mandarin oriental eats, las vegas.

we stayed at the mandarin last month on a mini getaway to vegas, and really liked it. the hotel is quiet, compared to the rest of vegas, and overall a more relaxing and refined experience. here are some of the eats we enjoyed.

afternoon tea for two at the salon.

a three tier display was set up next to our loungers. service was excellent.

here are the plain scones. with two fruit jams, butter and cream. their scones were flaky + dense.

savories. great presentation, i enjoyed everything except for the rectangular salty tart.. i don’t like when my sweet + savories are mixed.. the egg was good, and devoured in a spoonful.

sweets. the tart and cake pops were good but basic, my favorite was the chocolate hazelnut in the center, and the coffee cream puff.

bento box breakfast, in room dining.

loved this! a scaled down version of japanese hotel breakfasts.

xx

Sparkle Patisserie

sparkle patisserie in taichung.

i finally made it to taichung to dine at sparkle.

twG tea. french earl grey. the breadsticks are addictive. flaky pastry, parmesan and pepper.

mushroom truffle soup. fragrant truffle and small chunks of mushroom. not too much cream, keeping this soup light.

cheesy croque madame. sO good! not greasy, something thats rare for this dish.

the tiered afternoon tea set, compliments of our friends at sparkle.

the sweet tier.  light and fluffy, nothing was overpowering or heavy. note the handmade artisan chocolate in the middle. yuM!

my favorite was the scones! one sweet, and one savory. great texture. the savory rosemary cheese scone was especially delicious. flaky, buttery and warm.

savories. quiche, croque, mini burger, salmon, egg canape, chicken salad.

picked up some sweets to take home. mont blanc, red velvet cupcake, and my FAVE- carrot cake!

thanks sO much to our friends of sparkle! chef lucy, and front room manager vicky. we had a wonderful time.

xx

http://www.patisseriesparkle.com/

high tea at a3.

a3 at bella vita for high tea.

i’ve heard good things about the high tea sets at a3, and have tried to come here a few times before, but it was always full. we walked in yesterday at 3pm, and there just happened to be a high table available. a3 is a bar/lounge setup- the interior is clean and modern, white with touches of silver and black. nice contemporary decor.

the high tea set (for 2) comes with the 3 tiers, and 2 drinks.

latte for me!

top tier, savories. mini burgers, cream cheese + salmon finger sandwiches, ham and egg rolls with caviar, shrimp toast.

all pretty good, (but as usual, i didn’t eat the shrimp toast)

middle tier. savory + scones. crab balls, mini quiche, raisin scones.

i wish there was a dipping sauce offered for the crab balls.. the quiche was delicious.

scones were oK- flaky and a bit dry, but good one the wilkins and sons jam + creamed butter was loaded on.

i prefer a heavier scone to savory ratio- for me, the scones would have been better if they were a bit more substantial in size- which would also allow the inside of the scone to retain moisture when baked.

bottom tier. sweets. so i wasn’t really sure what i was eating here.. they were mostly cake/bread based sweets- no chocolate-heavy option, creme brulee or a panna cotta, or fruit tart as traditional high teas would usually offer.

i think i ate a “cupcake”- with the white cream frosting atop? this was good, mildly sweet and moist. the green matcha cake was quite dry- the flavor was a bit off.. did not like. the bread-like roll with cream + a chocolate piece atop- was bland, just ok.. again not sure what i was eating.. the last offering with mixed fruits atop was pretty good. there was just too much carb/cake.bread based desserts. a little variety would have been nice.

all in all, nice ambience, great presentation, yummy savories ( rare for high tea!)

will be back again to try some other set or dessert.. i eyed a banana trio that looks tempting..

xx j

1F at BellaVita: No.28, Song-ren Rd., Taipei 110

UA cafe. tokyo.

united arrows cafe in the harajuku district.

we visited tokyo last week, and i was anxious to try to ua scones again.. after a disappointment last year, i was worried the scones wouldn’t hold up anymore. BUT. this trip, they prevailed- and in my book, UA cafe still has the BEST SCONES evarr. crisp + flaky on the outside, full of buttery soft goodness on the inside. served with whipped butter and honey. simple and fantastic.

with a pot of earl grey. so good we went twice. i meaannn.. loOk at the scones. just looking makes me drool.

a new dish we tried- their meat pie. a tomato/ground beef “pie” with a pastry shell. simple, hearty and full of flavor. i’m going to try to make this at home..

lOve.

xx

pierre marcolini.

last week we had high tea @ the newly opened pierre marcolini in mitsukoshi a4.

my friend’s savory entree. ham and cheese millefeuille with salad. crispy pastry sheets, with runny egg yolk. the cheese melds it all together.

below is my order of their chocolate orange cake, with vanilla bean ice cream. great plating. super chocolatey. i had a latte to go with the cake. i’ve been choosing coffee over tea more and more recently.. even during teatime. something i never used to do!

entree presentation exceeded any expectations i had. it’s a cute open cafe setup, with comfortable seating- and the tables were arranged with a respectful distance so you don’t end up in other diner’s pictures.. especially the ones that take a zillion, with the entree, without, duo, poses, funny faces.. (yes, this is something that annoys me)

the cake and tea selection on the menu is small, and the prices are a bit on the expensive side.

will return again to try another savory. lunchtime maybe?

