was definitely the decor.

这一家是北京的客从何处来，透明的大落地窗，里面装修风格很独特，味道也很好。
This is Beijing's "Where do customers come from". It has transparent french windows. The decor is very unique and the taste is brilliant.

这是很早以前在北京世贸天街的下午茶，这是第一次看到面包上的火焰。
This is from a while ago at Beijing's World Trade heaven street's afternoon tea. It was the first time I saw flames atop the bread.

这是位于北京三里屯Missbonbon的下午茶。
This is at Beijing, San LiTun's Missbonbon afternoon tea.

这是位于北京超阳大悦城的下午茶。
This is Beijing ChaoYang Joy city's afternoon tea.

这一家棉花糖下午茶是在香港的维多利亚港口的下午茶。
This is a cotton candy afternoon tea served at Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.

这是位于新西兰奥特兰的下午茶。
This is an afternoon tea place in Auckland, New Zealand

下午茶可以追溯到英国17世纪时期，绵延至今，渐变成现代人休闲习惯。一边吃着西式糕点一边喝茶。英国人的饮茶习惯始自1661年。一位葡萄牙的公主将饮茶习惯带到英国。

17世纪时，英国上流社会的早餐都很丰盛，午餐较为简便，而社交晚餐则一直到晚上八时左右才开始，所以女孩们在下午的时间就会感到饥饿，并且在过去的上流社会大部分女性没有很多工作，所以闲暇的时间就交给了茶和点心。后来女孩们觉得这种一边交谈一边品茶这种感觉真好，便邀请友人共享。很快，下午茶便在英国上流社会流行起来。下午茶的用餐时间是下午茶3点到5点，种类分为high tea和low tea，当然在英国大部分人会选择high tea。

因为它的摆盘很有讲究。正统的英式下午茶的点心是用三层点心瓷盘装盛，第一层放三明治、第二层放传统英式点心Scone、第三层则放蛋糕及水果塔；由下往上开回吃。至于Scone的吃法是先涂果酱、再涂奶油，吃完一口、再涂下一口。如果选择喝奶茶，则是想放奶后加茶。

在过去茶的种类比较单一，英国王室们品用的茶大部分来自东方，例如中国的红茶就在英国得以延用，并在下午茶这个领域得到了发展。现如今在下午茶已经可以喝到新研发的各种水果茶，还有格子花酿制的茶，如玫瑰茶。

比如我有时候是更爱水果茶，因为吃甜点太甜的时候，喝到酸甜口味的水果茶，一下子就不腻了。当然我喝奶茶，也就是正宗的afternoon tea的时候也是加很少糖，因为比较原味的味道更加香醇。这门下午茶艺术很快又流传回中国，随着各地餐饮文化的融合，悄然在世界各地发展起来。

如果说历史上的贵族们把吃下午茶当作权贵的象征，那当代的女生则把下午茶当作享受生活的方式。

Afternoon tea can be traced back to the English 17th Century and has continued it's fervour to this day. Modern afternoon tea is now something widely enjoyed. Eating cakes and sipping tea. This British ritual started around the year 1661 when a Portugese princess brought it to England.

In the 17th century, the upper class would enjoy a rich breakfast and then a comparitively simple lunch. They would then socialise up to around 8 o'clock in the evening before dinner. So, the girls would feel rather hungry in between. Historically speaking, girls in that era of that class would not be expected to work. When the girls need some rest, they would have some tea and sit to talk with each other. This became quite culturally widespread, drinking tea and having conversation at the same time. It became all the rage in high society England.The usual time for afternoon tea is between 3 and 5pm and is split into two types, high tea and low tea. Most people choose high tea.

The presentation of afternoon tea is something carefully presented. Traditional English Afternoon Tea is served with three layers. The first, is sandwiches, second is scones and the third layer is for cakes and fruits. You start from the bottom and finish at the top. The scones you would eat by applying some cream and jam, then eat a little bit, and then apply more cream and jam. If you want to have milk tea, you poor the milk first, then the tea.

In the past, afternoon tea always used one kind of tea. The royal family prefered tea from the far east. For instance, the red tea which was widespread throughout England. However, over the years, afternoon tea has developed some what, and now you can taste many kinds of tea, including fruit teas. There are even tea's fermented with flowers such as the Rose tea.

For me, I like to have fruit teas, espeically since the sweetness of the cakes can be overwhelming. The taste of fruit tea allows me to neutralise this. When I milk tea, I add as little sugar as possible because this brings out the fragrant flavours much more.

Afternoon tea has become so popular now that it is widespread in China too. The integration of many other food cultures has brought afternoon tea not only to China but many other parts of the world as well.
Historically, having afternoon tea was a symbol of being rich and powerful, enjoyed only by the nobles. Nowadays, girls having contemporary afternoon tea is just a symbol of enjoying life.