Fairmont Hotel Vancouver - Afternoon Tea
I called Hotel Vancouver more than a month ago to make a reservation for afternoon tea on Saturday, but was not able to get a time slot until yesterday. When we got to the lounge, there were lots of people standing in line outside waiting for a seat to watch game #2 against the Bruins. So I guess we were lucky that our reservation was on the same day as the game!
The menu hasn't changed much since my last visit. Afternoon tea is $36 for adults and $18 for children 12 and under.
Last time I tried the ice wine tea which was deliciously smooth and fragrant. This time I opted for jasmine butterfly #1, a Chinese green tea that was equally smooth with bright floral notes. I can honestly say the tea here is the best tea I've ever tasted. I've tried 5 different teas on the menu and all of them were silky smooth with delicate flavours and no bitter aftertaste.
The two-tiered tower of goodies came pretty quickly considering how busy the place was. The service was understandably not as fast as it should be because the lounge was extremely crowded due to the game. The servers were rushing around trying to satisfy all the customers, so most of the time we had to wave to our server to get his attention when we wanted something. But despite the lack of attentiveness, service was still friendly and high quality.
The savoury sandwiches were mostly the same as last time. The cucumber and arugula sandwich was refreshing and the bread was amazingly soft, but the filling was a bit dry with too little cream cheese. I particularly enjoyed the warm mini croissant with its sweet flaky crust, savoury maple ham and soft creamy brie. The smoked salmon on dark rye and the mango curried chicken were both very tasty as well. Overall I think Hotel Vancouver does a very good job with the savouries.
I remember the desserts weren't particularly impressive last time, but this time the sweets were not bad. The scones were really fluffy and served with clotted cream and petite jars of strawberry jam. The chocolate eclair with its creamy chocolate cream centre was tasty and not overly sweet.The citron tart had a buttery shortbread crust, but I found the lemon curd filling a bit too tart. The dessert I enjoyed least was the mini cheesecake. Maybe it was because I let it sit around for too long, but the cake was soft and slightly soggy as if it had melted.
Since we stayed to watch the game, we ordered a platter of nachos with crab meat and artichoke dip ($12 during game time; $16 regular) to munch on. The nachos were over-salted and the dip was also on the salty side, but the dish served its purpose as finger food for watching the game.
After this 2nd visit, I still consider Hotel Vancouver a great place for afternoon tea. The savouries and scones are excellent and the desserts are decent. Of course the ambiance and service add to the experience as well. I still think Shangri-La offers the best afternoon tea in Vancouver, but Hotel Vancouver is a close second.
The menu hasn't changed much since my last visit. Afternoon tea is $36 for adults and $18 for children 12 and under.
Last time I tried the ice wine tea which was deliciously smooth and fragrant. This time I opted for jasmine butterfly #1, a Chinese green tea that was equally smooth with bright floral notes. I can honestly say the tea here is the best tea I've ever tasted. I've tried 5 different teas on the menu and all of them were silky smooth with delicate flavours and no bitter aftertaste.
The two-tiered tower of goodies came pretty quickly considering how busy the place was. The service was understandably not as fast as it should be because the lounge was extremely crowded due to the game. The servers were rushing around trying to satisfy all the customers, so most of the time we had to wave to our server to get his attention when we wanted something. But despite the lack of attentiveness, service was still friendly and high quality.
The savoury sandwiches were mostly the same as last time. The cucumber and arugula sandwich was refreshing and the bread was amazingly soft, but the filling was a bit dry with too little cream cheese. I particularly enjoyed the warm mini croissant with its sweet flaky crust, savoury maple ham and soft creamy brie. The smoked salmon on dark rye and the mango curried chicken were both very tasty as well. Overall I think Hotel Vancouver does a very good job with the savouries.
I remember the desserts weren't particularly impressive last time, but this time the sweets were not bad. The scones were really fluffy and served with clotted cream and petite jars of strawberry jam. The chocolate eclair with its creamy chocolate cream centre was tasty and not overly sweet.The citron tart had a buttery shortbread crust, but I found the lemon curd filling a bit too tart. The dessert I enjoyed least was the mini cheesecake. Maybe it was because I let it sit around for too long, but the cake was soft and slightly soggy as if it had melted.
Since we stayed to watch the game, we ordered a platter of nachos with crab meat and artichoke dip ($12 during game time; $16 regular) to munch on. The nachos were over-salted and the dip was also on the salty side, but the dish served its purpose as finger food for watching the game.
After this 2nd visit, I still consider Hotel Vancouver a great place for afternoon tea. The savouries and scones are excellent and the desserts are decent. Of course the ambiance and service add to the experience as well. I still think Shangri-La offers the best afternoon tea in Vancouver, but Hotel Vancouver is a close second.
I didn't try the cheesecake, but it sort of reminded me of the cheesecake we had/saw at Griffins during Dine Out!
ReplyDeleteYea it's probably the same thing. It tasted ok, but the texture was just not firm enough...
ReplyDeleteBtw! You still can't comment with google account? I see you're using wordpress!
yea, google account is pissing me off. I don't want to create a blogger account.
ReplyDeleteI've been using wordpress for a while as a way to record my ruminations. Not all are public, of course ;)