A friend of ours turned 30 this week and chose to celebrate by inviting a few friends and family to the Mount Nelson Hotel for high tea. Exquisitely beautiful, the hotel's decor makes it seem as though someone managed to travel back to colonial Cape Town and return with an assortment of artifacts.

I'm not sure what the buffet of cake, sandwiches and little treats cost our friends but I'm sure it wasn't cheap. The assortment and quality of the food was 5-star, absolutely superb.

This pot of Earl Grey tea was delivered to me only moments before I took this photo. The teapot arrives containing only boiling water. Tea leaves are popped into a retractable glass container and an egg timer is set for three minutes. When ready, one removes the inner glass container and voila, a pot of freshly brewed tea is ready to be poured.

I can certainly recommend visiting the Mount Nelson for high tea. Only, may I suggest parking your car a couple of kilometres away so as to have the opportunity to work off the extra kilos you'll gain after the many visits to the buffet table? ;)