Mrs. H wanted to round out the Butchart Garden excursion with an introduction to a traditional English high tea. Neil Z commented last night that he had an amazing high tea experience at the White Heather Tea Room. A quick check of other reviews convinced me to try it out. We ordered the ‘Big Muckle Giant Tea’ and were not disappointed!
I didn’t think to bring in my camera, so here is an idea of what our spread looked like, on three plates set on a tiered stand:
we didn’t have that huge plate of shortbread in the foreground 🙂
They have a large selection of teas, including Balmoral, their version of the Earl Grey and jasmine tea I discovered in Edmonton. Yuuuuum.
The homemade fare is worth describing in detail. Let’s see if I can remember it all. 🙂
Tier One (the bottom plate):
-scone (cranberry or apricot ginger) with Devonshire (sweet whipped) cream, raspberry preserves, and/or lemon curd;
-mini quiche with sundried tomatoes;
-a bite-sized cheese thing with roasted red peppers (yuuuuuuum);
-fruit slices (apple and orange).
Tier two (middle plate):
-a mini savory scone with the most amazing smoky sweet salmon I have ever had;
-rolled sandwiches (egg (which I didn’t eat); ham with relish; and cucumber with cream cheese on marbelized rye (yuuuuuuum)).
Tier three (top plate):
Dessert!
-an incredible cranberry brownie (that had a distinct coffee aftertaste);
-lemony blueberry pound cake with icing;
-a cheesy cracker thing with a bit of apple on top (one of my favourite things today);
-delicious crispy and buttery shortbread (I’ll admit to dipping it in Devonshire cream mixed with raspberry preserves!);
-a little tart filled with lemon curd and topped with Devonshire cream.
I wound up taking most of Mrs. H’s desserts home and will enjoy them with regular tea before bed. 🙂
It didn’t seem like much food until we started on it. The portions were small, but there were a lot of them.
High tea at the White Heather Tea Room is definitely an experience I will never forget. Thank you for the recommendation, Neil!
