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"Sweets And The City"

Mooshmouse

By Mooshmouse
in Western Canada: Dining

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Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

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Not to be outdone by Mooshmouse & the High-Tea Triad, "J" and I spent this afternoon at the very exclusive Our Backyard Garden.

Careful, Arne. Keep making posts like this and the entire pink-tweed wearing "High-Tea Triad" may soon descend upon your home demanding service! :wink:

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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*Deborah*

*Deborah*

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Not to be outdone by Mooshmouse & the High-Tea Triad, "J" and I spent this afternoon at the very exclusive Our Backyard Garden.

Careful, Arne. Keep making posts like this and the entire pink-tweed wearing "High-Tea Triad" may soon descend upon your home demanding service! :wink:

Clearly, I need to add some tweed to my wardrobe.

What a lovely tea you had, Arne!

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

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Zucchini Mama

Zucchini Mama

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Tea in Tweed

Some days, I just want to feel feminine. I want to put my hair up in a fountain-like formation. I want to go through the ritual of putting makeup on my face, toss clothing on my bed to see what goes together, pick out earrings, a necklace, and suitable shoes, (sensible shoes, that is). The tweedy look is back in style. They call it "granny chic" and I'm all over it. As long as you've got the proper (ahem) foundation garments underneath, you're ready to rock n' roll.

We're off to grand thé at Provence Marinaside. I've never been to the real Provence, but I've seen the photos of course; fields of lavender and rustic kitchens in colours that look best washed by the sun. The sun has made an appearance today, but as we settle into our large round table, it has clouded over again. I guess we're a long way from le vrai chose. The waiter's accent warms me up just fine, thank you, and helps to create at least a part of the illusion. We're five eGullet food fatales, ready to test the tea. Finally I get to meet the lovely women behind the avatars, which is the real treat of the day for me.

I order the orange jasmine tea, which is fragrant and flowery, just perfect for a day when the lilacs have begun to blossom. I don't know about the other women, but I've been preparing by skipping calories this morning, so I am famished. We dig into the savories, which are very good, with a good variety of textures and flavours. My favorite was the olive creme fraiche on a soft slice of fresh baguette. I think we could have had double the amount of savories.

The deserts were good, but less successful than the savories. I liked the miniature scones with the fluffy lemon creme fraiche. The lavender creme fraiche seemed a bit runny. The best pick of the desserts, I think we all agreed, were the tiny lemon tarts sprinkled with lavender. I think there could have been more scones, just because so much of the lovely jam had to go to waste. All in all, it was nice to have afternoon tea with a French flare, but for twenty dollars, I felt there could have been a tiny bit more food. I know afternoon tea is supposed to be a supplementary meal instead of a meal replacement, but then I'm one of the poorgoisie who spends every extra loonie they have on eating out.

The conversation was...priceless.

À la prochaine, ladies, and thanks for a memorable afternoon.

P.S. Picked up some low fat ricotta around the corner at Urban Fair-good with fruit in the morning! Especially after atoning for all that creme fraiche!

Edited by Zucchini Mama (log)

"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

--Mae West

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Ling

Ling

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I don't know about the other women, but I've been preparing by skipping calories this morning, so I am famished.

Uhm...actually, I was famished because I ate lunch at 12:30pm and we didn't have tea until 3pm-ish. :laugh: I was flitting in and out of consciousness by the time the food arrived. :raz:

I echo Zucchini Mama's thoughts about the afternoon tea at Provence--the olive and creme fraiche spread was delicious, as was the roasted vegetable topping. The lemon tart was definitely the best of all the sweet offerings. The portions were definitely dainty.

Tea at Provence Marinaside--what a civilized way to follow our night of drunken debauchery on Friday! :laugh:

Lorna Yee

the cool kids at belltown lofts

The Cookbook Chronicles

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Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

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Joie took pictures of two treats we had yesterday--the cassis banana split (with chocolate sauce, maple rum sauce, and raspberry sauce) and the flourless chocolate tart with pistachio ice-cream. The tart was out of this world! Made with 66% Valrhona, it was dense and delivered a much-needed hit of chocolate after all those drinks we consumed.  :smile: I would give the tart a 9/10....I like it even better than the Chocolate Ganache cake at Pane from Heaven!  :wub:

Ask and ye shall receive. Not the prettiest photos in the world as the room was fairly dark, but they'll do.

