Ritzy Tea

Good grief! Have we really not been out for tea since 2009?? Yikes. I guess that's what happens when half the group is busy parenting vast hordes of children (vast hordes to a spinster = 1 or more). I think we've had some afternoon teas at home with the husbands and kids since then but none of our memories are what they used to be so don't ask me when and how many.

This afternoon, we all gathered again at the Ritz-Carlton for afternoon tea at noon. The usual funs were had but spoiler alert: I am leaning towards not returning.

Of course, the hotel is beautiful and the tea aesthetic was similarly spectacular. A lit tea box with comprehensive descriptions, Le Creuset teapots to keep the tea hot and the food itself was beautiful.

Photo credit: M. Kim

The tea itself is from Sloane Tea in Toronto. I stuck with my old pal, the Darjeeling, and was not disappointed. However, the other teas were just okay. We had the Heavenly Cream, Oolong and Earl Grey. I didn't see the advertised Spa My Blend by Clarins anywhere on the list.

I'm adding one of these Le Creuset puppies to my weight lifting programme Amazon wish list. I suspect the 22-oz size (2 oz more than a Starbucks venti) is sufficient for a spinster.

The sandwiches on the "wellness" tea menu are listed as:

Furikake Crusted Itsumo Tuna: Avocado, Pickled Daikon Relish, Togarashi Mayonnaise, Sesame Brioche Roll

Ham & Cheese: Aged cheddar, ham, parsley butter, multigrain bread
Sumac Eggplant Mini Pita; Hummus, Grilled Halloumi, Mint, Flash Pickled Cucumber
Smoked Turkey: Aged cheddar, cranberry relish, whole wheat wrap
Mushroom and Asiago Quiche

And the desserts include: 

Chocolate and sundried fruit mendiants
Apple, cranberry and oatmeal crisp
Coconut milk, chia seed pudding
Organic whole wheat, carrot and orange cup cakes
Battenberg 
Freshly Baked Raisin Scones

With preserves and Devon cream, naturally. 

Photo credit: M. Kim

I had similar sandwiches which accommodated my dietary restrictions but my desserts were a bit different. The coconut milk chia seed pudding and apple cranberry oatmeal crisp are worth trying to repeat at home.

So let me tell you what lost them points:

1. Slow service. We waited to order our tea. We waited for sandwiches. We waited to have both hot water and cold refilled. We waited to pay our bills. Lots of waiting. The staff could have been more attentive. Maybe they weren't because they knew their tip would be automatically added to the bill?

2. Small portions. I mean, I get this is haute cuisine but I'm used to feeling full after tea. Maybe "wellness" is Ritz secret code for starving yourself post-holidays.

3. Although they did a wonderful job of accommodating my dietary restrictions (eggs and dairy), they didn't actually call me back in response to the voice mail I left earlier in the week. Had we been able to have a conversation, I could have told them that I can eat butter and perhaps have tasted a scone. Apparently they were good.

So, for the price point of $44 for afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton, I don't feel my expectations were met. I can't recommend it unless the venue and the tea are more important to you than responsive service and feeling satiated.

Ladies, did I miss anything?

Four Seasons Tea

I'm going to start by saying that the Four Seasons is my new favourite tea place. The ladies had all been here before but it was my first time and I will definitely be going back.

When I arrived, we were all seated around the tiny table right at the entrance to the Lobby Bar. This was probably the only thing I didn't like about the Four Seasons: that you can see the driveway from this tiny little table. But it was cozy and we're not *that* classy. As usual, Dining Queen was late (!) so the waiter started us off with a round of iced blackcurrent juice (this is Ribena, for all you connoisseurs of fruit juices) and little shot glasses filled with whipped cream and strawberries. God, so yummy!

I phoned ahead about my egg-allergy and they were very good about it. Not only did them substitute out the egg salad with an extra cucumber sandwich, but they served them to me on a separate plate. Now, this was not at all necessary - it's a digestive, not anaphylactic, allergy - but I was grateful all the same.

The scones were wonderful, although we had to request more Devon cream a couple of times (yes, we're pigs) and the petits-fours looked lovely. I have stopped eating these though. It's bad enough that I'm awake most of the night without having to deal with egg-induced catatonia in the early afternoon.

I had the organic Assam tea (no Darjeeling, strangely enough) and it was perfect. I have come to the conclusion that you can tell the best tea places because the waiter is Indian. Perhaps I should find me an Indian man and train him to serve me tea every weekend...

http://www.fourseasons.com/toronto/dining/lobby_bar.html
(Sticker shock warning: the cost of afternoon tea is not listed, with good reason!)

Long overdue update

So, a couple of things.

