Birthday Tea
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems as though afternoon tea has become more trendy where I live. I’m finding more and more places are offering it, and it’s interesting to see how they put their own twist on it. For my birthday this year, I experienced two very different afternoon teas, one with my son and one with a close friend. Interestingly, neither were in actual tea rooms but they still provided that afternoon tea satisfaction I love.
Relaxed & Informal
I received a recommendation to visit a local bakery for pastries when I noticed from their web site, they also serve afternoon tea. Of course, I had to try it so I asked my son and his girlfriend if they would want to join me. They were just as excited as I was because the place was new to them as well.
Located in a strip mall, I admit I was a little surprised because the interior wasn’t at all what I expected. It was the standard bakery/coffee shop where you stand in line, select baked goods at the bakery case, order your drinks, pay at the counter, and seat yourself. Customers were enjoying pastry and cups of coffee or tea while working on their laptops or chatting with someone. We were the only ones set up to have afternoon tea at a long table in the center of the room.
Unlike most tea rooms, this afternoon tea offered a single large pot of tea at the table so the three of us had to select a flavor we all liked. We decided the safest choice was the Breakfast tea. I was so happy the tea was hot and perfectly steeped. I really enjoyed it.
We noticed right away this afternoon tea was literally going to be a sweet one when the 3-tiered tray was brought to the table. We started with the sandwiches and scones located on the bottom tier. The very mini sandwiches were the traditional cucumber with cream cheese and dill on white bread and, the other sandwiches were toasted prosciutto and cheese. The prosciutto was my favorite, very savory. I would love to have eaten a couple more of those but there were only one for each of us. They also offered 3 small egg mayonnaise bites on mini toasts.
The middle tier had matcha tiramisu and panne cotta cups topped with berries with mini spoons on the side.
The top tier had madeleines dipped in chocolate or white chocolate, pistachio choux with jam, and canelés.
We were also served two beautiful tarts, one chocolate and one mango.
The buttery scones were small, but they were quite tasty with strawberry jam and cream.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my son and his girlfriend. Initially, I felt a little awkward being the center of attention in the bakery with our tea setup, but that didn’t end up bothering me. I would definitely come here again, but not for the afternoon tea.
I rarely turn down anything sweet, but I prefer more of a balance between the savory foods and the sweet ones. The larger portion size of the sweets are not typical for afternoon tea so we ended up taking most of it home. But the price was extremely reasonable for all those desserts, so I didn’t find fault in that. Plus, this is a bakery and what better way to showcase their trade than to include it in their version of afternoon tea. The next time I visit, a cup of tea and a scone or a croissant may be a better choice for me.
Upscale & Modern
A close friend suggested we try afternoon tea at iChina, a high-end Cantonese restaurant located inside the Westfield Shopping Center for my birthday. She had been there for her own birthday when she noticed they served afternoon tea. I was super excited because I knew this would be a very different afternoon tea experience.
The afternoon tea reservation is for the Tea Patisserie Set only. It does not include the tea or any other food. You may choose items from the Small Eats menu or from their regular lunch menu. As they only serve Asian-style teas in a single pot, we selected the Jin Jun Mei tea, lightly steeped.
The vegetarian potstickers, xiaolongbao, and BBQ Berkshire Pork Buns were delicious. It was the right amount of food and the perfect way to start our afternoon tea before the pastries. We drank water with this course.
The BBQ Berkshire Pork Buns were very unusual. The savory meat was encased inside a sweet, almost cookie-like exterior. My friend enjoyed these the most.
The Tea Patisserie Set: Bottom left to right: Matcha Almond Cake and Orange Almond Madeline. Second to bottom left to right: Black Sesame Yuzu, Raspberry Rose Lychee, Pistachio Choux, Milk Chocolate Rice. Second to top left to right: Pineapple Calamansi and Chocolate Macaron. Top left to right: Mandarin Mango and Ube Roll Cake.
Just before we were about to start on the pastries and tea, the waitress brought me a special lavender crème brûlée for my birthday.
The afternoon tea at iChina was wonderful. While there wasn’t a cucumber sandwich or scone in sight, although scones are advertised to be included, the small bites were the perfect accompaniment to this meal. I was a little worried I wouldn’t enjoy the pastries without my usual Breakfast tea with milk and sugar, but the Taiwanese black tea with tone fruit, citrus and honey went really well with the sweets.
Were there far too many pastries? These were very small and you only receive one pastry set. My friend and I cut each in half, which was about one or two, small bites each. While we had our preferences, they were all very, very good, made with high quality ingredients. The combination of different flavors really came to life, and we had so much fun trying to guess what ingredients were in each one.
Would I return, absolutely.