Como The Treasury Lounge and Bar, 1 Cathedral Avenue, Perth, Western Australia

"Afternoon tea with a touch of class"

The High Tea Inspectors indulged in style at The Treasury last Saturday.  A great afternoon, with special thanks for the wonderful gift, Ira.

Tea variety was good, we chose jasmine pearls, white peony and assam breakfast and a lemonade for our trainee (she likes green tea but just not today).

A lovely two tiers arrived including ; white chocolate panna cotta, rhubarb and strawberry compote, tropical petit choux, passionfruit and mango coulis, vanilla cream opera cake on top tier.  On the lower tier were spiced beef tartare, egg yolk jam, pickled watermelon radish, cassava smoked salmon rillette, chive waffle, creme fraiche, caviar truffled egg and chive sandwich.

Served as a side dish, a basket of plain and raisin scones with house made strawberry jam and double cream. Delicious.

Other options,  have your afternoon tea with Champagne or Rose'.

Afternoon tea is served at The Treasury on Saturdays and Sundays between 2pm and 5pm.  The staff are attentive and very pleasant, so make your reservation;  this afternoon tea is highly recommended.

Fairmont Chateau Laurier, 1 Rideau Street, Ottawa, Canada

"High tea in Canada's capital"

We had been touring Canada and needed a high tea refresher and managed a last minute booking at the Fairmont Chateau Lauriers's Tea Experience.

When we arrived the place was buzzing with many enjoying their high tea, some finishing and some like us just starting.

We were offered menus for our tea selection and asked regarding dietary requirements.  My selection was typically the jasmine butterfly and my husband chose the orange pekoe.

A good selection of teas included ; Flavoured Teas - ice wine, maple maple, orange spice and masala chai.  Black Teas - orange pekoe, fairmont breakfast, earl grey, margaret's hope darjeeling, lapsang souchong, keemun panda and willow stream spa. Herbal and fruit teas, white teas and Green teas - jasmine butterfly and Kyoto cherry rose.

The fresh fruit cup arrived then the tiered plates of sandwiches, scones and cakes all beautifully presented.

The menu included  - fresh fruit cup, blueberry scones with Fairmont Chateau Laurier's house made jam and clotted cream.  Truffle egg salad 'cube' wrapped in a crepe, Atlantic smoked salmon and herb cream cheese on rye pinwheel, butter chicken salad on multigrain bread, roasted striploin with pickled onion, horseradish on mini brioche and honey roasted ham and brie, dijonaise on french baguette.  The cake selection was lemon poppy seed chiffon, salted chocolate caramel tart, marshmellow macaroon and maple walnut fudge.

Then around came the tea cart and expert to serve our tea.  I would have preferred our tea earlier and been on our second pot by this time, however, being a busy Saturday afternoon one had to wait her turn.

A most enjoyable afternoon was spent in a delightful setting if not slightly marred by the noise from the bar situated at the side of the room.  A great way to end our stay in Ottawa.

Masonmill Garden, 40 Masonmill Road, Carmel, Western Australia

Flowers galore with your high tea !

I have visited Melville Rose garden cafe previously and enjoyed breakfast a few years ago. So returning to Masonmill Gardens for High Tea has been a pleasant surprise.  The name change compliments the very well planned outstanding renovations.  As it turned out, we had picked a lovely afternoon.  With the weather changing and threatening to rain, the colours of the roses and surrounds were soft and most relaxing.

 High Tea is very affordable at Masonmill with an abundance of food including;  freshly made sandwiches, little quiches, scones, jam, strawberries, cream and a beautiful array of cakes.  The lovely staff went to extra effort with additional dietary requirements.

An extensive selection of teas are offered in endless supply and served in a array of lovely tea pots.  My usual green tea was exceptionally enjoyable.

Three hours just disappeared and in return we have a lovely memory of great company in relaxing, beautiful surroundings and a feeling of  i'm not cooking dinner tonight.  Go try High Tea at Masonmill and enjoy.  We visited on a week day.

Rochelle Adonis, 2 St Albans Avenue, Highgate, Western Australia

Better than the reviews, much better!

A few of the high tea inspectors were invited to a pre-wedding party at Rochelle Adonis last Sunday. I immediately did some research and found some not too flattering comments, ranging from noisy, lack of service and food inadequacies.

We were shown to our tables promptly at 10am, our party required two tables with ten per table.  The waiter was very efficient attending to teas, coffees, and champagne with or without orange juice.  The tea selection is excellent and my genmaicha green was one of the better I have tried.