1. It has now been so long since we visited The Olde Curiosity Tea Shoppe that I doubt I can do it justice anymore. Highlights include the jam and cream-filled shortbread cookies which only come with Tea for 2 but are well worth it. The tea selection is impressive. There were almost one hundred different types of tea on the menu. Also, the service was excellent, considering the large size of our group (eight plus baby) and the small size of the establishment. The waitress brought each of us our tea selection to (for lack of a better word) smell. As a result, most of us ended up changing our tea choice. They were very accommodating all afternoon. I'm fairly certain that I had the darjeeling (I know, I'm nothing if not predictable) but I can't remember anymore. It might have been the Windsor Castle something or other. Finally, the owner was very friendly and gracious. I will definitely be going back in the new year.

2. Since the other tea ladies don't have time to blog (husbands, babies etc), I am commandeering this blog for my travels to HK and India. I won't be able to blog frequently but I will try to compensate for lack of predictability with length and detail. I am hoping to have high tea in Delhi and Calcutta but my schedule is rarely up to me. Look for updates on facebook as well.

I have eaten at some really great places so here are some shout-outs if you're looking for places to try in 2009:

My favourite Thai place - Golden Thai, Church and Richmond
http://www.goldenthai.ca/goldenthai_home.html
>Great service, good food, decent price - Hit

Recent date place (or maybe it wasn't a date?) - Rain, Mercer Street
http://www.rainrestaurant.ca/rain.htm
>Great decor, excellent service, decent food, very pricey - Hit if you're willing to spend the money. My "date" called it "food on a diet". The menu appears to have changed since I was there a few weeks ago but the mushroom tasting was excellent, as was the black cod. The salmon/tuna pairing was good but the salmon was a little fishy. I ate it anyway but I wish I hadn't.

As a caveat, I think that they served me something with egg in it after I specifically told them about my allergy. I didn't complain as I thought at the time that I was on my first real date with this person. I now wish I had said something because I'm starting to think it wasn't a real date at all. Didn't have dessert and there's a story behind this. Ask me if you're interested.

Recent rehearsal dinner - Asian Legend, Yonge north of Empress
http://www.asianlegend.ca/webe/menu.htm
>Surprising nouveau decor, good food, typical Chinese restaurant service, good price - Long time hit. Has been here for ages and the food is as good as I remember from their hole-in-the-wall days

Recent dinner with family and friends - Dynasty, Bloor west of Bay
>Overpriced Chinese food - Miss and go to Pearl at Harbourfront if you can't stomach the thought of eating at Chinatown. Looking forward to Chinese banquet this Saturday at Pearl for Andrew's wedding!
http://www.pearlharbourfront.ca/

Low key dinner with Jay on a weeknight - Jack Astor's, Dundas Square downtown
>If you're looking for something predictable and fast, by all means go to Jack Astor's. The food is significantly better than the Pickle Barrel or Milestone's (although Milestone's has great ambiance and a kickass patio) if you're looking for a safe, generic place to take your visiting cousins. However, this Jack Astor's is very small and you will likely have to wait for a table and may even end up at a small, bar height table as we did. Service was fast and good, as always. Food was exactly as it always is. We had two screens to watch basketball and hockey which was exactly what we needed: to sit, have dinner and not be too sociable (gotta love guy's night :). But it was loud, loud, loud. Good place for quick dinner, a beer and the game. Not a good place to take the girls for a catch up session.

Okay, that's all folks. Next post: overseas!

The Olde Curiousity Tea Shoppe

http://cuppa.ca/
This review is pending mental clarity and decaffeination of my blood stream. Please stay tuned. In the meantime, check out these awesome Nuit Blanche photos.

Millcroft tea

Well I guess I'll start the reviews... our most recent misadventure was to Millcroft Inn for Afternoon tea at 2pm for $20. The grounds are very cute and the waterfall looks really quaint... it has the feel of a country inn. A couple of the girls went early for spa treatments and had rave reviews of the service they received... unfortunately for the rest of us who just went up for tea, we were not so lucky.

Tea started off on the wrong foot since the reservation was for 7 and we only had 6... the host looked really peeved at us. The waiter looked really young and didn't know the details of the menu when we asked about an acronyms about the tea that was listed. Service was on the whole was very slow... it was a good thing we ladies like to talk since we had to wait for our tea, refill of hot water and extra orders of ice cream.

Now let's talk about the food: scones- hard and too sweet- covered in sugar. Sandwiches- bread was crusty and not freshly made (the host said that everything was pre-made), there was no smoked salmon that day so we had egg, tomato and cucumber, ham sandwiches... not really a 4 diamond rating restaurant. VERY disappointed about them not having salmon. Pastries- cream puffs with cherries was okay, brownies was too rich (I could feel a toothache coming on) and dense and last was blueberry crumble cake was the best part of the meal. The portions of the dessert was huge for afternoon tea standards, just too bad they didn't taste so good.

I would rate this tea spot a 6/10.