Afternoon Tea Diaries: Native High Tea at the Westin

 It is time for another entry in The Afternoon Tea Diaries.

The last time we went to an afternoon tea it was quite a traditional afternoon tea experience. This time we went to the Westin Hotel in the city centre where they have an afternoon tea....with a twist. The twist is that all of the dishes have native ingredients included in them

It was quite a rainy day on the day that we visited but the location has floor to ceiling windows where you can sit and watch the city traffic go by!

Our experience started with a look at the tea list which had a lot of teas you would normally expect to see (like Earl Grey, Green Tea, Lemongrass and Giner) but it also had some more unusual choices like Berry Mad (elderberries, raspberries, blackcurrant and hibiscus). I ended up trying two teas. The first was called Bewitching Butterly Pea and the second was Coconut Truffle. The Coconut Truffle is described as "a decadent blend of creamy coconut, smooth white tea, vanilla and sweet carob" and it was delicious.

However, the Butterfuly Pea Tea was definitely the more bewitching. The description for this one was "A captivating butterfly pea infusion that transforms from deep blue to vibrant purple with a squeeze of lemon - pure visual delight." I would have described the transformation more from purple to pink, but it was super fun. And more importantly, it tasted amazing

The afternoon tea itself looked really lovely and was more along the traditional lines than some of the more artistic teas we have had but it was still very pretty.

Our food started with a really interesting first taste which was a Cinnamon Myrtle-Scented Warm Orange Soup. I wasn't sure at first that it appealed, but it was actually really delicious!

For the rest of the savoury dishes, there was a potato nest, an open sandwich, a finger sandwich and a pithivier. The potato nest was really, really crunchy and somewhat surprisingly it did really taste like potato still. The bread for the sandwich was super fresh, and the pithivier was lovely. I do love a pithivier at the best of times.

We didn't realise at first but somehow, we got the wrong open sandwich. The one on the menu said that we were going to be having yellowfin tuna with mountain pepperberry crust, fennel spiced cream cheese and finger lime. However, it turned out that we got a cured watermelon open sandwich instead. They bought over the right one, so we actually got have both. I only had a bit of the watermelon because I was curious about how the curing would impact the taste. I don't really like watermelon and this did not change my mind.

Then onto the desserts. Mille-Feuille tart, tea cake, a dessert inspired by a lamington but flavoured with mango and a Pannamisu featuring pistachio flavours. Everything was good, but if I had to pick a favourite it would be the mango lamington dish!

Finally, onto the scones. There was traditional vanilla scone and then a Muntries, Raisin and Blackcurrant Scone. No, I had no idea what muntries were either. They are "small, edible Australian native berries with a spicy apple flavour". The good thing was we got small pots of jam and cream but it was no trouble to get more.

I must confess that I don't really cook with native ingredients, but this menu definitely reminded me that it is possible to eat really delicious, sophisticated food using native ingredients.

I was really impressed by the whole Westin experience and would definitely go back again at some point in the future! 

Weekly meals

Saturday - Sausages, chips, cheese and gravy (poutine style)
Sunday - 
Monday - Takeaway
Tuesday - Quick salmon tray bake (new)
Wednesday - Pork schnitzel, chips
Thursday - Baked Tuscan pasta
Friday - Take away

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend in the comments. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Afternoon Tea Diaries: Mary Eats Cake

It's time for another entry in my irregular feature of the Afternoon Tea Diaries. We love an afternoon tea. We don't do them all the time because they are a treat but whenever we do one, I like to share about it here. 

The last three times we have done an afternoon tea it has been at the amazing Oxi Tea Rooms. They do actually have a new menu which we haven't tried yet, but I am also very conscious that there are lots of other places that I would like to try! 

This time the location for our afternoon tea adventure was at Mary Eats Cake in the inner city suburb of Brunswick. Unlike Oxi Tea which is very high concept, the afternoon tea at Mary Eats Cake is pretty traditional! This is a place that I have had on my list to try for a while now

The tearoom itself was very cosy, with mismatched teacups and saucers, glass teapots and proper champagne coupes. 

The menu is a pleasing mix of savoury and sweet! On the savoury menu there were Sausage Rolls, Beef Burgundy pie, Cheesy Potato Croquet, Chicken Finger Sandwiches and a Citrus Prawn Loaf

The sweet options were Raspberry and Lychee Eclair, Chocolate Hazelnut Entremet, Mango Matcha Tart and Macaron. I liked all of them, although not everyone at our table loved the Matcha and Mango Tart. My favourite was the Raspberry and Lychee Eclair. So delicious!

