Time for a little spooky tea....Ampersand Hotel

Hello there,

Happy Halloween!

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. Last weekend, Lorna and I celebrated Halloween a little early with a visit to the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington.

Now, if you've popped by our blog before you'll know this isn't our first time to the Ampersand. This is our third or fourth visit to the hotel for a spot of afternoon tea, in fact we first visited this lovely boutique hotel for Halloween afternoon tea in 2013. We love the work of pastry chef Ji Sun Shin and couldn't resist going back to sample the Halloween tea again.....

Halloween afternoon tea
Ampersand Hotel

Now, all the afternoon teas served at the Ampersand follow a similar format of savouries (either open sandwiches or savoury gougeres) followed by scrummy white chocolate scones - however it's the sweet top tier of the afternoon tea stand where Ji Sun lets her imagination and creativity run wild and that's where I want to focus this post.....

Sweet treats - afternoon tea - Ampersand Hotel

Although this tea looks like similar to the Halloween tea that was served last year, there are some subtle differences this year which we all enjoyed.

The sweet treats include a cute orange pumpkin cake, a blackberry jelly skull on a sable breton, a red velvet cupcake and a raspberry, rose & redcurrant blood shot. 

I particularly enjoyed the jelly skull on the sable breton, the combination of the silky jelly on top of the sable breton was brilliant - especially if you chose to put the entire thing in your mouth in one go! The blackberry jelly has an amazing flavour too. Altogether a lovely treat!

You might have noticed this little cutie in the photo.....

I saved my orange pumpkin cake to last as it's so cute and I didn't want to cut it up straight away. Once you take the plunge and cut through the icing, you find a wonderful orange sponge cake inside - which is beautifully flavoured.

Slightly more alarming is the red velvet mini cake, complete with "glass" shard and eyeball....

The red velvet cake melts in the mouth, and is topped with a tangy drizzle of raspberry. Again it's the perfect size for popping into your mouth in one go if you are so inclined! 

Each time we visit the Ampersand we are amazed by the cakes and pastries created by Ji Sun, she creates items that look so pleasing to the eye, yet she never compromises taste. I had the pleasure of meeting Ji Sun earlier this year when she kindly answered some of my nosey afternoon tea questions....take a peek at the post to read more about how she creates her amazing afternoon teas.

Halloween afternoon tea - Ampersand Hotel

The Halloween afternoon tea costs £32.50 per person and is available until the 9th November 2014, to find out more visit the Ampersand website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time to Tea....Singapore Heritage Afternoon Tea

Hello and welcome back to another guest post from Tea With Me and Friends.

This time we are featuring the afternoon tea adventures of Sarika from Pearlsbounce blog. Sarika joined us a little while ago to tell us all about the Birdcage afternoon tea at W Hotel in Singapore, this time she has something a little different to share with us......

Singapore Heritage Afternoon Tea

The recently re-vamped Clifford Pier at The Fullerton Bay Hotel hosts a wonderful Singaporean Heritage Afternoon Tea. Full of novel tea time treats that are spun off favourite Singaporean local flavours this Tea Time does not disappoint.

Singapore Heritage Afternoon Tea
The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Singaporean cookbook author, Shermay Lee, curates a selection of 8 savoury and 8 sweet items to reflect Singapore’s multifavoured culinary past and present. The little 'creations are handcrafted with a nod to traditional skills and are based on heirloom recipes handed down to Shermay from her late grandmother, Mrs Lee Chin Koon, author of the famous Mrs Lee’s Cookbook and widely recognized as the doyenne of Peranakan cuisine in Singapore.'

The Singapore Heritage Afternoon Tea
The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Like all Afternoon Tea rituals we commenced ours with a selection of brew and were thrilled by the local options. The deliciously sweet Teh Tarik being the most popular on our table I opted for the strongly brewed Moroccan Mint Tea.

Time for tea....

In good stead we kicked off with the 8 Savoury items which were topped up galore! Firm favourites were the nostalgic Kueh Pie Tee, Bak Kwa Jam Sandwich and Chilli Crab Bao. (for novel Singaporean eaters check the menu pic for the delicious details). 

  

Being a condiment connoisseur I was excited by the choice of asian dipping pots - sweet and savoury were both demolished. The fiery local red garlic chilli sauce was yumtastic when accompanied with the sweet and sticky Kurobuta Pork Kong Ba Bao and Nonya Chicken Curry Roti Jala Wrap.

