With the weather pleasantly mild, families have stepped up their picnic game and hit the parks with often lavish spreads.
As someone often without the time and the know-how to fix myself a decent sandwich, I found the new hamperlings by Fortnum & Mason Dubai an ideal choice to cure my periodic bouts of picnic envy.
As a bachelor, it ticked most of the boxes.
It is compact, the cost is relatively decent and the ordering procedure done with minimum fuss: you either pre-book by phone or do it in the Downtown Dubai location with less than a 10 minute wait.
It’s good looking package too. As I recently parked myself in a nearby open space with my friend, our nifty blue paper bag with F&M emblazoned on it did attract a few stares. Although, the fact the packages resembled too close to a female handbag may have also been the reason.
There was nothing ambiguous about the food, however.
At a cost of Dh220, the Hamperling for Two Afternoon Tea was well stocked with fresh salmon sandwiches with cucumber and cream cheese — they were delicious and proves once again that less is more.
Then there was two hearty sized scones that came accompanied with clotted cream and strawberry jam. With three assorted pastries washed down with a cup of tea my friend and I felt rather satisfied and rather civilised by the whole experience.
Hamperling for One, Afternoon Tea costs (one fresh scone, a jar of strawberry jam, a portion of clotted cream and a round of finger sandwiches filled with cucumber, Fortnum’s smoked salmon or delicious rare roast beef, and tea or coffee) is Dh90. Hamperling for Two, Afternoon Tea (two fresh scone, a jar of strawberry jam, a portion of clotted cream and two rounds of finger sandwiches filled with cucumber, Fortnum’s smoked salmon or delicious rare roast beef, and tea or coffee) is Dh290.
For details go to www.fortnumandmason.com
sasaeed@thenational.ae
