High Tea at The Westin Sydney

It was raining cats and dogs outside, but myself and 8 other girls were a world away, lounging in the relaxed atmosphere of The Westin Sydney (No 1. Martin Place) enjoying the Marie Antoinette high tea. We all opted for the offering of high tea, unlimited tea or coffee and a glass of sparkling rose for $45 (weekend price) part of Crave SIFF, which was a bargain considering the sparkling rose option is usually $51. The sparkling rose we were given was Brown Brothers Zibibbo Rosa – a really pretty pink colour with a fruity aroma and we were given a selection of JING teas to choose from – I chose the Lychee black tea which unfortunately didn’t have much lychee or fruity taste for that matter and also a pot of Dragon Well which was a refreshing green tea.

After getting settled in and waiting for the late-comers, 3 two-tiered high teas were delivered to us, one plate of savoury and a plate of sweets. Usually I start off with the scones at high tea but since there were none here, I went for the savoury, which I might add had no salmon and dill sandwiches yay!. I grabbed the blt and deviled egg finger sandwich because it was heart-shaped and oh-so-cute. I couldn’t discern whether it was some sort of choux or a piece of toast? but it was very tasty though I don’t think mine had any bacon in it 😦 The avocado and shrimp tartar [not pictured] was my least favourite of the foods that day because the choux puff was immensely dry and was hard to eat by itself after I had already eaten the filling. My favourite "savoury" item would be the kiwi and orange croissant with mascarpone which seemed like a strange combination at first but was really refreshing and had well balanced flavours after eating it.  The slow cooked roast beef with creme cheese stuffed baby belle peppers was also very good, the roast beef was tender and I especially loved the tangy belle pepper encased in the middle.

 

We had finished the savoury plate but where was my scones…? It wouldn’t be a high tea without scones. We were well into eating the desserts when a plate of freshly baked, still warm scones with double cream and strawberry jam came covered in a napkin. Eagerly we unwrapped the plate and found petite scones as opposed to the rather dense and large scones that I’ve become accustomed to seeing. None the less I slather each scone with jam and double cream – delicious little morsels but was rather like a buttermilk cake texture. There were also scones with sultanas but I honestly cant remember if I ate it or not…so no comment.

After a break, we continued on and tackled the sweet plate. The chocolate cream with exotic fruit caramel and candied walnuts [not pictured] was my first pick, the exotic fruit caramel tasted like passionfruit and I don’t think mine had any walnuts in it either. It was really creamy and a little too sweet for my liking. The surprise came from beetroot and cherry cupcake which though did not have the dominating flavours of beetroot or cherry it was a pretty red hue and sweet to eat. The impressive Marie Antoinette fondant sitting atop the lime curd meringue tart was too pretty for me to eat, but I loved the tangy lime curd and the thick buttery tart – this was a huge serving. And of course, a Marie Antoinette themed high tea would not be complete without a macaron, I believe most of us saved this till last – the piece de resistance macaron with fresh blueberries. It was an alarming vibrant blue and extravagant with fresh blueberries offsetting a very thick chocolate ganache center.

Though the service was slow at times, our waitress was lovely, very accommodating and advised us kindly on what each type of tea was and never rushed us. We stayed well into the evening (until 6:30) lazing away the saturday afternoon over sweets, tea and a healthy dash of gossip all whilst growing our food babies.

 
Marie Antoinette’s High Tea The Westin Sydney

  

"there is nothing new except what has been forgotten"
 
 
blt and deviled egg finger sandwich

 
slow cooked roast beef with creme cheese stuffed baby belle peppers

 
kiwi and orange croissant with mascarpone

   
JING tea

 
scones with double cream and strawberry jam

"let them eat cake!"

 
beetroot and cherry cupcake

 
lime curd meringue tart

the piece de resistance
macaron with fresh blueberries