Category Archives: Afternoon and High Tea

Bygone Beautys, Leura, The Blue Mountains

One thing that I absolutely adore is afternoon tea. I’ll easily give up a meal in order to fit in an afternoon of triangular sandwiches, miniature cakes and tea. One of the most interesting afternoon tea spots is Bygone Beautys in Leura.

With over 3800 teapots housed in this deceptively large space, it’s also a vintage shop full of all things luxurious and olde world, from scalloped fabric silk chairs, elaborate candelabras and of course all sorts of teacups and teapots.

Our traditional afternoon tea setting

We’ve called ahead to see whether they’re open and the woman on the phone asked if we’ll be having the traditional tea as it takes 20 minutes to set up. We’re a little confused as we didn’t think there was that much more preparation needed for it than a regular order but we say yes to a traditional afternoon tea for 2 ($49.50 for 2 people, additional people $19.50). While we’re there we also order a Devonshire tea $11.50 and a Petite order of sandwiches with 6 points for $11.00. Our waitress is warm and friendly and asks us if we’d like them all brought at once which we do.

The Pomp and Ceremony!

We’re given our sugar, milk and 5 minutes later, we hear the song “Land of Hope and Glory” booming through the room. Our smiling waitress has returned in top hat and tails and is pushing a impressive looking trolley bearing two British flags playing the Pro British tune. We’re stunned and pleasantly so, everyone is excited when they see this and we see many flashes go off.

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Tara Tea Room, The Rocks, Sydney

I’d heard that there is a place, right smack bang in the middle of The Rocks (one of the loveliest, most scenic tourist and historical areas in Sydney) where there is a “secret tea room”. One where you can watch the busy world go by whilst partaking of some afternoon tea goodies for surprisingly reasonable cost. And of course one of the biggest lures were the above tea cosies.


The scone clock

The reason some consider it to be a Secret tea house is because it is only open on weekends (when the Rocks markets are on). It’s right in the centre of the action and  there are tables outside right near the market stalls which provides a lovely  buzzing vibe. If you walk through the Irish Design Shop, there are also tables to the right in a leafy walled courtyard as well as an enclosed, cosy looking room with a stove. My friends Lulu and Andrew have ventured into town from the Blue Mountains today to pay us a visit with their baby Audrey so we were excited to see them and find out all about this Secret Tea Room for ourselves.

Menu modeled by Audrey and her dad

The food menu is simple, consisting of 5 light meal choices: scones (plain or scone of the day), soda bread, raisin soda bread or a rhubarb and raspberry pie all paired with a drink of your choice for $9 or you can order a drink by itself for $3- $4 (a steal). We order a selection of everything except for the plain scones and Lulu points out the clock that signals that we have made it in good time, for only minutes ago, did they bake their latest batch of scones, a half hour ritual that lasts all day so that you know when is best to come back for the freshly baked goodies.

Our goodies arrive not long after and of course the Teapot with the ladybirds is the item I covet. My tea is the strawberries and cream flavour (just don’t add milk, it will curdle!) made with loose leaf tea as all of the teas here are. It’s delicious and very strong with strawberry flavour.

Soda bread with preserves and butter and a drink of choice $9

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SMH Good Food Month Kings Cross Hotel Sugar Hit 2008

Having a Sugar Hit straight after a 3 course dinner is not the most salubrious way to good health I will freely admit. However when you’re with a bunch of food bloggers, it seems almost natural thing to do. We’d first tried to get into Galileo at the Observatory, and then the Westin, The Radisson to no avail – apparently Sydney along with all of us are crazy for the Sugar Hits (I wish they’d be made permanent!). So we find ourselves at the Kings Cross hotel, opposite the Coca Cola sign in Kings Cross, with a stunning array of passersby in various degrees of intoxication and undress to gawk at. I’m sitting with Suze from ChocolateSuze, Christie from Fig & Cherry, Helen from Grabyourfork and Anna from Morsels and Musings.

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The Cotswolds and afternoon tea at Lower Slaughter Manor

The Costwalds Lower Slaughter Manor

There’s something grisly sounding yet utterly charming about going to a place called “Lower Slaughter” in the English countryside that is the Cotswolds. I’d only seen pictures of the Cotswolds but never been, so I was very curious to see the various little villages and towns that make up this picturesque area.