I do like the way the high tea was served, firstly the delicious finger sandwich,  fresh and tasty, a perfect starter with my green tea.  Then a beautifully presented savoury plate with pork rillet with cornichon,  buche d'affonois with home made lavoche and apple, chickpea finger with sri racha sauce and lamb croquette with salsa. (my apologies if any of that is misspelt - and I found it a little difficult to hear the waiter and remember all the dishes).

Strawberry and plum sorbet followed and then a plate of sweets, vanilla macaroon, choux bun with raspberry chiboust cream, chocolate ganache tart with cherry and a passionfruit chocolate cup. And to keep the waiter on his toes another round of teas, coffees or champagne.

The kitchen staff had no problem with my request for "no sugar" and replaced the sweet plate with another savoury plate.  With regards to the noisy comments, well I agree, our two tables of women created a lot of noise, but that is not unique to Rochelle Adonis, anywhere you eat out and has a gathering of excited women enjoying themselves - you will have a little noise.

I did not find a lack of service, far from it.  Having done a lot of high tea reviews, (some not worth the time or effort) I found the staff and level of service to be excellent.

Most importantly the food and value.  There was plenty for everyone and all fresh, tasty and well presented.  I noticed ladies from other tables taking leftovers packed up for them as they left.

We walked away totally satisfied and I am most happy to recommend High Tea at Rochelle Adonis.

Well done.

Bistro Guillaume, Crown Perth, Burswood, Western Australia

We welcome our new high tea inspector!

Our high tea at Bistro Guillaume was a most generous Christmas gift from our newest inspector, "Ira" who at one year old proved to have the winning combination of the perfect hostess and an excellent venue choice.

On arriving last Saturday we were shown to our table in a lovely quiet area and offered the tea menu (quite extensive and impressive) and asked if there were any dietary requirements.  All which were executed perfectly.  We had requested mainly savoury and no seafood for one.   The room is very glamourous with a delightful French flair - even our high chair matched the decor.   

Four different tea choices arrived being the dragon pearls, stockholm blend, casablanca and silver tips along with the oblong three tiered stands with all the yummy treats.  The variety was excellent and included: chicken waldorf champagne baguette, spanner crab sandwich, smoked salmon with dill creme, veal sausage roll, pistachio macaroon, lemon tartlet, vanilla creme mille-feuille, scone with raspberry coulis and creme chantilly.

Highlights for our group were - caramel macaroon, mini quiche and rare roast beef with horseradish.

The staff were friendly and keen to see that everyone had a wonderful high tea.  On behalf of our new member and the rest of the inspectors we say well done.  High Tea at Bistro Guillaume is highly recommended.

The Empress Fairmont Hotel, 721 Government Street, Victoria, British Columbia

Afternoon tea overlooking the beautiful harbour!

An institution in Victoria BC, "The Empress" one of the many impressive Fairmont hotels is well known for their high tea.

At the higher price end of the high tea scale the menu is sumptuous and a first for me the fresh strawberries and cream as a starter.

Then the traditional three tiered stand with sandwiches, scones, jam, cream and excellent cake selection.  There is a small selection of teas, unfortunately, this did not include a green tea and found when paying the bill an extra $30 had been added for the privilege for the two of us. ugh.

The service was attentive and expedient despite being very well patronised. The waiter looked smart and extremely knowledgeable when questioned on various aspects of the hotel.  I would still like to see a white linen table cloth to finish off the lovely setting.

If the Empress is on your bucket list, I'm sure you will enjoy the experience.

M/S Amsterdam, La Fontaine Dining Room, Holland America Line, Alaskan Cruise, North America

Wonderful scenery included with afternoon tea!

For a high tea lover, the afternoon teas offered on the Amsterdam Alaskan cruise were one of the highlights of the cruising day (along with happy hour)!

A couple of stand outs were the Indonesian Crew High Tea and the Royal Dutch High Tea.



The lovely Indonesian crew happily serve teas and coffees sourced from Indonesia along with delicious and colourful treats.  My choice was the Indonesian Jasmine fine green tea.  The traditional scones, jam and cream were also offered and I found all most tasty.

The Royal Dutch High Tea presented as a smorgasbord was quite the indulgence. Many guests partook in this lavish afternoon tea. There were literally trays upon trays of beautifully presented afternoon tea delights.

If you ever get the opportunity to cruise with Holland America, I truly hope you love the afternoon teas offered.  The crew are very professional in all they do.  Excellent job...