Firstly, the interior of Australasia was stunning. From the iconic glass pyramid entrance on The Avenue in Spinningfields, to the beautuful restaurant downstairs with its white interior (I swear I need to revisit just so I can sit in those booths!) to the terrace and bar area upstairs with its unique shell theming and statement pieces, everywhere oozed luxurious and the interior definitely ticked all boxes for me.
We decided to sit in the terrace area outside - it had vibes of being abroad out there, with its mint green cushioned seats, and leafy walls, adorned with fairy lights. The terrace was heated, however with it still being a blustery February day, it did get a little chilly towards the end, but I can imagine this area to be divine on a warmer day, and even prettier by dusk.
The Asian afternoon tea came in 2 'waves' - savoury, followed by dessert on a different tier. The service was impeccable; both friendly and informative, and each item was explained to us so we knew what we were eating! Fresh wasabi was made in front of us which I liked. The afternoon tea usually comes with Chardonnay, however because Mike was driving later on, we both passed on the alcohol, and went for mocktails instead. I had a coconut and mango cocktail, whereas Mike had an Apple, Kiwi and Lime cocktail. They were both so refreshing and tasty.
The top tier consisted of 'salad' and pork. The pork was full of flavor and reminded me of something from a Chinese dish.
I couldn't tell you what the second tier was, but there was something on there that reminded me of the battered dumplings from Wagamamas, however this one had avocado in.. I'm not normally a fan of this but it worked perfectly with this concoction. This was teamed with a small salad and edamane beans which I'm a huge fan of. I think the cracker was a take on prawn crackers, however this had a slightly different taste to it, but was still just as nice.
The fresh sushi was on the bottom tier, and the one I was least looking forward to, simply because I don't eat raw fish, however I was pleasantly surprised. I will admit, there were a couple I slid across to Mike but for any fish/sushi fans out there, you'd appreciate this tier! There was a range of prawn, tuna and salmon, each on a bed of rice. The soya sauce really complimented these and definitely got that palette going!
After taking a moment, we then went in for the second tier - desserts! The majority of each one is bite-size, and were really tasty!
On the top tier lay 2 good-sized chocolate brownie type cakes. These were quite rich for me (but I managed to eat it all, obviously!). The chocolate was smooth and it was topped with a fresh blackberry and cream.
The second tier came with these little glass pots of can only be described as a contrast between vanilla yogurt and blancmange. They werent my favorite but were definitely asthetically pleasing! The cute pink merringues that sat next to them were nice and crunchy, topped with a blueberry.
The third tier came with these 3 little beauties. The one on the left bizarrely reminded me a little of a bakewell tart, even though the color doesn't resemble this! The middle was pastry with what tasted like lemon curd inside (my favourite!), topped off with a blueberry. The final one reminded me of an almond slice, and this too was lovely.
After our desserts, the wind had really upped its game, so we moved inside to the bar area to wrap up the last of our afternoon tea. Here we were presented with tea - we were given a small selection of teas to choose from; English Breakfast, Earl Grey or a few fruit/herbal flavours. I opted for the English Grey and it was presented on a small wooden tray and everything was made from glass which really pleased me!
Overall, an absolutely lovely experience and a place that I'm definitely going to revisit on our next trip to Manchester, this time to sit in the restaurant and experience their food menu and more of their cocktails!
