***Please note that this business is now closed***

There are some people that just fully appreciate Afternoon Tea and Elevenses. Mr NQN is not one of them. So when I knew that I was visiting Dolls At The Mount for afternoon tea, I knew that I had to take along fellow afternoon tea aficionado Nic. You know Nic don’t you? She’s my Melbourne friend who painstakingly played lighting assistant when we dined at Maze restaurant. She also happens to have a family of keen sponge cake bakers so I knew that she would completely understand it here.

It was a place I had heard of months and months ago and I filed it away in the rollerdex in my head, knowing that I would somehow make it there-one day.  Dolls At the Mount is a doll museum and afternoon tea place that was said to serve fantastic scones and it was just the kind of place that I knew that I would adore. And when Tourism Victoria asked me where I would like to visit I immediately open up the mental rollerdex and told them “Dolls on the Mount please!”.

It’s a rainy Melbourne day when I jump into the taxi and take the 30 minute ride out to Heidelberg. It’s drizzling lightly when we pull up in front of the cream colour cottage and a sign reads “doll repairs, afternoon tea”. Nic has just arrived too and we ring the door and a smiling Vivienne opens the door. “Welcome!” she says smiling and we make our way past the dolls in the front foyer to the warm and cosy dining room. We are to indulge in the special afternoon tea. I order an Earl Grey and Nic orders an English breakfast tea.

While we are waiting, we wander around into the doll’s room. Formerly Vivienne’s bedroom, her mum still lives here in the house towards the back.  The doll’s room is a treasure trove and catalogue of dolls throughout the the ages. There are some absolute collector’s items including their oldest doll which is from the 1930′s. Vivienne’s mum was a former doll maker and some of her creations are featured here too.

There is also a collection of Vivienne’s Barbies as well as a stunning fashion doll. Several decades ago, before jet travel was invented and because there was limited space on the ships, fashion houses used to send dolls wearing a smaller version of a dress that they had designed for the upcoming season for buyers and seamstresses to copy. There is one of these dolls in the glass cabinet here.

Our table is set with jam and cream for the scones and Vivienne sets some floral teapots down with strainers and teacups. The loose leaf Earl Grey tea is sparklingly fragrant and she brings out a pot of hot water and places it on a side table.

The piece de resistance comes out. She brings out the two tier special afternoon tea (at $22.90 a person) and it is abundant with goodies. On the top there are freshly made pinwheel sandwiches. They are decorated with snow pea shoots and fresh flowers and come in a variety of fillings with both white and wholemeal bread.

Special Tea for two ($22.90 per person)

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Who me? I’m innocent…

One of the things I miss most about living in Mosman is the birdlife. Living near Balmoral Beach on the top floor of an apartment block meant that we had kookaburras, cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets visit our balcony on an almost daily basis. None of these birds however stole a sandwich from me. Until now of course. And a confession? I liked it!

Queen Viv and I are Afternoon tea lovers from way back and we’re headed to Gunner’s Barracks to take part in their afternoon tea and new Winter menu. We’re late as of course anything involving Queen Viv and I always involves an element of tardiness. Constructed in 1873, the sandstone building was originally a place for the military. Since October 2005 it has been serving afternoon tea to lucky locals and visitors. We take in the sweeping views of the Harbour and realise instantly why it is always so booked out by wedding parties. We’re shown to our table outside with little heaters positioned strategically to take the almost Winter chill off.

Spiced quail and chestnut soup, spinach, baby coriander $19

We take a look at the regular menu. Today we’re sharing a combination of a High Tea and a three course meal which of course we’re happy to share. We start with a dish that just surrenders to Winter. The Quail and Chestnut soup has two plump pieces of quail in the centre atop a creamy chestnut soup with a distinct curry taste to it via coriander seeds. There’s some sauteed spinach sitting under the quail. The dish is warming both by virtue that it’s a hot soup and also via the curry flavour.

Roast rump of lamb, shepherds pie, carrot, parsnip, garlic and thyme jus $29

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When people ask me to find a place to meet, I am always happy to do so. For a food blogger, getting to choose a place means that we are going to eat at a place that a) we’ve never to before and b) might be new and exciting. So when meeting the lovely Bianca and Ainsley one morning, at 11:30am I thought where better to go but for Morning Tea at Harrogate teas, a shop which I happened to hear about from a lovely reader Maria who had stopped by there several months ago. Just a word of warning: don’t drink your Earl Grey with milk like I did! But more on that later…

All teas are Fair Trade and have been even before Fair Trade became Fair Trade, and the scones are made each morning by Greg who owns the business with Marjorie. Our waitress takes our order but not without recommending that we get at least one scone each as they’re made to Greg’s mum’s recipe. All of the other tables are reserved and it’s quiet and tranquil in this Victorian style Tea Room setting. The jam is a chunky strawberry and china is Royal Albert and there’s a tiered stand on the table. Things are just as they should be.

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