The option that we chose included bottomless drinks (which is handy when you spill half your glass of champagne before you have even started drinking it!) but it also included bottomless scones. That does sound tempting, until you realise how huge the scone actually were! I would be surprised if most people have any more than 2!

We have already booked for our next afternoon tea experience which I think is going to be more on the traditional side but with a twist! I hope it is going to be delicious!

Weekly meals

Saturday - Steak egg and chips
Sunday - Roast pork, gravy rolls
Monday - 
Tuesday - Pork Nachos
Wednesday - Baked Tuscan Chicken
Thursday - Pork chops, mash, mushroom sauce and broccoli
Friday - Zucchini, parmesan and tomato risotto

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend in the comments. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Afternoon Tea Diaries: Paradox

 

Welcome to another entry in my irregular event, Afternoon Tea Diaries. Last weekend we headed into our favourite afternoon tea destination to celebrate my birthday. This is our fourth time visiting Oxi Tea Rooms and once again we had an amazing experience.

One of the reasons we love going to Oxi Tea Rooms is that the food looks and tastes amazing, and the themes are always high concept, interactive and different. The themes change every few months which means that every time you go there are some things that are the same, such as the two different pressings of tea, but the food is always very different and often there is a little keepsake to take home as well.

There are about 30 different varieties of tea that are available to choose from. I do try to choose different flavours every time, which doesn't always work. For example, I didn't really like the tea I chose last time. This time I chose a Kenyan Chai flavour and it was really good! 

The current theme is Hatched: The Loop / The Paradox, which takes the participant from our earliest solid food through different experiences in life through to a representation of the end of life. It is high concept and lots of fun. For example, the image on the top right is representative of the baby porridge that so many of us start as our first solids.  This time the menu also featured quite a few native ingredients such as green ants and finger lime.

There is often a bit of theatre, from how beautiful everything looks, to the crack of ultra thin chocolate shells encasing creamy mooses. This time, the final course took that to the next level.

We are big fans of Oxi Tea and will be back again for the next menu. There was a four course dessert menu that we might try another time.  I am also conscious that there are lot of other afternoon teas that we can try so we will need to make a concerted effort to go to other venues. They will have to be exceptional to live up to the Oxi Tea Room experience.

You can read about our previous visits to Oxi Tea at the following links

Red

Palate Through Time

Victoria: The Place to Be

Weekly meals

Saturday - 
Sunday - Out for dinner
Monday - Tomato and Rice Soup with pork dumplings
Tuesday - One Pot Pizza Mac (new)

Wednesday - Chicken Shwarma
Thursday - Beef and Pepper Pot Pie
Friday - Out for dinner

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

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!

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Afternoon Tea Diaries: Palate Through Time; Before at Oxi Tea Rooms

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

Earlier this year my husband and I visited Oxi Tea Rooms and were blown away by the afternoon tea experience we had there. I do use the word experience deliberately as it wasn't just nicely presented food. The food items were mini pieces of art, and there was a fun interactive element as well. I posted about that afternoon tea here.

When I was trying to find a place to catch up with some friends pre Christmas, I thought this would be a great place. The good thing is, the Oxi Tea Rooms menu changes regularly so while it was another great experience, it was different to the first time we went.

The theme this time was Palate Through Time. The pre set afternoon tea menu was called Before and took us on a culinary journey through different times and places. If we had of wanted to also indulge in the a la carte menu, these had a theme of Beyond. These items looked spectacular but we didn't get to taste them. 