The Costwalds Lower Slaughter Manor

Especially something with Slaughter in the name. I recall Borat on the Ali G show meeting someone with the last name Slaughter who framed it as “Laughter with an S”. I suppose he had been asked about it so many times that he had to make a joke out of it. Lower Slaughter was also called the “Most Beautiful village in England” although I’m sure that’s up for furious debate amongst the locals of Gloucestershire.

The Costwalds Lower Slaughter Manor

We drive up to Lower Slaughter Manor, a very English looking manor house, built in 1658 and granted to the Whitmore family who commissioned celebrated stonemason Valentine Strong (whose son later became the chief stonemason for the reconstruction of St Paul’s Cathedral). The Whitmores lived there for 400 years, (lucky things) and now it is a small hotel with 19 rooms or suites.

The Costwalds Lower Slaughter Manor

The gardens are spectacularly beautiful, like something out of a movie set. I expect someone to come out wearing period costume and flounce about at any second. Instead we seat ourselves under one of the outdoor umbrella tables and order Afternoon Tea. Service is friendly and warm but still very polite and courteous, a fine balance given that it could have been stuffy.

The Costwalds Lower Slaughter Manor Menu

The Costwalds Lower Slaughter Manor Menu

It takes a while for everything to arrive but once it does, we gratefully tuck in. The afternoon tea, with a pot of Mokalbarie tea, described as “an extravagant tea, aromatic, full bodied, spicy and malty” has 4 scones, 2 plain with sultanas and 2 cinnamon with sultanas as well as a pot of clotted cream and a pot of raspberry jam. My husband orders a pot of coffee (£3.50).

The Costwalds Lower Slaughter Manor

Afternoon tea: scones and pot of tea £9.50

The scones are warm and the cinnamon ones are particularly good. The tea is delicious and my husband, ever the budget conscious individual looks like he has scored the jackpot “I can get 6 or more cups of coffee from this pot!” he exclaims with delight. Just like his mum said when I had afternoon tea with her last year.

The Costwalds, Boughton on the water

We also visit Boughton-on-the-water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Camden, three other lovely places. Boughton-on-the-water is particularly pretty with it’s footbridges and shops and filled with many tourists and senior citizens (I presume the residents).

The Costwalds boughton on the water

Boughton-on-the-Water

The Costwalds butty

OK I just think they have funny names for things here

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SMH Good Food Month Inter Continental Sydney Sugar Hit 2008

I have fond memories of the Inter Continental Hotel. However they’re now fuzzy and blurred given that they were so may years ago. During High School my friends and I hung out at the Inter Continental’s Top Floor bar where we would gather on Saturday nights, order mocktails and take advantage of the spectacular view of the Opera House. What was always important was that the nibbly bowl, filled with Japanese rice crackers or nuts would be replenished regularly, without us asking. Once it was a bowl of mixed nuts and after we picked out all the good ones and left the peanuts behind, they’d refill it again. That was great service to us High School kids.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the hotel, certainly I’ve been since High School but tonight, we’re partaking of their Sugar Hit, part of the SMH’s Good Food Month. We always prefer the platters as that allows for maximum tasting pleasure so the Inter Continental’s was a no brainer. It is a tasting platter of Grand Marnier-Strawberry Infused Panna Cotta; Chestnut Timbale, V.S.O.P cognac cream & White Chocolate-Raspberry Torte with a glass of Brown Brothers Dessert Wine.

We’re seated at the Lobby’s Cortile Bar, a winding-round multi two leveled space. It’s early in the night for Teena, Gina and I at 8pm as we’d had an early dinner at Bodega. Still, the Cortile Bar is quite full. We place our orders and we are given a choice of either Cognac or Brown Brothers Dessert Wine. I adore the BB dessert wine so I order this. Our plates and glasses come out shortly.

Tasting platter of (left to right) V.S.O.P cognac cream & White Chocolate-Raspberry Torte; Grand Marnier-Strawberry Infused Panna Cotta; Chestnut Timbale, $20

V.S.O.P cognac cream & White Chocolate-Raspberry Torte

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