SIFF 2010 High Tea - Marie Antoinette High Tea, The Westin Hotel, Sydney

"Let Them Eat Cake"

Come to think of it...this is my first ever High Tea experience ! Been to few afternoon tea buffets, but never a proper one...unbelievable !

It's time to act like a proper lady...for a couple hours....at the most ! LOL

There are a few High Tea events all around Sydney as part of the Sydney International Food Festivals, I obviously choose this one at The Westin Hotel in the city because it was titled "Marie Antoinette High Tea" - SOLD !

Props for the High Tea

Masquerading appears to be part of the theme as well, perhaps that's how Marie Antoinette do it back in the days for afternoon teas ?  There were masks for each one of us and a fan was propped open on the sugar sachets pot. Simple but pretty nonetheless.

Of course we didn't wear the masks, although the waiter jokingly mentioned that the foods will not be served unless we wore them :P

JING Tea Selection

Making Teas ; White Peony w/ Honey ; Tea Leaves

There are 3 beverages options for High Tea at The Westin, the tea / coffee option ($44), sparkling rose ($51) or for something more indulgent, a Moet & Chandon champagne option ($61). It was unlimited tea & coffee for the 1st option, not sure if it is unlimited for the other 2, perhaps not...

All 5 of us opted for the JING teas this afternoon, there were a good range of tea selection on offer and all of us ordered different ones ; White Peony, Jasmine Pearl, Lychee Black Tea, Earl Grey and Westin Tea Blend.

Loved how the tea leaves was kept in a glass cylinders with cork tops and lined up on a stand, very pretty :)

Three Tiers of Deliciousness

Colourful Goodies

We all smiled, big wide grin, when the tiers were set down on the table - it was sooo amazing and pretty (yeah I know, "pretty" is THE word in today's post :P).
Two tiers of sweets ( woohooo!!!) and one tier of savouries. One would expect finger sandwiches to be served during high tea, but not this high tea, no cucumber sandwiched in sight !

We were told that as soon as the bottom layer is empty, they will bring out fresh scones out. Now, that was a bonus, as scones was not on the menu. Then again, an afternoon tea is not complete without scones + clotted cream + jams.

"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten"

Is the title for the savouries, bite size morsels with classic toppings. Starting from the top left hand corner, Mini Croissant w/ Mascarpone, Orange and Kiwi (not quite sure why is it with the savouries, anyways...) was nice and refreshing with flaky croissant. The Avocado & Shrimp tartar was served in a choux pastry. 

BLT & Deviled Egg Finger Sandwhiches is next up, although it is missing the bacon, where are you bacon ?

Last but not least, is my favourite, Slow Cooked Roast Beef w/ Cream Cheese Stuffed Baby Bell Peppers on top of brown baguette, I love roast beef on anything, or on its own, yumm....

Heart Shaped Toast *cute*

As promised, a platter of freshly baked scones were brought out promptly when the bottom tier was cleared.

Mini Scones

These baby scones were delicious ! Nothing beats a warm and fluffy scones, a lathering of strawberry jam and a generous dollop of clotted cream...mmmmm.....

It was aptly named "Scones Duo" as there were 2 types served, plain and sultana. There wasn't too much sultanas in the latter, except for a couple of sultanas on the surface they tasted the same.

"Only one serve of jam & cream for all those scones ?"- fret not, we got 4 of them between the 5 of us, plenty !!

"Let them eat cake !"

Oui !! We shall eat cake \^o^/

It was love at first sight for us...while eating the savouries, our eyes were looking at the sweets...longing...

Had to take a short break though as our tummies were close to its maximum capacity *deep breath*....

In the top tier, we have the bright red Beetroot & Cherry Cupcakes that tasted nothing like beetroot and cherry. The beetroot gives the bright red colours, but other than that, it just tasted like a plain cupcake, sweet. Took a bite and set it aside, waste not the precious stomach space.

Chocolate Cream w/ Exotic Fruit Caramel (Passionfruit) & Candied Walnut, the glass dessert is up next. Seeing such clearly defined layering in the glass, I was expecting a set texture, instead it was like a thickened cream texture, quite runny. The flavours were very nice, not too rich, and underneath you'll find the walnuts.

Portrait of Marie Antoinette ; Blueberry Macaron - inside

How cute, a Marie Antoinette portrait printed on a fondant "canvas" ! Loved it ! Thought of bringing it home to keep, but at the end I ate it hehehehehe.

The Lime Curd Meringue Tart is naturally.....tart >__<  Luckily the buttery pastry shell was quite thick so the flavour was balanced when eaten together.

A French themed high tea is not complete without this next one :) The Blueberry Macaron has such striking blue colour, very pretty indeed. The macaron shell was perfect, crispy on the outside and slightly chewy. Topped with crushed violet candy and in the centre it was dark chocolate ganache surrounded by fresh blueberries. It was nice to have something fresh and juicy to balance out the sweetness.

The high tea was served in The Westin Lobby Bar & Lounge, an open seating area just across from the reception with skylight ceilings, a perfect place to enjoy a lazy afternoon tea with a few friends.

It is served daily from 2.30 - 4.30pm, reservation is recommended.