The idea was that each item on the board represented a time and place across ten different eras either through the way it was presented, or the flavours or both

Here's the list of items that were included in the Before menu

2500 BC - Ancient Egypt - flatbreads, confit mushrooms, herbed salad

100+500 BC - Ancient Rome - barley, cured king fish, pickled red ginger

800-1100 - Tang Dynasty - mixed rice, osmanthus, dried peach, goji berry

900-1100 - Islamic Golden Age - spiced lavosh, roasted beef, pepper sauce, rose

1200-1600 - Post Colombian Exchange - chocolate, cacao nib, corn, red chilli

1300-1500 - Elizabethan Era - pie tart, nutmeg, curry spiced chicken, puffed spelt

1800s - Industrial Revolution - sponge cake, mixed berry jam, vanilla custard cream

1900s - Belle Epoque France - chocolate lace, lavender, viola, honey madeleine 

2000s - Modern Nordic - foie gras, creme brulee, burnt butter bread

Now - Contemporary Fusion - mandarin foam, genmaicha, miso caramel, buckwheat

Once again this was a multi sensory experience. There were little glass jars on the table that were colour coded to match with each of the courses (except for the first one). In the jar, there was a piece of rock that had been infused with a smell that matched each of the courses. The idea was that you smell the rock and then eat the food and that you then have an enhanced flavour experience. It was going well until we realised that one set of our jars had the lids mixed up.

In the picture above, you can see the horse which was the Colombian era, the curried chicken pie tart, and the sponge cake. In the bottom picture you can see the Ancient Rome cured fish and the lavender dessert. As you can hopefully see they are all exquisitely presented, and for the most part they were all delicious. I didn't love the last one or the lavender one, and my favourites were probably the Elizabethan pie tart and the sponge cake. 

It isn't afternoon tea without tea, and this is one aspect of the experience that didn't change. There were more than 30 different types of tea which we were invited to smell to make our choice. There options vary from Taiwanese oolong tea, to Kenyan tea and South African rooibos tea. I can't remember what I chose last time, but this time my selection was a roast peach tea. I seem to be going through a bit of a peach phase at the moment. 

The tea that you selected was then brewed two ways. The first cup of tea was brewed using a traditional Chinese brewing method and then the second cup was brewed using a futuristic machine called a teapresso. 

The day we went, it was the very end of the Palate Through Time menus. It was changing a couple of days later to a menu called Victoria: The Place to Be which highlights the produce from our state. This menu is available until April. I am definitely planning to go before the menu changes again. And probably when it changes to the next menu as well. 

Weekly meals

Saturday - Away for the weekend    
Sunday - Away for the weekend
Monday - Roast beef rolls and gravy
Tuesday - Pressure cooker spaghetti bolognaise
Wednesday - Pork Stir fry
Thursday - End of year function
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Afternoon Tea Diaries: Ritz-Carlton Melbourne

It's time for another entry in my irregular feature of the Afternoon Tea Diaries. We love a high tea. We don't do them all the time because they are a treat but whenever we do one I like to share about it here. 

This time the location for our Afternoon Tea adventure was at the Ritz-Carlton here in Melbourne. This hotel has only been open a couple of years, and so it is very contemporary and beautifully laid out to make the most of the location, or should I saw the views! 

The setting for our tea was actually in the lobby bar/restaurant of the hotel but the restaurant area is open to both guests of the hotel and the public. The unusual thing about this hotel lobby? It's on the 80th floor of the building so all the hotel rooms are below the reception area. The building itself has no other tall building immediately near it so you end up with expansive views across the city to the bay, to Albert Park, to the mountains. There are windows nearly the whole way around the floor (except for where the kitchen is) so the views really are uninterrupted. 

Once we were seated the server bought over an envelope made from thick paper which had my name on it. Inside was the menu for our feast. It was a lovely touch which I haven't seen done in the same way before and it made us feel like it was a special event right from the outset. 

After a bit of a glitch when we had to send our water glasses back because they were full of floaties, we started with a glass of Moet Chandon and then we were invited to choose our tea from the selection that was available. The way that the tea selection was very neat and appealing although I did find myself having to pick up the actual containers in order to be able to smell the teas so they probably had to come through and tidy it all up again after I had been there. I chose White Rose and Goji tea which was very nice.

The appetiser was a delicious. It was a Spanner Crab Tartlet, Celeriac, Apple and Yarra Valley Gin Caviar that tasted as looked as good as it looked.

For me, the savoury items on the menu were actually the highlights of this afternoon tea experience. They were:

 Yellow Fin Tuna Ceviche, Romesco and Pickled Daikon 

Braised Lamb Shoulder Pithivier, Star Anise and Pomegranate Glaze 

Victorian Crayfish Butter Roll, Finger Lime Crème Fraiche, Celery Leaf 

‘Le Dauphin’ Double Cream Cheese Quiche with Shaved Winter Truffle

In particular, I loved the pithivier which was full of flavour both within the pastry and then with the glaze. Delicious!

