Thursday, January 17, 2013

Cinderella hour tea

It's almost midnight again, and here I am, still sitting on my bed, waiting for the timer to go off, so that I can remove my Shu Uemura White Recovery Ex+ facial mask (which, by the way, smells awfully alcohol-ey). It's my first time trying this particular brand out, so fingers crossed it won't cause a bad skin reaction.

At this same late hour, last night, I was enjoying what I've fittingly named 'Cinderella hour tea'. One of my sisters bought me a set of cute Robert Gordon teaspoons for Christmas and really wanted to use them, so of course I made it my business to prepare some sweet edibles to serve with the tea. It's not conventional to have tea this late at night, but when the mood strikes, I tend to go with the flow. Besides, it's a bit hard sometimes to squeeze time in for it during the day, with work and all the other daily kerfuffles. Don't make a habit of it though, because you know as well as I do that this is far from being healthy practice!


Victorian teaspoon set by Robert Gordon


 
In preparation for the tea, I made a batch of cranberry, pecan and chocolate cookies during the day, and some flaked almond-topped sponge cakelets right after dinner last night. I whipped up some chantilly cream and put some fresh blueberries and passionfruit pulp on the table so that the tea-takers could somewhat customise their own cupcake. Another benefit of keeping the ingredients separate is, of course, the ease of storing leftovers afterwards.
 

Midnight sweet cravings? Time for Cinderella hour tea!
 
 
For the tea, I brewed a pot of the 'Thé Jardin Bleu Royal' that I bought from Ladurée on my latest Sydney trip (about which I think I have yet to write). This lovely floral, fruity tea is a blend of non-smoked China and Indian black teas (loose-leaf) with cornflower and helianthus petals and the aromas of wild strawberry and rhubarb (taken from www.laduree.fr; the label at the bottom of the tea canister incorrectly lists the petals as being of the marigold flower). I decided to buy this after having it with macarons at Ladurée. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of artificially-flavoured teas (when served hot), and the only reason I chose this particular one was because it seemed like the most natural one on the tea list, based on the given descriptions. My sister tried the 'Thé Marie-Antoinette', which is a blend of 'China teas mixed with essential oils of subtle citrus fruit, rose and jasmine flowers flavour, scattered with small pieces of dried fruits and honey'. It sounds delicious, but my sister described it as tasting like toilet cleaning products. Lovely. And she wondered why I didn't want to taste any of her tea, after thus describing it to me.
 

Almond sponge cakelet topped with whipped chantilly cream, fresh blueberries and passionfruit pulp
 
When you're next feeling peckish in the late hours of the night, why don't you, too, consider having some Cinderella hour tea?
 
 
 

Monday, January 14, 2013

High tea at the Sofitel

Sofitel Brisbane Central
249 Turbot St, Brisbane City
(07) 3835 3535
www.sofitelbrisbane.com.au
High tea is not the most straight forward, casual way of having afternoon tea, but there's just something so relaxing and luxurious about it. It allows us to take some time out in this fast-paced world to graze daintily over food, sip on tea, and catch up with friends or, indeed, have some quiet time to absorb ourselves in our thoughts, which have hitherto been pushed to the back of our minds by other matters, which we had deemed to take precedence. The other thing I love about high tea is that you can take advantage of the elegant, lady-like affair to whip out that girly, frilly dress that you've been dying to wear out but have been too hesitant to do so normally.
 
Of course, it has not always been that way for high tea. This tea-taking practice was initiated back in the 1800s by the Duchess of Bedford, Anna Maria Russell. Back in those days, lunch was usually light, as it was simply introduced to keep hunger pangs at bay, during the long stretch of time between breakfast and dinner. However, as dinner started to be taken later and later in the night, this meal no longer provided sufficient sustenance. It was at this time that the Duchess decided to call for light refreshments to take between the last two meals of the day. Her enjoyment of this tea-taking session, which became known as 'afternoon tea', led to invitations for friends to join her, and it thus became popular with members of the wealthy middle- and upper-classes, who had the leisure time to partake in it.

So where does the name 'high tea' come from, you ask? Well, traditionally, high tea was the middle and working classes' equivalent of this slotted-in meal. Work hours were typically long, so high tea was taken later in the day than afternoon tea, and was more substantial, often including meat dishes. I suspect, then, that the 'high' part is related to the quantity of food one took. Needless to say, back in those days, whether you took afternoon tea or high tea was a fair indication of your socioeconomic status. As for why the elegant three-tier stands we are presented with at hotel restaurants and cafés nowadays bear the name of 'high tea', I know not. I can only guess that is has something to do with the fact that the traditional afternoon tea has been phased out for so long that many people have quite forgotten how it came about, and the incorrectly given name of 'high tea' used on its revival in recent years has just been unknowingly accepted and seen as a fancy afternoon tea by the majority of us, who are none the wiser. While it's interesting to know the historical relevance of high tea in society, however, let's not get too caught up with the specifics and forget to enjoy modern high tea for what it really is about at the end of the day: the food, the tea, the overall dining experience. Well, at least it is for a foodie, anyway.    
 
