Tea at the Fairmont

When someone asks me out for High Tea, my first question (before I even answer) is "Was there a daily deal?". And lo and behold, the answer is usually yes. The only exception I can think of now is the time I wanted to try out the Moon Festival Tea at Urban Tea Merchant (and was sorely disappointed). Serves me right, I should just wait for a deal. Fortunately, my BFF got the DealFind offer of Tea for Two for $38 and wanted to share with me!
Luckily, I arrived ahead of her and had a few minutes to play around with my new camera. I really love the fine china they use, even for the milk and sugar. Oh, but wait, how long has that milk been sitting there...? I've had tea before where they bring you warm milk after serving your tea, so that the tea doesn't get cold as a result. Even Urban Tea did that at my first visit. But for $38, I didn't think we would have a little carafe of milk that was just sitting out, long before I got there. 

Shortly after we ordered our tea, the Traditional Afternoon Tea tray arrived. As you can see, we have some Raisin and Butter Scones on top, then a layer of Sweet Pastries as well as a layer of Savoury "Petit" (aka crustless) Sandwiches. 

Here are the Savoury Sandwiches and honestly, that's all I'm really looking forward to here. For once I can say that the curry-looking sandwich is actually curry (chicken salad, in fact) and not a problem with my camera!
The first two I tried was the English Cucumber & Whipped Boursin on White Bread. This is what I always start with, since it usually is the mildest of all the offerings. The cheese is very thin and the cucumber slices were impeccable. Flavour-wise, it's light and kind of starts your meal off. The next thing I had was the Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Pinwheel, made with a Rye bread. The salmon was quite plentiful and I liked the asparagus in the roll for colour and texture. The bread was a bit dry on the outside, almost as if it had been prepared ahead of time and left out to await delivery. I understand the work that goes into the sweets (icing, layering, etc) but I felt that the sandwiches should have been made to order. 
The other two sandwiches left were the Curried Chicken & Walnut Salad on Walnut Bread and a Hen & Quail Egg on Sourdough. The Egg Salad was very bland, but there was a freshness to the egg as well as the crepe. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Chicken Salad. 
The top layer of the bread was completely dried out, as if it had been left out for hours. And yes, we turned it upside down and sure enough, the bottom slice was completely different in texture from the top slice. And the curry flavour of the chicken salad was overpowering, as if cumin was the only guest at the table. 
If you do come and try this, here is the order I would recommend you to eat the sandwiches, Egg Salad, Cucumber, Smoked Salmon and the the Curry Chicken. If you ate this in reverse, you wouldn't taste a thing afterwards.
And after the sandwiches, we went straight to the top of the tiers for our Butter and Raisin Scones. Complete with a Devonshire Clotted Cream and and a Blueberry Preserve, this was a good bridge between Savoury and Sweet. The clotted cream is amazing. Smooth and slightly sweet, it makes anything you put it on "British". It's not the flavour that blows you away, it's the creaminess and the silky texture, this makes butter obsolete. 
For the Sweets, there were five offerings. On the far left, there is an Opera Torte, and then a Raspberry Tartlet next to it. And then you can see the Mocho Eclair as well as the Macaroon. And in the front, is the Lemon Meringue Tart. Of all the things on this plate, my downfall is the Lemon Meringue Tart. I guess after all the savoury sandwiches, switching to sweet would be too much for my tastes but a little sourness never hurts!   

Take note:

• $38/person so it's not a deal (unless you have a deal)
• Add a glass of champagne for $20, or a glass for wine for $10+
• Kid's tea also available for $19/person (12 and younger) 

Oru - lunch and dinner

After having a really great lunch at Giovane Cafe (reviewed for VancityBuzz) a few months ago, I had always wanted to return to try Oru at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. I managed to convince a few co-workers to join me.
Click here for the AYCE dinner post

Heading out for lunch with a few co-workers and we all decide to indulge in a non-alchoholic beverage, the choice today? The Oru kaffir colada, made with pineapple juice, lime and sparkling soda water. It was topped with a coconut foam and a kaffir lime leaf. So refreshing!

Their lunch menu is pretty substantial, but the best deal is their Set Lunch for $26. You get your pick of Four Courses...a cold appy, a hot appy, a main and a dessert. Since this was our first visit, we figured this was the best way to get a taste of everything. What you see above is a cold appy of the Oru Sockeye Salmon Sashimi, a hot miso soup, their hot entree of butter chicken and a dessert of mango cheesecake. The sashimi was amazing, thinly sliced and richly red...the butter chicken was nicely flavoured and the basmati rice was fluffy. It was a great dish, but alas, it wasn't mine.

The four-course deal that I got was completely different...I started off with the Thai Lettuce Cups, I just like food that I can play with. It helped that it was loaded with prawns, pickled vegetable, basil and a tamarind-lime vinaigrette. It was a great starter and really primes the palate.

The lettuce they chose was your basic iceberg, but butter lettuce would have been better for wrapping. However, the iceberg did give it a nice crunch. 

For my entree, I got the Hoisin Glazed Beef Short Rib Panini, with pickled red onion, apple smoked cheddar. This was a generous portion and sweet and savory at the same time. I really liked how tender the short rib was too!

Another co-worker also got the miso soup and sashimi to start but decided on the Masala Poached Prawns Salad for her main. Loaded with greens, raisins, cashews, & prawns in a light lemon-yogurt vinaigrette. I sampled this and wow, was it ever tasty. Very light and the prawns were perfectly poached!