gallery_18820_923_62172.jpg

Banana Split

Though far less sophisticated than the flourless chocolate tart, I thoroughly enjoyed this dessert... especially since it was served with 6, count 'em 6, scoops of ice cream, candied walnuts and Valrhona chocolate sauce. Exactly what my tastebuds were begging for after an evening of much food and copious quantities of drink.

gallery_18820_923_23272.jpg

Flourless Chocolate Tarte with Pistachio Ice Cream

Wonderfully rich and dense without being too heavy (if that makes any sense whatsoever). The pistachio ice cream offered a light flavour counterpoint. However, one of the very best tastes was a gooseberry/ground cherry dipped in the Valrhona chocolate sauce that accompanied the banana split. Mmmmm.

Edited to correct a grammatical crime.

Edited by Mooshmouse (log)

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

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Et voici Le Grand Thé à Provence Marinaside. Thank you Zucchini Mama for organizing this gathering of "five eGullet food fatales"! :cool:

gallery_18820_923_80449.jpg

Le Grand Thé

gallery_18820_923_2224.jpg

Sweets Tier

Starting at 6:00 and working clockwise, there's Parisian macarons au chocolat, a lemon and orange scone, Madeleines, a sundried fruit scone, pistachio and chocolate chip biscotti and lemon tarts sprinkled with lavender.

gallery_18820_923_63029.jpg

Savouries Tier

Smoked salmon on cucumber rounds, tomato and bocconcini brochettes, Socca Crostini topped with roasted peppers and provençal olives in cream cheese on baguette slices.

On the whole, I found the savouries tier at Provence to be more successful than the sweets, a sentiment echoed by the members of the Pink High-Tea Triad. Certainly a departure from more traditionally British high-tea savouries as offered at Bacchus, but rather tasty. In contrast, Secret Garden seems to have found the middle ground between finger sandwiches and more adventurous fare.

gallery_18820_923_78111.jpg

Savouries Tier - Secret Garden

Smoked turkey sandwiches on croissants, bacon/lettuce/tomato sandwiches on cheese scones and egg-salad pinwheels.

Until we tweed shall meet again! :biggrin:

Edited to fix a formatting misstep.

Edited by Mooshmouse (log)

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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butter

butter

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The mini croissants at Secret Garden are worth the trip. Does anyone know if anyone else sells these?

"One chocolate truffle is more satisfying than a dozen artificially flavored dessert cakes." Darra Goldstein, Gastronomica Journal, Spring 2005 Edition

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canucklehead

canucklehead

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Arne, make sure you do not mention any "High Tea" things when you want to hang with the boys. Your tough guy image will be shattered. Into a million pieces ! :angry:  :sad:  :shock:  :unsure:  :wacko:  :wink:  :angry:  :wacko:

Doood

I so agree - all these 'Garden' tiered tea time little cakes are sending me into estrogen shock... must... have... the manliest of desserts.... HSG GPB!

ahhh - now I am a MAN.

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Daddy-A

Daddy-A

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Arne, make sure you do not mention any "High Tea" things when you want to hang with the boys. Your tough guy image will be shattered. Into a million pieces ! :angry:  :sad:  :shock:  :unsure:  :wacko:  :wink:  :angry:  :wacko:
Doood

I so agree - all these 'Garden' tiered tea time little cakes are sending me into estrogen shock...  must... have... the manliest of desserts....  HSG GPB!

ahhh - now I am a MAN.

Guys, guys, guys ... I am secure enough in my masculinity that I can handle the odd tea cake. Besides, if it makes "J" happy for an afternoon, then it frees me up for the occaisional testosterone bing with the guys.

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game ... :wink:

A.

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Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

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I'm waiting for the day when the men on Egullet come to afternoon tea with us, preferably wearing pink.  :laugh:

Except Andrew, he's allowed (nay, encouraged!) to wear his blue unitard.

:biggrin:

And Coop in his tutu. :wink:

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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tarteausucre

tarteausucre

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I can't resist joining in on the High Tea discussion.

I have to admit that I am also an high tea enthusiast. I once took a male friend to the Secret Garden and he couldn't stop exclaiming over the tea cozies. I've been to the Secret Garden, the Bacchus, and the old Tea House, and out of the three, enjoyed the Secret Garden the best. Has anyone tried high tea at the Fish House, Murchie's, Fleuri, or Sweet Revenge? Have I missed any? I've also always wanted to go to the Empress...

