The Tea Room @ QVB

High teas have never really particularly appealed to me. The idea of piling you up with a whole lot of desserts is a weeeee bit of a stretch even for my immense sweet tooth. Personally, I'd rather just have one or two quality desserts at a time so I can savour the treat. But of course, a birthday celebration always calls for excesses, and Sunday saw us at The Tea Room in QVB.

The Tea Room was set with gorgeous high ceilings and chi-chi wallpaper, but a strong, almost fishy odour overtook our senses and had us baffled. I wonder what it was. Feeling rather famished after a morning session out on the water, I decided to skip the sparkling today and settled for the traditional afternoon tea set. I needed something strong and bitter to accompany the sweets and ordered an aromatic black lavender tea.



The sweets and savouries arrived on a 3-tiered plate. On the bottom tier were buttery scones studded with raisins and slices of spinach tart. The scones were delicious with a thick, grainy jam and cold clotted cream. I particularly enjoyed the warm, savoury spinach tart.



The top tier had the finger sandwiches with creamy smoked salmon and a ham & cheese filling. I was starving so I practically devoured these. There was also a most tasty little cream cheese tart. Finger lickin' good.



The middle tier was of course laden with all sorts of sweets. There was a little strawberry boat with a cream filling, a passionfruit yoyo sandwiched with the most heavenly tangy cream, two meringue drops sandwiched with what I think is a pistachio cream, a rich square of mud cake and a carrot cake. The passionfruit yoyo was the standout - it still has me salivating at the thought of it.



Given the innocuous little bite-sized quantities, we were more than stuffed at the end of it. Looking back, I should have tried the gluten free menu. Maybe next time!

The Tea Room
North End, QVB
455 George Street, Sydney
9283 7279