The sweets course consisted of 

Apple Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Cream 

Valrhona 70% Guanaja Dark Chocolate Mousse with Orange Marmalade 

Choux Mont Blanc with Blackberry Compote and Chestnut Cream 

Matcha Mille Feuille with Handpicked Local Victorian Raspberries 

The course that didn't impress me that much were the freshly baked scones which were served with Lavendar Honey Butter, Raspberry Jam and Vanilla Chantilly cream. The plain scones were quite dry and were definitely not light and fluffy, which you can even see in the photo. The fruit scones were better until I put the Lavendar Honey Butter on them. From the taste I thought that it was a savoury butter until I referred back to the menu later. Maybe I should have put less of the butter on the fruit scone. I did, however, really enjoy the warm lemon flavoured madeline, and there was a lovely touch with a chocolate each at the end. 

So, overall, it was a bit of mixed bag for me, especially given that this is probably one of the more expensive afternoon teas in the city. The servers were personable, albeit a bit slow, but they were also attentive enough to move us to a bigger table when one became available which was a postive. I can definitely see us going back to the Ritz Carlton for dinner or even brunch. We might explore some other options around the city before we go back again for high tea though.

One of the highlights of this whole experience was that we went with some friends and I am pretty sure that they will be more than happy to come on more of our Afternoon Tea adventures. We are already talking about when and where to go next!

Weekly meals

Saturday - 
Sunday - Out for dinner
Monday - Italian Meatballs
Tuesday - Out for dinner
Wednesday - Out for dinner
Thursday - Normandy pork and mash
Friday - Take away

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Afternoon Tea Diaries: The Tea Rooms at NGV

It's time for another entry in my irregular feature of the Afternoon Tea Diaries. We love a high tea. We don't do them all the time because they are a treat but whenever we do do a high tea I share them here. 

Whenever the National Gallery of Victoria (also known as the NGV) has a major exhibition then we will be there, and there is every chance that we will also visit the Tea Rooms for scones. Over the years we have seen some great exhibitions and had some fabulous scones! The last big exhibition we saw we went to the Friday night session for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition (so fabulous) where there was live music, bars, sitting outside in the warm evening air. It was very enjoyable, but we decided at that time that for the next exhibition we would do the afternoon tea.

It feels like the Tea Rooms are getting more and more well known. Years ago you could just turn up and find a table but these days you really do have to book in advance otherwise they will be booked out.

The current exhibition is the French Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition which we visited a couple of weeks ago. I posted about the exhibition as part of Paris in July which you can read here, but today I thought I would post about the afternoon tea which we had after making our way through the exhibition.

We chose to have the Sparkling Afternoon Tea which included a glass of champagne and then a pot of tea.

The menu includes a selection of fresh sandwiches, some savoury bites, patisserie and then scones with jam and cream! That's a relatively standard menu so it comes down to how well it was done, and the answer is very well!

The sandwiches included

Chicken, tarragon mayonnaise

Free range egg, watercress, mayonnaise

Virginia Ham, Dijon mustard

Cucumber, cream cheese, dill (v)

I do love an egg mayonnaise sandwich but I never actually make them myself. I really should. 

The other sandwiches were also delicious, with options although I wouldn't rush out to have the cucumber sandwiches again. The sandwiches were so good that when I went to the NGV again a few days ago for a tour of the normal collection my friend and I shared a plate of sandwiches. Luckily she had the cucumber one!

The savoury bites were all fantastic. If I had to pick a favourite it would be the pot pie although the vol-au-vent was also something I haven't had for a while.

Chicken & leek pot pie

Pumpkin, leek & feta quiche

Prawn & Marie Rose vol-au-vent

The best course is always the patisserie which consisted of 

White chocolate & coconut cheesecake, blueberry jam 

Lemon basil mousse, almond sable 

Eclair, vanilla crème pâtissière 

Strawberry yoghurt macaron 

I didn't love the Lemon basil mousse but everything else was really lovely.

And then finishing off with tea and a freshly baked scone with jam, cream. The scones at the NGV never disappoint and this was no exception!

