Dear Steemit Friends:

Whenever anyone mentions London (who is not from London), the thoughts that come to mind are usually along the lines of the Queen and the handsome secret service agents. But for me, the thought that comes to mind is usually afternoon tea. Nowadays, afternoon tea is quickly becoming a standard mode of dining, that is despite it's noble roots. Finding an afternoon tea establishment that does more than provide the expected is becoming rather difficult. This is why, today, I've picked this particular afternoon tea place to share with everyone. A visit to this afternoon tea, is akin to taking a walk with Alice in Wonderland. Let's find out why!

The restaurant we'll be visiting is called Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson Hotel
It's located just a few steps away from one of London's prime shopping streets, Oxford Street on Berner's Street.

When I first arrived, it was already evening time. At the entrance of the Hotel, there were lovely flowers placed along the outside so the hotel itself is rather distinctive and easy to find.

The white flowers are fresh and in their prime. Perfect for this refined and elegant occasion.

Through the glass windows, you can see the Hotel is brightly lit inside.

I knew from the first step into the hotel that I would really like it.

This bright red lips sofa really caught my attention.

The hotel's interior was designed by the famous French designer called Philippe Starck who specialises in interior, products, industrial and architectural design, including furniture.

One look at the hotel lobby and you could mistaken it for being a museum of arty seats, chairs and sofas.

Here you will find fantastic oddities of every description and every colour. Avant-garde fashion design applied to chairs, so many that I can't even get round to sitting on each of them.

I love this particular sofa, it's like an antique from an imperial palace.

The entire hotel lobby is fitted with very dreamy white curtains. They create a gentle and elegant atmosphere. That hanging glass ball chair seems like it was designed for a fairy or a princess.

The seat is made with feathers! Like something from a dream, it must also be so comfortable!

There are also chairs in the shapes of hearts, drawing tables and various other wooden chairs.

The elevators have a beautiful reflective silver pattern on them that look like something straight out of the movie Frozen. For guests of the hotel, it is these little attentions to detail that really puts this hotel in it's own league. (And world!)

The staircase room is yet another room of wonder, again with it's own unique and spectacular design. Look at those oddly assembled stain glass windows, and the magic orb like lights on the tree. And the straw hatch fencing all the way up the staircase!

Honestly, I felt some what compelled to stay a little longer and just take it all in a little more.

On the opposite side of the hotel lobby, we have the bar area. One side of the entrance to the bar has this absolutely ginormous drum. Strangely, the face of the drum a kind of reflective material which if you look carefully actually reflects things off it. I think it's pretty cool and creative.

I came before the usual hustle and bustle time, so the whole place was not too busy. I suspect most guests are those who also stay at the hotel.

These relatively simple design chairs each have a unique eye on the back rest. Suddenly the chairs are not so simple anymore and actually have quite a bit of attitude to them don't you think?

Finally, we make it to the feature place. It is none other than the Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea dining auditorium. This part of the venue is entirely lit with warm colours. Entering this place is like taking a walk into the world of a children's fairy tale.

In this little corner, you can see there are real flowers and other live plants. You can tell that this area is usually an out doors area but due to the unpredictable weather in London, what with one moment rain and another sun (or both at the same time), the hotel have kindly set up a water proof canopy to shield us from the erratic London weather.

Above our seats, the hotel uses some heat lamps to keep the diners warm during the evening drop of temperature. If that's still not enough, the hotel kindly provides a very thick and warm blanket for the diners to wrap up.

My choice of seating was outside by the courtyard, I wanted to try get as much natural lighting as possible.

On the table in front of us, you can see the words I'm a Mad Hatter on the napkin. It's like a prerequisite to our imminent adventure through Alice's wonderland.

That's right, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is indeed a book! It is the Mad Hatter's book of Notes on British History.

Why's that there you might ask?

Opening up the book, I realise it's actually the afternoon tea menu!

Of course, guests have the option to read some other pages from the book other than the menu. That is, if they happen to take an interest in British History.

I ordered the Afternoon Tea with Cocktails option. They serve 4 pink themed cocktails as part of the set menu. From left to right, we have the Cherry liquor orange marmalade mini espresso martini, Spicy mango syrup and falernum rum infused with hot Mad Hatter's tea, Dark chocolate and raspberry liquor mini martini and finally, Pear and rhubarb liquor infused with hot Mad Hatters tea.