It had been a while since I last went out for high tea (yes, I shall stick with that terminology for now), so I decided to try out the one offered by the Sofitel hotel in the CBD last week. Fitting in with the typical afternoon tea time, it is offered daily from 2pm to 4pm, but it is necessary to book 48 hours in advance or else it depends on booking availability on the day, and the selection of food provided will be at the pastry chef's discretion. Make sure you plan your outing well, too, because their policy requires that you pre-pay with a credit card over the phone first, and no-shows will automatically lead to payment deduction from it. On the website, it says that prepayment is only required for groups of 4 or more persons, but there were only the three of us, and the same rule was applied. Price point was a cut above the other high tea menus I have tried previously at $50 per person on weekdays and $60 per person on weekends.

Held in the Executive Club Lounge on level 30 of the Sofitel, the large windows offer great views of Brisbane City.  
 
The view from the floor-to-ceiling window next to the elevators on level 30
The funny part is that when I requested a table with a view, at the time of booking, the reception staff had said that it depends on availability and that she would try her best to arrange it. When we arrived there, we thought that the Club Lounge wasn't open yet, because it looked empty and quiet inside. Apparently we were wrong though, because after waiting outside for a few minutes, we were spotted by someone inside and shown in. Besides our group, there was literally only one other guest there that we could audibly detect. Needless to say, there were no issues at all getting a window-side table. The Club Lounge was quite spacious and clean, with comfortable lounge chairs and a window bench with cushions and soft, mood-setting lights. The many windows allowed an abundance of natural light to flow in, which helps to create the illusion of more open space.
 
 
We were given the option of a glass of chilled sparkling champagne or a non-alcoholic drink on arrival. Of course, we chose the bubblies. For my bottomless tea, I chose the Jungpana darjeeling tea from the selection of Ronnefeldt loose leaf teas offered.
 
 
The menu looked delicious, but I was initially a bit worried that the apparent lack of popularity (for it was the first time I had had high tea where there were no other diners) might reflect the taste and quality of the food. When the food came out, though, my fears were allayed.
 
The high tea menu and tea list
I liked the modern presentation of the food on black tiles, and the flower garnishes.
 
A contemporary twist on the three-tier cake stand
The scones were tasty, as were the honey madeleines.
 
Bottom tier: Plain and fruit scones with strawberry jam, marmalade and whipped cream; honey madeleines
I liked how the ribbon sandwiches were made with different types of bread - rye, olive and white - and I liked the fillings, especially the Spanish frittata with basil pesto. It was the first time I've seen it used as a sandwich filling, and I've decided I like it - it's different and delicious.  
Middle tier: Various finger sandwiches
Although we didn't get everything on the menu, we still had a nice selection of desserts. However, like with all the high teas I've had previously, not all of the sweets were to my liking. For example, the pistachio macarons were not well-made ones: the biscuit halves tasted like they had not been baked for a sufficient length of time, because their insides were still wet and soft.
 
Top tier: A selection of sweets
The chocolate dessert, which was not as heavy as it looked and had a nice, short chocolate shortcrust base, was quite nice, but my favourite of the lot would be the chilled soufflé mango mousse. It was nice and light in texture and had an unexpected raspberry in the centre.   
 
Chilled soufflé mango mousse with a raspberry heart
There was pretty much only one floor staff, the person who served us being the person at reception, but the service was still pretty good. Overall, I quite liked my high tea experience here. I still like the food at Tea and Niceties better, which is also slightly cheaper and offers a more extensive tea list, but I think for the Sofitel one, you're really paying more for the environment in which you're enjoying your tea. The atmosphere of these two high tea places are very different, but they're both fantastic in their own distinct ways. The one in the Sofitel's club lounge, due to its spaciousness and fewer guests (although, perhaps I just so happened to go on one of their quiet days), allows for more personal space and its quiet surroundings make it suitable for business meet-ups; whereas Tea and Niceties offers a more intimate environment, which is best for catching up with friends, as you could talk and laugh as loudly as you want, without feeling self-conscious.