Condiments at afternoon tea!
The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Afternoon tea
The Fullerton Bay Hotel

The Tropical scones were surprisingly crumbly and moist (not a norm in Singapore's humidity), and the Pineapple-Vanilla Jam and Kaya spread were very well paired. I would say a really good scone job done by Clifford Pier!

For those who have room - 8 Sweet Singaporean treats await you! The Hainanese Roti with Kaya got my attention first as did the Sugee Financier and Bandung Macaroon. The bright green Pandan Swiss Roll unfortunately didn't deliver for me - a bit dense which was a shame as I love Pandan!

Singapore Heritage Afternoon Tea
The Fullerton Bay Hotel

This is the Ultimate Tea for those who love to savour the culinary delights of Singapore or for those that want an intro into Singapore's long love affair of blended South East Asian cuisine. The Clifford Pier's colonial feel is a well suited venue for the Heritage Tea with its opulent deck and great views of the Singapore River.

For  more information about this afternoon tea please visit The Fullerton Bay Hotel website.

A big thank you again to Sarika for sharing her afternoon tea experience, those tropical scones sound wonderful. We do love hearing about afternoon teas in other countries and we can't wait to see where Sarika goes next!

If you have an afternoon tea that you'd like to share with us, please get in touch as we'd love to hear from you. All you need to do is send us some photos and your thoughts about the afternoon tea. Email us on teawithmeandfriends@gmail.com 

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Afternoon Tea News....Aqua Shard

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea news article from Tea With Me and Friends, today we are sharing some news from Aqua Shard in London.

To celebrate the release of the Paddington Movie in November Aqua Shard have a limited edition Paddington inspired afternoon tea on offer to guests dining between now and the 28th November. I have to say this is a rather cute looking themed tea....

Paddington themed afternoon tea - Aqua Shard
Photo from Aqua Shard

The tea includes a selection of sandwiches and scones (served with jam and of course marmalade!), then some wonderful sounding sweet treats:

Paddington praline cream bun

Orange marmalade macaroon

Traditional Battenburg

Chili & Chocolate London taxi

If you peer into the suitcase you'll be able to see the black taxis on the right - I think they look so cute! 

This tea is available for £34.50 per person with your choice of tea from the menu, or if you fancy a glass of bubbles with your tea it will be £45.00 per person. To find out more pop by the Aqua Shard website.

If you try this fab looking tea we'd love to hear all about it!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....Washingbourough Hall, Lincoln

Hello there,

Welcome back to another guest post from Tea With Me and Friends, we always love to hear about the afternoon teas that have been enjoyed by other people and this week we are joined again by Ele Crossland. Ele is sharing her afternoon tea adventures in Lincoln at Washingborough Hall......

Just a few miles out of the buzzing Cathedral city of Lincoln is Washingborough Hall. Nestled comfortably into its surroundings, this beautiful Georgian rectory is now a fantastic hotel, restaurant and wedding venue. Luckily for me, they serve an outstanding afternoon tea which I just had to try. On a sunny day with a brisk wind, we decided against the stately dining room, cosy library and comfortable bar area to sit in the garden and appreciate the views towards Lincoln. It’s hard to believe that this peaceful green space, where the birds singing is pretty much the only sound you here, is mere minutes from a thriving City.

I’d booked the afternoon tea ahead and was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed in the spacious hall with such enthusiasm. The staff here are clearly briefed on the day’s reservations as we were immediately shown to the sitting room and offered a seat. They were happy for us to sit outside, despite it meaning they had to negotiate some steep stone steps whilst laden with food. I loved their cheerful approach and felt able to relax immediately.

Afternoon tea at Washingborough is a traditional affair, served on the ubiquitous tiered stand, yet with some modern twists from chef. As well as an interesting range of sandwiches (hummus and salad, roasted vegetable and goats cheese) we enjoyed a new one for me – savoury cheese scones with local Lincolnshire Poacher cheese and punchy pickled red cabbage. These were so unusual and scrumptious – I would definitely consider choosing more of those over the usual finger sandwich. 

The afternoon tea stand was adorned with a selection of delicate and very pretty confections. Although the mini chocolate éclair was melt in the mouth, my favourite was the cherry Bakewell slice. With very clearly defined layers, masses of punchy flavour and exquisite presentation, it was so enjoyable. The third sweet was a tiny finger of carrot cake. The cream cheese frosting was divine. I’d clocked an entire carrot cake on the reception desk so made a note to return for coffee and a full-size slice soon. 