Finally, the three layered tower is served! Each layer, there are specially prepared desserts, cakes and sandwiches. Can you see the little lady bug ? At the very top, we have some pitta bread with some vegetables sprouting out like leaves on a tree.

These little lady bug icing cakes are so cute! How can I eat them! There's also some caterpillars made with cream and flower petals!

I love the art style of this plate, it's looks like the circus act happening right in front of me!

These butterflies are actually edible made from sugar! On the right, you can see some of the Alice in Wonderland styled chess pieces. I believe the two macarons are Pawns.

These beautifully made cakes and sandwiches are bite size and perfect for someone like me who likes a large variety of things to try. Still, I managed to finish them all!

These are pictures from my visit to the same venue a few years ago! Can you see how different it is compared to now? It's amazing seeing the changes in just these few years. Of course, it's a good thing that they have new ideas because it means my repeat visit will be like a new experience!

And that wraps up my visit to the slightly eccentric Mad Matters Afternoon Tea party at the Sanderson Hotel London. What a way to experience afternoon tea, entering the world of fantasy that is Alice's Wonderland and enjoying an absolutely delectable meal.

If you like my posts on food, then don't forget to follow and comment. I have plenty more food blogs to come !

说起伦敦，除了女王和帅特务，最先想起的大概是英式下午茶了。在我的精挑细选下，今天我想带大家走进爱丽丝梦幻仙境的下午茶，它位于伦敦的黄金地段，和oxford street交叉的berner street，在Sanderson Hotel。去的时候已经是黄昏，酒店门口布置着漂亮的鲜花，所以很好找。漂亮的白色鲜花，好优雅的感觉。隔着玻璃就看到酒店里灯火通明了。走进酒店，我就知道我会很喜欢这家酒店了。大红唇的沙发太吸引人了。这家酒店的设计出自法国知名鬼才设计师Philippe Starck之手，酒店的大堂则更像是艺术椅子博物馆。各种千奇百怪，五颜六色，前卫时尚造型的椅子出现在我面前，让我看都看不过来了。这是我最喜欢的沙发，非常复古宫廷的感觉。铺着白色的羽毛好梦幻呀。还有像爱心，画板各式各样的木质椅子。电梯口都设计着精致的图案，银色反光的材料让我觉得这个电梯好像是冰雪奇缘里的，这对于来这个酒店的客人一定是大大的享受。楼梯间也装饰的这么漂亮。各种图形拼凑出五颜六色的团案。

这个设计简单的椅子，带着眼睛的团案，好有个性。接下来就让我们走进爱丽丝梦幻的下午茶厅，这个场地打着暖色的灯，好温暖感觉走进了童话世界。这个角落都有花和草的装饰。可以看出这个下午茶场地是室外的，但是由于伦敦的天气多变，一会大太阳，一会下雨，所以酒店体贴的用透明材质的防水棚搭起来。头顶上打着暖气灯，这样就算坐在冬天黄昏的室外，也不会被冻到了。每个椅子上还温馨的搭了毛毯，供给觉得冷的客人。我选择坐在室外，因为撤着还有自然光，拍照光线更好。餐桌的餐盘上，写着我是疯帽子先生，意味着我们的爱丽丝梦幻仙境下午茶旅程就要开始了。你没有看错，桌上还有一本书，没错这是疯帽子先生爱德华写的书。打开看才发现，其实是下午茶的菜单。

客人除了看看菜单以外，当然还有机会阅读一下杂书的其它页。我点了带鸡尾酒的套餐，上来了四杯粉色系列的鸡尾酒。从左到右——樱桃酒和橙汁迷你浓缩咖啡马提尼，辛辣的芒果糖浆和法尔恩姆朗姆酒，加入了热的疯帽子先生茶，黑巧克力和拉斯波里酒的迷你马提尼，和花梨酒，用热的疯帽子先生茶浸泡，三层塔的下午茶上来了，各种口味的小蛋糕被做成了小昆虫的样子，顶上的杯子里还放着树叶。盘子里爬出了红色的甲克虫，还有小肉虫，用花瓣和起斯做成。这个盘子很有艺术的设计，我非常喜欢。用糖浆做成的漂亮的蝴蝶，和爱德华在电影中喝茶的水壶。这些做的漂亮的小蛋糕和三明治实际上很好吃。最后我把它们全部吃完了。希望大家喜欢今天爱丽丝梦幻仙境下午茶探索，之后还有更多有趣的餐厅要和大家分享。