Conveniently located in the central business district of Brisbane as well, the Sofitel Executive Club Lounge is definitely a gem, seemingly yet to be discovered by the mass of high-tea lovers. I can definitely see myself going on a repeat visit.



Sofitel Executive Club Lounge on Urbanspoon

Monday, January 7, 2013

First post for 2013!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the festive season, and didn't stress out too much over the food prep for the special day. I was determined to stay on top of things this time round, so I had finished all my Christmas (present) shopping by early December. However, I was not as well prepared for the food shopping, and found myself joining many others in the last minute grocery shopping frenzy, at Woolies, on the night of Christmas Eve, after work. I can't say I didn't expect it, but so many items were sold out, including staple ingredients like caster sugar, which had been totally wiped out, with none in the storeroom either. Thank goodness I had been partially converted to CSR raw caster sugar, courtesy of the Eamon Sullivan magazine ad, which was still available on the shelves.


Christmas dinner for my family has never involved all the traditional fare, but I like to throw in some sort of traditional element every year to add an air of Christmassiness to the table. This time, I decided I was going to make a traditional bread sauce to serve with a roasted chicken. I absolutely adore the smell of the spice combination used in bread sauce - bay leaves, cloves, mace - so I was hopeful that this delicious aroma would somewhat camouflage the texture of milk-soaked bread pieces, which my non-British taste buds are unaccustomed to. I added quite a generous amount of freshly grated nutmeg to it, in an attempt to make it look less off-puttingly porridge-like in appearance. Speaking of which, how fantastic is whole nutmeg? I've known of it for ages and I have used the ready-ground form several times before, without liking the results. However, freshly grated, it's a whole different experience for me. I still find that it smells a bit earthy and unappealing when grated, but after it is mixed in with the savoury dish, it helps to bring out the flavour of the dish, making it taste more, I can only describe it as, three-dimensional, rather than add its own distinct taste. Whole nutmeg, freshly grated, I have decided, is my new culinary epiphany.

But alas, even my new favourite spice could not help me totally get over the psychological barrier of eating a sauce composed of mushy bread, nor could most of the people at the dinner table. There's absolutely nothing wrong with bread sauce itself, and I love the flavour; it's just a matter of taste preferences. Similarly, I don't think I could ever make myself eat bread-and-butter pudding or rice-based desserts. I'm glad I made and tried the bread sauce though, so that I've at least given myself the chance to decide, based on taste, whether or not I like it. A lot of fellow Australians, even the older ones, have not even heard of bread sauce before, so I don't feel so bad about omitting it from my Christmas dinners from now on. Given how things turned out with this sauce, it was probably a good thing I decided to forgo the cranberry sauce. Maybe I will try making it next Christmas anyway, to satisfy my curiosity.


I had planned to make a mushroom and bacon quiche for Christmas lunch, but due to a mixture of bad time management, the excitement of unwrapping presents, and a visit to my neighbour to bring her some gifts and Christmas cookies, I ran out of time and ended up serving it as part of dinner. The recipe I used was from Joanne Chang's cookbook, Flour. I think I've mentioned her in one of my previous posts, so you can flick back through them to read about her, if you're interested. This was my first time attempting to make a quiche, not because I think it's hard, but because I've always been a bit lazy when it comes to fiddly things like making pastry cases. After making it, I wondered why I ever bothered going to Le Bon Choix to have theirs. Easy, simple, delicious. Note to self: buy more pie weights and a tart tin with higher sides! Had I known the sides were going to shrink that much in the oven, I would have opted for the Baker's Secret tart pan, instead of the Anolon one, which was chosen based on its better quality. I also have to remember to smear the butter into the dough a bit better, so that holes and thin parts in the pastry case could be avoided, when the butter melts in the heat of the oven.  


 
 
We didn't end up putting up the Christmas tree, due to space limitations. When I woke up on Christmas morning, and my sister called out for me to put the presents under the tree, I was a bit confused. I laughed so hard when I saw what she meant:

The most effortless, space-saving way to put up and take down a Christmas tree?


 
It was a totally ridiculous notion, but I must admit I was impressed by her last-minute creativity, and frankly, I was just glad we had some sort of 'Christmas tree' to put the presents under.
 
Now that we've wrapped up 2012, let's start working on our New Year's resolutions. For me, that includes working more on this blog and setting up a new one. I have in excess of 10 restaurant reviews yet to post, but Blogger can take half the blame for that, because apparently I had run out of data quota, so I have been unable to provide any updates until now, after signing up to another free photo-uploading platform. Expect new reviews very soon! Wishing everyone a bright and prosperous 2013!