Years ago there was a special afternoon tea where part of it was a large iced biscuit that you could use edible paint and glue to be able to stick various treats on so that you could create your own masterpiece before you ate it. I think I was expecting something a little more artistic with this one too, but it wasn't. It was still delicious, just not as unusual as that earlier one was.  Despite that, I can see us doing another afternoon tea when we visit the next big exhibition. I am hopeful that the offerings change with each new exhibition but I guess we will find out.

We have our next high tea booked in for later in August. We are going with friends and we are really looking forward to it.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Chinese Chicken and Mushroom 
Sunday - Fried chicken, mash, broccoli and gravy
Monday - Creamy coconut prawns and rice
Tuesday - Steak, egg, chips, broccoli
Wednesday - Takeaway
Thursday - Prawn curry with roti
Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Afternoon Tea Diaries - Red at Oxi Tea Rooms

I first heard about Oxi Tea Room in Melbourne maybe a year ago on Instagram, and I knew that I wanted to visit. It was just a case of making happen, and finally we did a couple of weeks ago. I will say that this was more than just an afternoon tea, it was a whole experience, and a bit different from any afternoon tea I have ever experienced.

From the minute we stepped through the day it was clear that the vibe was very calm and that service is a key part of the experience. This is no crowded tea room where you struggle for room to use your cutlery and can hear every conversation that your neighbours are having. There were some intimate booths, some tables set in large windows and an upstairs area which we didn't get to see, so it is a larger venue than it felt to us on the day.

After getting settled at the table, we were invited to choose the tea that we wanted to have. There were more than 30 different types of tea which we were invited to smell to make our choice. There options vary from Taiwanese oolong tea, to Kenyan tea and South African rooibos tea. 

The tea that you selected was then brewed two ways. The first cup of tea was brewed using a traditional Chinese brewing method and then the second cup was brewed using a futuristic machine called a teapresso. Think coffee machine but especially made for tea. 

We were very surprised to see a small bag of potatoes on the table. I've never seen that before. It did make me smile that there was a sign to say please don't take the potatoes. I wouldn't have thought that was necessary. It all became clearer when the first course came out. They were a Potato and Leek Soup Beignet and Potato and Cheese Bread  and they looked exactly like potatoes.

We were then invited to do a personality test to determine what order we should eat the 9 different morsels that were available. It really was just a couple of questions and then you were directed to follow a circle, a triangle or a square as you worked your way through the accompanying menu. My husband and I both got different results so after the first item which was fried chicken, pickled beetroot and tandoori ketchup, we then were eating different items for the rest. These varying paths made it a really interesting interactive conversation as we tried to work out which was our next item. 

This particular menu is called Red, and as you might guess, everything on the platter was predominantly red. Even the platter itself was red and it all looked absolutely gorgeous when it came to the table. Everything is just beautifully crafted and presented as well. Here are just a few close ups 

My favourite items were the tomato macaron, the pomegranate and crab, and the grape and chocolate cake. The flavour in that little tomato was so intense. 

The tea room doesn't only do the afternoon tea that we had. There is also an a la carte menu which is inspired by the art of the Bauhaus movement. I am not really sure why I did this, but I had pre-ordered some bread and a Circle which is strawberry, vanilla and pesto flavours. We didn't really need it, but it was so pretty and really tasty. I was surprised when the bread came out after the afternoon tea.

Every detail at Oxi Tea Room is considered from the tea cups, the bases of which are very sculptural in form to the cutlery which is all designed to be able to sit on the plates securely.  This experience is on the pricey end of the afternoon tea range but it was well worth it especially when we added the extras. My understanding is that the theme changes every now and again and I can see us going to Oxi Tea Room again when it does.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Baked beans on toast
Sunday - Swedish Meatballs and mashed potatoes
Monday - Hong Kong Style Rice Hot Pot
Tuesday - Bacon, mushroom and zucchini pasta
Wednesday -Spicy Pork and Bean Noodles
Thursday - Away
Friday - Away

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: Afternoon Tea Diaries - Mackintosh at The Willow

Welcome to the next instalment of Afternoon Tea Diaries. This time I will be sharing about the afternoon tea that we did in Glasgow. This was actually a last minute decision. We had a full day in Glasgow and we weren't 100% sure of what to do, so I booked in for an afternoon tea.

We started our day in Glasgow by catching a bus to Kelvingrove Museum, including catching a bus with a a very grumpy bus driver.  One of the exhibits was all about the distinctive style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the famous tea rooms. Coincidentally, our afternoon tea was in one of those very tea rooms, which has been faithfully renovated in the Mackintosh style. The Willow Tea Rooms were originally opened in 1903.

