T2 Tea House

I discovered something very exciting a couple of months ago.

I recently moved up the north shore of Sydney and discovered that hidden in the outer suburbs at Hornsby Westfield and Macquarie Shopping Centre are two T2 Tea Houses!

Photo courtesy of Iron Chef Shellie

These little gems of quiet bustle and dimmed red lighting are a bastion of avid tea drinkers.  They look like a cross between an opium den and a Victorian parlour.  A mixture of comfy Victorian style chairs and black walls make for the perfect spot to slip away from the madness of the shopping crowds and into a cup of T2's finest.

My husband and I have been making it a regular date to pop in before we battle the grocery shopping for a constitution-hardening brew.

The other week I went with my husband and met up with a girlfriend for the high tea.

It isn't in the league of The Tea Room or The Victoria Room but at half the price that is to be expected.

The scones and jam are delicious.  The sandwiches a little dry and rather average but there is a good selection of cakes, including pear tart and little square of Turkish delight.

A cup of tea comes with the high tea and you can choose from almost anything on their vast menu.

All in all it was an enormously enjoyable experience!

I truly believe that one day tea salons will outstrip coffee houses in Sydney.  There is a change in the air and Sydney siders, who pride themselves on being connoisseurs of almost everything are sure to hop into the latest trend.

Now, dear T2, you really need to open one of these in the CBD near my work!

High Tea at the Plaza

I recently came back from a trip to New York with my husband.  I have always heard stories and seen movies depicting the high teas of New York and I immediately booked in for high tea in the Palm Court at the Plaza Hotel.

The hotel is absolutely palatial!  It feels like stepping back in time to the era when women were women and men were men.  When tea was a national sport!

The Palm Court itself was a open large area just behind the lobby with an enormous stained glass skylight featuring rose motifs covering the entire ceiling.  The back wall of the space was set with windows inlaid with mirrored panels that made the grandeaur of the space even more apparent.

We were seated at a lovely little table complete with white linen and silver accessories.

We both chose the New Yorker High Tea which featured the usual little sandwiches, scones with a divine peach jam and an array of New York themed mini desserts, including cannoli, chocolate cupcakes and New York cheesecakes.

We both ordered the signature Afternoon Tea blend.  It was a black tea, not unlike English Breakfast.  Whilst I was keen to record the wonders of its flavour and smell, I was a little overwhelmed by the event and instead chose to merely bask in the sights, sounds and flavours of the experience as a whole.

For all its magic there were a few flaws: the maitre d' was not the friendliest of sorts (mind you we were there on the Labor Day holiday and I expect she would have much preferred to be home) and they provided sugar sticks on the tables rather than sugar cubes which rather irked me for some reason.  I suppose I had expected the high tea at such a revered institution to maintain as much tradition as possible in the setting and accessories.

Overall, it was a delightful experience.  I think next time I travel to the Big Apple I'm going to try the high tea at the Waldorf-Astoria as I've heard it's also quite magic.