Also thought that the chocolate fiends in here might be interested in a book, Chocolate: A Bitter-Sweet Saga of Dark and Light, that was reviewed in the "informative" Metro today. Here's the link:

http://www.metronews.ca/books_review.asp?id=7656

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."

~ Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady

Tara Lee

Literary and Culinary Rambles

http://literaryculinaryrambles.blogspot.com

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Ling

Ling

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I've also always wanted to go to the Empress...

The Empress is OK, but really over-priced (even during the low season). There's one in Oak Bay that I liked more...I think it's called "The White Heather". That place was totally packed when we went!

ETA: My favourite thing at the Empress was the carrot, ginger, and cream cheese tea sandwiches. What a flavour combination. :wub:

Edited by Ling (log)

Lorna Yee

the cool kids at belltown lofts

The Cookbook Chronicles

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Zucchini Mama

Zucchini Mama

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tartausucre,

Thanks for reminiding me that Sweet Revenge does afternoon tea on Sundays. They have the menu on their website: www.sweet-revenge.ca. It looks good, and I didn't realize they use organic ingredients! Definitely a must for the Tweeds. I also keep flashing back to the brunch I went to at PICA-seems to me it was about the same price as afternoon tea but you get to eat sooo much more! I'm thinking of organizing a potluck version of high tea, so we can pinch pennies for our next tea blowout.

PM me if you're brave enough to go behind the tweed curtain.

Zuke

"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

--Mae West

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CanadianBakin'

CanadianBakin'

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The Secret Garden savouries tier looks wonderful! Is their sweets tier as good? How much did high tea cost? I googled but it doesn't look like they have a site. Might have to add this to my list for my next trip to Vancouver.

Edited by CanadianBakin' (log)

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

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The Secret Garden savouries tier looks wonderful! Is their sweets tier as good? How much did high tea cost? I googled but it doesn't look like they have a site. Might have to add this to my list for my next trip to Vancouver.

Secret Garden does have a website; click here for the link. Ridiculous that it can't be found via Google... does anything really exist if it's excluded from the Google realm? :huh:

gallery_18820_923_88723.jpg

High Tea - Secret Garden

As you can see, there are two tiers of sweets served at the Secret Garden's High Tea. The centre tier is comprised of the 'semi-sweet' items and always has scones with raspberry jam and Devonshire cream together with something like the lemon pound cake pictured here or a carrot cake. The top dessert tier almost invariably includes lemon tarts and two other kinds of "Dainty Sweets" as outlined on their "Buy The Dozen" menu. An enormous selection of teas. And, unlike my recent Grand Thé experience at Provence Marinaside, I have never come away hungry from a Secret Garden High Tea. Bonus points for that! :wink:

From what I remember, High Tea costs $19.95. Well worth it, IMHO. Hope you get around to trying it one day!

Edited by Mooshmouse (log)

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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CanadianBakin'

CanadianBakin'

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Thanks Mooshmouse! It's nice to see the whole presentation. I bookmarked the link as a reference as I could do trays like that myself for a special treat for friends and family. But for me, I'll have to go into town for a treat. :)

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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Ling

Ling

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http://vancouverisland.kulshan.com/British...er_Tea_Room.htm

There's a link to The White Heather Tea Room in Oak Bay. We ordered the "Big Muckle" and we were utterly stuffed. The reviewer says she's never finished the "Big Muckle" before...but it's definitely do-able if you're a glutton like me. It comes on a 3-tier tray like The Secret Garden, but I'm quite sure there was even more food! :biggrin:

Edited by Ling (log)

Lorna Yee

the cool kids at belltown lofts

The Cookbook Chronicles

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Hue

Hue

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Went into Pane from Heaven today wanting to try the now-so-famous chocolate ganache cake. I was blown away by the nice looking selection of sweets there. I have to be honest, if it wasn't for the "pimpin'" for that cake, I probably would have chosen something else..but alas, I was here for the chocolate ganache cake, I shall have it.

It was really creamy and rich, nice chocolatey flavour and I could do without the strawberry on top. Compare to the other chocolate desserts I've had, this one is better than the one at Mix I've tried (Chocolate Oblivion). However, there was one that I had try at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (no name was on display). It has a hard cookie base at the bottom which made a great contrast to me. And I like that, but this one is definitely not bad! Thanks for the recommendation!

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