Given that this was our final full day in the UK, we decided to add a glass of sparkling wine to our experience as well as our choice of tea, of which there were many, many options. The nice thing was that you could drink as much tea as you liked, and you could try as many different types of tea as you liked as well. I chose a Russian Caravan tea just because the name of it was intriguing. All the tea china was in classic blue and white, including the stand and tea pots.

I have just been looking at the website and have noticed that the menu has changed, and so it is very seasonal, but this was our menu when we visited.

And this was the stand when it arrived. As an aside I really need to remember to think about the angles so that you can seethe stand without my husband in the background! lol

And closer photos of the scones and sweet treats

As you would expect everything was delicious, but if I absolutely had to pick a favourite it would be the Peach Melba Entremet which is at the bottom of the picture. It actually sent me off on a bit of a peach obsession which resulted in my eating peach ice cream and drinking iced peach tea when we were on the next leg of our trip in Hong Kong.

Now I am thinking if there is anything peachy in the house!

Weekly meals

Saturday - Out for dinner (High Tea for dinner)
Sunday -  Zucchini, tomato and parmesan risotto
Monday - Sausage and pasta - New
Tuesday -
Wednesday - Murg Makhani (Butter Chicken) New
Thursday - Chicken Fricasee
Friday - Out for dinner

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: Afternoon Tea Diaries - The Library at County Hall

The last few times we have been away we ended up doing foodie walking tours. I have posted about our walking tours in Paris, Naples and in Victoria on Vancouver Island previously. This time we didn't manage to do a walking tour, but we did fit in two afternoon teas. 

We love an afternoon tea, and so I thought I would starting an infrequent feature called The Afternoon Tea Diaries, where I can share some of the afternoon teas we have. I say this will be infrequent because afternoon tea is, and should be, an occasional treat, not least of all because it is an expensive exercise. Having said that, we do have our next afternoon tea booked in for October, although we call it a high tea here.

First of all, what is an afternoon tea? Traditionally it is a light meal which includes sandwiches, scones and cakes served with tea, traditionally served between  12 noon and 4pm.  I saw something which suggested that if you add a glass of champagne it becomes a royal tea, but I've never seen it advertised as such anywhere. Even though we in Australia would call afternoon tea high tea, technically they aren't the same thing at all. Traditionally, high tea was what the servants ate after they had served the afternoon tea! Might explain why some Australians called dinner tea I suppose!

I knew when we were going to London I wanted to do an afternoon tea, but there are literally hundreds of different options. There are the very formal afternoon teas at hotels like The Ritz, afternoon teas in amazing locations like The Shard. There are whimsical afternoon teas and fantastical afternoon teas. Some have a dress code and others aren't so strict. There's even afternoon tea on a sightseeing bus. And the cost can vary from quite reasonable to more than 100 pounds, so it is quite a treat.

There are so many options that there is even a website called AfternoonTea.co.uk to help you find the right option. I wish I had of found this website earlier.

When I was trying to decide which one I spent a lot of time researching, and I came up with a short list. The first was afternoon tea at the National Portrait Gallery, which at the time had an Audrey Hepburn theme. The second option was afternoon tea at the British Museum and the third was The Library at County Hall, which is the one we ended up choosing because ..... location, location, location and also Library!!! 

County Hall is situated right on the River Thames, right next to the London Eye, so in this picture we would be on the first or second floor on the very right hand side.

So, here's the menu:

One of my favourite things about this afternoon tea was this box of different flavoured teas. We were able to smell each of the teas and pick what we wanted to drink. I chose a chocolate infused tea, to go along with our champagne!

While we waited for our tea we had a chance to take in the ambience. Of course, there were the views out of the window, but the decor inside the room is great too. As the name suggests, this used to be the library at County Hall, and the way the book filled shelves have been left in place it makes it feel very intimate, almost booth like.

Once our tea arrived in lovely matching china, it was time to start tucking in to the savoury part of the afternoon tea. I was surprised that we could have as many of these as you wanted. We went back for seconds on the goat's cheese tart and the truffled egg mayonaise brioche buns, they were so good, but you do have to be careful. After all, you need to leave room for the scones and cakes. Unfortunately, apparently I completely forgot to take pictures of the scones, but but they were fabulous too. I

Unfortunately, apparently I completely forgot to take pictures of the scones, but but they were fabulous too. I would never have thought to put lemon curd with scones, but it went so well with the sweet basil scones!