 

xx

 

PAUL boulangerie/patisserie

high tea @ PAUL.

we ordered the tea set option that consists of a drink, a choice of pastry/cake and 2 puffs.

i had the apple tartin. it had a nice pastry crust, and the apples had a good consistency- not mushy. it was okay, but i don’t think i’d order it again. the “puffs,”  on the other hand, were quite crispy and airy- a little bit chewy on the inside. surprisingly good.

my gf ordered PAUL’s infamous millefeuille. she chose the strawberry- my fave too. the crispy pasty filled with sweet vanilla cream is best with a bit of the tart strawberries.

and of course lattes all around, not pictured.

PAUL:  107, RenAi Rd, Sec. 4.

xx

mariage freres salon de the, paris

museum visit + lunch.  Mariage Freres tea house @ the Lourve, Paris.

mariage freres, maison de the, is one of my favorite tea companies. i love their blends.. not to mention their beautiful packaging.

i had their marco polo tea. we drink this at home regularly.  my other favorite blends from MF:  Earl grey french blue, and Golden monkey king. the Opium Hill Oolong and Tie Kuan Ying are considerably good.. though I usually prefer to buy asian teas from asian tea makers..

tomato gazpacho with smoked tuna. theres a toast under the tuna, sitting in the soup.

“um.. omg” was our reaction when this smoked salmon sandwich was brought to our table. made with green tea bread and a window of fresh Ikura (salmon roe) on top.. it was sO delicious and well presented. this sandwich far exceeded any expectations.

this was b’s pick from the dessert counter.  kind of a creme brulee with fresh strawberries tart. it was, “wow.”

there’s a few mariage freres tea salon locations, i picked the one at the lourve because it was convenient to our schedule. if you’re in paris, its def worth a visit for lunch or afternoon tea!

xx

smith & hsu.

happy rabbit year!

over the chinese new year holiday we went to smith & hsu for a light lunch. this is one place in tianmu we frequent for afternoon tea. their simple minimal decor and “male-friendly” portions make it easier for me to go with b.

their scones are notable; buttery and flaky with a nice crust and soft inside. they also have a good selection of teas, eastern, western, fruit, non-caffeinated and so on.

i usually have the countess earl grey blend, with honey and lemon.. for some reason i don’t take milk at smith & hsu as i usually do with my earl greys.

the smoked salmon “sandwich.” i like that they have capers.

their cream tea set comes with a pot of tea and 2 scones. plain and cranberry.

note: they charge 40NT for an extra jam/honey.. you get to pick 2 from: butter, jams, honey… but i usually want all 3.

 

cheers.

xx

christmas tea.

christmas tea at the mandarin oriental, macau.

i visited macau for the first time last week, and stayed at the mandarin oriental. because i booked the trip late, the mandarin was the only hotel with 4 stars or above that wasn’t completely full for the holidays: because it doesn’t have a casino! it was modern and simple, clean, quiet, nice view. the mgm + wynn is right across the street for gambling, so it wasn’t too inconvenient.. plus its connected to the mall, and serves high tea. not bad, for me!

look at the display.. how fun.

the tea set was all pretty good, but what stood out were the scones.

christmas tea comes with 2 flaky scones, crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside. butter, strawberry jam, honey and marmalade.

the caramel mousse cake was really good as well.

i had a pot of earl grey, as usual..

i lOve having high teas over the holidays… so much, that i took tea again, the day i left.

here is their signature mandarin oriental (asian) high tea set.

i enjoyed this set more than the christmas set. there were asian dim sum items, steamed buns…

look at the crispy portuguese egg tart.. and the shot glass of coconut milk with tapioca. YUM.

xx

royal tea @ the peninsula.

the peninsula beverly hills.

i lOve having hotel high teas during the holidays, with the fires lit, decor + trees up.

makes me smile.

hand painted settings.

champagne, strawberries and cream to start. hotel teas are usually a little on the pricier side, the peninsula starting at $45/person for royal tea is no exception.

for two. scones, savories and sweets. i enjoyed the sweets here more than i did the savories.. which is not an unusual experience for me at high tea.  all in all, the savories were just okay, but ambiance, service, sweets, all excellent.

xx