Tea with Mommy

Wow, I just realized, I eat out with my mom a lot! Here is another in the continuing saga of Brunch with Mom. This time, I dragged her to The Urban Tea Merchant on Alberni.

We had their traditional high tea. The first course was their jasmine tea, but served chilled, in champagne flutes. Accompanying the tea were some sliced fresh strawberries, also soaked with some jasmine tea.

Here is the tray as it arrives...tiers of food and my pot of tea. See the pot on the right of the tiers, next to my mom's tea? That is a pot of steamed frothy milk! That way, your tea won't get cold...love it!

Here is one of the two savory tiers. Clockwise from the top, we haved the smoked salmon on rye with some cream cheese and capers, the endive with blue cheese and candiet walnut, the three cups were filled with chicken salad, the cucumber and watercress crustless sandwich, as  the egg salad on whole wheat bread.

The second tier was a combination of savory and sweet. The flakey croissants and the scones were perfect for the jam and clotted cream. We also got mini quiches, filled with asparagus chunks.

Alas, we were so full with the first two tiers that we didn't even have room for dessert! Chocolate strawberries, macaroons, chocolate gelee, mini-donuts, and a cookie too. Too much food.

See how nicely the frothy milk goes with the tea? So decadent.

Since my mom and I were splitting everything, here is my portion of the cucumber and watercress sandwich. Soft bread, buttered, and thin sliced of cucumber and a few leaves of watercress. So simply, but so good!

Here are the other portions of my lunch. The smoked salmon was good, both the chicken and egg salad were nice, not to heavy with the mayo.

I recently also had lunch at the Hotel Vancouver with my BFF, and I would have to say...that was better. This was good, but the little extras you get at Hotel Vancouver does elevate the experience. But then again, you do pay more for the privilege.
Have you tried both? What do you think?