Afternoon tea is more than just a warm beverage and something to nibble on, it is a ritual, and well executed it can become a meditative experience. Raffles does it very very well, in the historic room, where apparently even Mao has been known to dance, you feel safely cocooned from the Wangfujing shopping wildlife. Resting on the plush chairs,to the soothing tunes of the piano, you are treated to a choice of tea blends and morsels of taste that come in the form of well rounded sandwiches, the salmon one is lovely, and well arranged desserts on a tea pot frame. But the piece de resistance are the scones, oh the scones, the crumbly sweet-salty texture that gives into the Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam. You forget the world and the traffic, you just sit there, thinking how great it is that culinary delights do manage to translate so well.