Afternoon Tea Diaries: Victoria - The Place to Be at Oxi Tea Rooms

Welcome to another entry in my irregular event, Afternoon Tea Diaries.

I guess it is official! We have officially become fangirl's of Oxi Tea Rooms. Recently we had our third visit and I am going to say right from the outset, we will be going again, and again...and yes, probably again!

Why do we love it so much? I think it is because it is afternoon tea with a difference. The menu changes regularly so you don't have the same experience over and over again. The food all looks like pieces of art and it is always fun and interactive!

This time the theme was Victoria: The Place to Be with the menu featuring produce from around the state! In addition, the whole space was used like an art gallery displaying art and jewellery from local artists.

Every time we have been we have been seated in a different part of the space, and the vibe is a bit different. The first time we were at a table for two by the window, the second time we were at a big table (as there was a group of us) in a slightly elevated postion and this time we were around the corner in a space I had never even noticed before. I am hoping to end up in one of the booths for two next time my husband and I go alone!

As always, the experience starts with the tea. There are more than 30 different options available ranging from rooibos to Kenyan and Taiwanese teas. All the options are laid out in these silver boxes which you can then pick up and smell and then make your choice. Last time I went I had a delicious Roast Peach tea but I wanted to do something different this time. I therefore chose the only one on the menu which is from Victoria. To be honest, I didn't really love my tea, which is a shame but that is about me making a choice based on head rather than heart. 

You then get to drink your tea after it has been brewed in two different ways. The first is using a modern teaspresso machine, which you can see in the background of the picture with the suitcase. The second brewing is made from the same tea leaves but brewed in a traditional Chinese way.

The first course this time was called Beechworth Tea Time and it was described as flaky biscuits, Beechworth honey roasted tomatoes and onion gelato. Normally in Australia we think of biscuits as being like cookies, but in this case it was more scone like so more like the American definition of a biscuit. However, it is defined, this was delicious. Light and fluffy and so tasty. The tomato was delicious, but what a revelation the onion gelato was! It's not something I have tried before and it was amazing! There were also crunchy fried onions which gave an added texture!

The the serving platter comes out which has the rest of the afternoon tea on, and it always blows our minds because everything is presented so exquisitely. The interactive element this time was that you had the description of the food but the image didn't necessarily match the food on the platter, so you had to figure out what came next in the suggested eating order. Some of them were more obvious than others. For example, the wool and the hay bale were pretty obvious! Others not so much

Here's what the menu lists. You will probably be able to pick some of them from the photo above!

St Ali Sunflower Bloom - Coffee, sunflower seed, wattleseed, orange

Southern Valley Spring Pond - Yarra Valley trout caviar, house smoked trout, dill, kaffir lime, Southern Seagreen wakame, carrot, grape caviar

Yarra Valley Sweet Wool - blackberry, fruity Nandi Gold tea, pepperberry, cacao

Six Eyed Scorpion Roo - kangaroo, Six Eyed Scorpion chilli oil, rockmelon; blue oyster mushroom, 

Alphine Valley Tea Hill - Yarra Valley Tea Co. Victorian sencha, strawberry, matcha,cheesecake

Victorian Farmhouse Roll - chicken roulette, charred lemon & pesto, chicken skin, Duc Nga woodear tofu, charred lemon & pesto, tofu chip (v)

Royal Nut Haystack - Royal Nut Co. pecan, hay, maple, kataifi

Boort Corn Patch - polenta, mushroom & truffle, Boort baby & sweet corn, mustard

Gippsland Milk Meadow - honeydew & rockmelon, St David’s Dairy yoghurt, lemon myrtle, floral sencha

I was a bit worried about how much melon there was in the menu as I don't really like it, but in the end it wasn't overwhelming in any way.

There are also some amazing a la carte items that you can choose to purchase. To be fair, we probably didn't need to order the Koala you see at the top of the post but we couldn't resist it which is flavoured with macadamia, maple, mango, and strawberry gum. There was an amazing looking cherry dish that some others around us ordered but we couldn't possibly have fit that in!

While the menu and experiences change regularly, the super cool glasses and cutlery and the service stay at the same high quality. 

You can see our previous visits to Oxi Team Rooms and the themes in the links below

Red

Palate Through Time: Before 

There's no Weekly Meals this week as I have been on a work trip so every night will be out for dinner!

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