Memoirs of Aleisha

Am very behind on my afternoon tea reviews.
This is one that I did back in Sydney over the Christmas break….yeah, yeah, I know, that was over 6 months ago. But better late than never.
I figured I should probably get these up on the blog before my next Sydney trip rolls around which I realised is only a couple of months away.

First up was Afternoon Tea at the Sir Stamford Hotel. One of my Christmas presents from my dad was a high tea at a venue of my choice. There is no shortage of high tea venues in Sydney – there are soooo many of them, so it’s hard to prioritize which one to go to. I spent weeks researching which one to go to. I decided on the Sir Stamford Hotel near Circular Quay.

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

I definitely enjoyed this one – good food and good company.
I went along with my one of my best friends – Nell, my dad and his SO.
We splurged and went for the Elegance High Tea which included champagne.

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

Afternoon teas in Sydney aren’t cheap. In fact, Sydney is not a cheap place at all. I actually think living in Tokyo is cheaper.

Afternoon tea here is served at The Bar. Not A Bar, THE Bar:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

Inside The Bar:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

It’s a traditional style bar with quite the masculine feel to it. No florally, feminine furnishings.

Bring on the champagne:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

High Tea Tiers all round:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

Yum, yum, yum. I love Aussie afternoon teas. Yummy savoury morsels.

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

Generous portion of smoked salmon and caviar:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

This curry pastry puff was the best. Could have had me a lot more of these. I think these were a winner all round:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

The sweets round:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

As always, I save the scones for last. Aussie scones are the best. I dream of Aussies scones. I salivate at the thought of them. No where else does scones better than Sydney. In Sydney, we like a scones fluffy, not dry and hard. I’ve had high tea in about 8 different countries and none compare to Aussie scones.
This is what scones should look like:

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

And yes, us Aussies like to dust our scones with icing sugar. Simply, the bomb! Can’t say the same for the guava jam that was served with it. Keep it simple, folks. Nothing beats strawberry jam.

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

From Sir Stamford Hotel Afternoon Tea

The only downside to note about afternoon tea in Australia, is that you generally can’t sample different teas. Gotta choose one tea blend and stick with it, although they will usually allow hot water refills (just don’t burn yourself).

Afternoon tea here was classic and solid.

I’ve got another two Sydney venues to write up about….plus get thinking about the next venue for my next Sydney visit.