You don't get a lot of prawns, but the trio you do get are well done. 

This mango dessert isn't on their menu anymore, but it's no great shame, since none of us could really get any mango flavour from it. 

Here is a closeup of the sashimi...perfectly red, thinly sliced and served nice and cold as I like my sashimi. This was definitely a win. An as an appetizer, the portion was fair. 

The trio of pork wontons as part of the hot appetizer was really good too. A little darker than I normally like, they had a good meat to wrapper ratio so no complaints here. The dipping sauce was a little oily for me, so I didn't really enjoy that. 

AYCE Prawns, Crab Legs and Oysters!

Since I had such a good experience for lunch, I decided to bring my parents there for their wedding anniversary. They treated us to some sparkling wine, but check out the slice of strawberry...with a little heart cut-out! Such attention to detail...gotta love it! 

This dinner took place in the summer, when they had their Seafood Buffet, and has been extended until end of October, so go check it out before it's gone! Check out the pile of shrimp...and they don't let that thing go lower than this pile...jumbo prawns, cooked to juicy  tenderness and then peeled for your eating ease. What a treat. 

Oh, and it's not just prawns that are in huge abundance...there are crab claws too! 

And see how they make it really easy for you to eat? All the extra shells are removed for you, with just the "handle" remaining! All you need to do is dip into their cocktail sauce and you've got yourself a meal! 

Oh, and did I mention oysters? Yes - all you can eat oysters. I think I've died and gone to heaven. I was eating them as fast as the poor shucker could shuck! 

There was some hot food too, like this butter chicken above. Surprisingly, the rice was fluffy, quite unexpected in a buffet, but the same as in our lunch previously. The chicken itself was slightly spicy, but not overly pungent. The raita accompaniment was light and paired with the richness of the butter chicken sauce nicely. 

We finished off the meal with a great blend of desserts, including home made marshmallows dunked into their chocolate tower. There was also cheesecake bites, chocolate and red velvet cake and a coffee mousse too. So whether you're enjoying lunch or dinner here, you'll be treated to a wide variety of dishes, in generous portions and all tastefully done. 

Tea at the Fairmont

Did you get the latest "daily deal" for Tea at the Castle (Fairmont Vancouver)? B and I did and we went the other day. If you're not sure what's in store for you, here is my review of their Victoria Tea Service. First off, they present you with a list of teas that you can try. Traditional teas include their Breakfast tea, Earl Grey, Orage Pekoe, Camomile, Jasmine, Peppermint and Darjeeling. 
Not one for the ordinary, B tried the Maple Maple (with a hint of caramel) and I tried the Lemon Rooibos (you can have it cold!). If you're not in the mood for something hot, try this or the Angel Falls Mist (Strawberry and Lemon), both are available cold. In fact, I had the Rooibos cold first, and then as we settled into the sweets, I asked for a tea cup and had it hot afterwards - can you say "Best of Both Worlds"?

After the tea was ordered, our waiter brought the sandwiches and sweets! Served on a two-tiered tray, the selection is overwhelming. Savory sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and a wide array of sweet pastries.

I rotated the tray to showcase my two favourites...Smoked Salmon on rye and the Pastry Swan.

This was the first thing we tried was the Egg Salad on a Baguette. Since I'm not really a fan of egg salad, this was a passable offering for me. I loved the presentation more than the actual eating of it.

Ahh...home-baked scone with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Oh my goodness, cut this baby in half and pour the clotted cream on it. Spread some of the strawberry jam on it all, and it's heaven in a bite. 

Another savory offering is the Ham and Brie Croissant...ooops, is my brie showing? This is served warm, so if you can remember, please eat this first while it's hot! The croissant is amazing flaky and the brie is a good gooey compliment to the salty maple ham. Oh yeah, this is one of the highlights for me. 

Another definitive tea time offering is the Cucumber and Watercress sandwich (crustless, of course). Thinly sliced cucumber with tiny leafs of watercress. There's a bit of mayo to hold everything in place, not too much, but just enough to moisten the sandwich. Three bites into this and suddenly, you're drinking tea with your pinky up. 

And the last of the savory sandwiches...Smoked Salmon with dill cream cheese, with a slice of cucumber tucked in between. The rye bread that this is served on is untoasted and thinly sliced, making it an easy bite. Though it looks like caviar topping the salmon, it's not, I don't know what it was exactly, but it doesn't pop in your mouth like good caviar should. 

After all the sammies (plus chicken wings and dry mix noodles at Phnom Penh less than two hours prior), I could only tackle one of the sweet pastries. I chose the Frangipane Fruit Tart, loaded with almond flavoured filling, the tart was topped with a slice kiwi, a raspberry, a blackberrry and half a strawberry. Not a fan of almond filling, but the rest of the tart was amazing.

Ask them to pack up what you can't finish. So for us, later on that evening, I had the macaroon and I swooned. It's so good - just a small tiny baby macaroon, but was so moist and tasty. The next day, I tried the Passion Fruit Pastry Swan - essentially a passion fruit cream puff. Still good even the day after. 
I would totally recommend getting the latest reservation possible and foregoing dinner. It might not look like a lot of food, but the two scones with clotted cream will fill you (happily) like you never expected.
I've had tea at Urban Tea Merchant as well with my mom, and although it's cheaper, I think you get better value for your money here. Have you tried? What are your thoughts?