And now....the main event!

The hardest part is deciding which one to eat first. They were all delicious, but if you made me choose my favourite then it would be the Raspberry and Passion Fruit Delice, but they were all good! It was a really lovely afternoon!

Needless to say, we didn't need dinner after this feast.

We shared this afternoon tea with my step daughter who is now living in the UK, and it was so great to spend this time with her! The next day we headed to Brighton to see where she is living and had fish and chips on the pier, which is about as far from the formal afternoon tea as you can get!!

Weekly meals

Saturday - no dinner
Sunday -  Meatballs
Monday - Honey Garlic Chicken with cauliflower fried rice (new)
Tuesday - Sesame Garlic Vegetables with rice (new)
Wednesday - Pork Nachos
Thursday - Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake
Friday -

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: What I Baked (In My Kitchen) in January

The first Saturday of the month is when I share all the things that I baked in the previous month. After quite a lot of baking during December, it was the complete opposite this month, partly because we were busy, but also I had a couple of weeks of not feeling great! Hopefully I will get to bake more during February.

The one thing I did make was delicious though!! As I mentioned last month, I got some giant produce from my sister and I had to try and figure out what to make, so I decided I wanted to make something lemony. I also had some bundt tins that I got a few months ago and I wanted to at least try making some mini bundt cakes. A while ago I watched a Great British Bake Off recipe where one of the challenge recipes was a Lemon and Thyme Bundt Cake so I decided to give that a try in said mini bundt tins, and I'd say it was a success! I took some to work and got good reviews! The recipe also says you should make candied lemon peel and candied thyme but I didn't go quite that far.

I have been tasked with making a birthday cake for my sister at the last minute so that will be one thing that I will be making in February at least! I'm a bit anxious about it at the moment but I will make it tonight and it will be what it will be right?

I did get one new cookbook this month. I ordered it at the beginning of December from the UK but it took forever to get  here and then when I did receive it was damaged which was disappointing

One fun thing that we did this month was to go to Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition which was on at Melbourne Museum. A similar exhibition was here years ago but it was still fun to do again. When you enter the exhibtion you are given the name and some information about a passenger and at the end you can see if you survived or not, which I have both times now. 

You may wonder what that has to do with food! Well, this time we treated ourselves and had high tea, which was delicious. We love a good scone with jam and cream (always jam first then cream). I am trying to convince him to do more high teas this year. I'll keep you updated on how that progresses throughout the year.

We had a three day weekend last weekend for Australia Day, so on the Sunday we thought we would go for a drive to a small town called Woodend which is an hour and a bit away from us. There is a bakery there that does the best vanilla slice. This is something that we do on occasion but it has been a while. I have also now joined a Facebook group which is all about the best places to find vanilla slices so maybe we can find some good ones a bit closer!

What we didn't expect when we were there was to buy a painting but these things happen. We need we wanted an indigenous painting for our formal lounge room (affectionately known as the fireplace room) and as soon as we saw this we know the colours would match perfectly. The colours remind me of wildflowers.

I thought I would start recording the new recipes we try each month, if I can remember them. Here's what we tried in January

Vietnamese Baked Chicken (Dinner by Nagi Maehashi) - Delicious

Herbed Steak and Potato (5 Ingredients Meditteranean by Jamie Oliver) - would make again

Rioja Beef Ribs (5 Ingredients Meditteranean by Jamie Oliver) - yum

Spicy Sichuan Pork Noodles (Dinner by Nagi Maehashi) - Quick, easy and delicious

Creamy Mustard Pork (5 Ingredients Meditteranean by Jamie Oliver) - Also quick, easy and delicious

Giant Baked Beans (5 Ingredients Meditteranean by Jamie Oliver) - Underwhelming. 

I am sharing this post with In My Kitchen hosted at Sherry's Pickings

Weekly meals

Saturday -  Steak, baked potato and salad

Sunday -  Giant Baked Beans

Monday - Baked Fried Rice

Tuesday - Spicy Sichuan Pork Noodles

Wednesday - Creamy Pork

Thursday - Roast Chicken, potatoes and broccoli

Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page