As the level had been set so high by the preceding courses, I fully expected the scones (one plain, one fruit) to pass the ‘scone test’. Hurrah! They did, breaking perfectly down the middle when twisted. Although we were both rather full from the savoury and sweet courses, as well as the never-ending pot of English Breakfast tea which was regularly replenished by the staff, I managed to sample one with fresh jam and thick clotted cream. Delicious, although the second scone had to go in a doggy bag along with a piece of carrot cake and the leftover Bakewell slice.

Sitting in an English country garden on a sunny day is a sure way to relax, and the staff seem every happy for their guests to while away a few hours with them. It’s true that the English weather might not always be kind enough to allow for alfresco afternoon tea, but both the bar/sitting room and the library make for cosy hideaways to sit, chat and eat. I can’t wait for December when their Festive afternoon tea menu comes out. I’ll be first in line for their afternoon tea mince pies and mulled wine. Cheers!

Well, don't those scones look amazing? Afternoon tea at Washingborough Hall costs £14.50 per person and is served is served every day between 2pm (3pm on Sundays) and 6pm. To find out more about those homemade cakes pop by their website.

A big thank you to Ele for sharing her scrummy afternoon tea adventure with us, we can't wait to see where she visits next! If you have an afternoon tea that you'd like to share with us please drop us a line!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Time for Tea.....Cassandras Cup, Hampshire

Hello there,

Welcome back to another afternoon tea post from Tea With Me and Friends. Now as some of our readers know, although Lorna and I enjoy a lot of afternoon teas in hotel lounges across London, we also like to support local tearooms.

Recently I visited one such tearoom with Sheree - Cassandras Cup in Chawton, near Alton in Hampshire. I had heard about Cassandras on the Internet and really wanted to try this tearoom as it's about a twenty minute drive from my home in Farnham.

Cassandra’s Cup is a traditional English tea room, which offers a good range of traditional and speciality teas and coffees as well as scones, home-made cakes, light snacks, home-cooked meals and afternoon tea. The signs looked very promising as we entered this cute looking tearoom.....

An impressive teacup collection at Cassandra's Cup

Yes, that's a vast collection of vintage teacups hanging from the ceiling!

Now, I know this might be very surprising given the nature of this blog.....but we opted not to sample afternoon tea on this visit! Both Sheree and I decided to opt for sandwiches followed by a slice of homemade cake - all washed down with a pot of tea!

Cassandra's Cup pride's itself on using local produce where ever possible, and also offers gluten free items on the menu.

I opted for the prawn sandwich and Sheree went with egg mayonnaise.....

Sandwiches at Cassandra's Cup

Can you see Sheree waiting patiently in the background of the photo - she was quite hungry by this point and wanted her sandwich!

As you'll see from the photo our tea was served in plain white china teacups which were very modern. Considering the feel of the tearoom and all those vintage teacups hanging above my head, I was a little disappointed. However, the tea was of good quality and we were given extra hot water.

The sandwiches themselves were tasty and fresh, and I enjoyed the side salad (although it was a little oily for me). 

Once we had eaten our sandwiches we decided to pick our cake from the selection on the dresser.....

There was a good selection of cakes and tray bakes on offer. Sheree went for the traditional Victoria sponge cake and I picked the carrot cake....

Victoria Sponge - Cassandra's Cup, Hampshire

Carrot cake
Cassandra's Cup, Hampshire

The slices given were a good size and both cakes were fresh. Sheree commented that her Victoria sponge was very light. My carrot cake was well spiced and moist, with just the right amount of icing. 

Our total bill for this meal came to just under £25.00 for both of us, which was OK as the cakes were very good and we left feeling full. However, I think the sandwiches were a little expensive - my prawns were £6.95.

For more information about Cassandra's Cup please visit their website, you can also see their full menu there. I would like to go back to sample their afternoon tea at some point in the future.

Can you spot Cassandra's Cup - situated behind Sheree!

The village of Chawton is a beautiful village and Cassandra's Cup is situated  opposite Jane Austen’s House Museum, and would make a lovely stop after visiting the museum.

Do you have a local tearoom that you'd like to tell us about - if so please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel