The Secret Garden Tea Company

In continuation of the quote unquote tradition, Louise and Genesis along with their friends accompanied myself and my friends for another delightful (and late) tea session. This time, we tried the Secret Garden Tea Company. So without further adieu, let's venture into the shop.

The sign is absolute joy

April 26, 2015

Last time, we tried the Adorabelle High Tea Room, which was a delight! So this time, we tried a shop located in Kerrisdale. What better way to spend a Sunday pre-evening! Louise and Genesis suggested to bring some friends along. Not knowing what to expect, I decided to invite a handful of friends (by that, I mean about six). I decided to bring mostly my high school friends, Elliot, KC, and Mitchell. I also brought my friends from various locations along: Frances, Ming, and Peggy.

Peggy (from this post) has been telling me of this place several times, and I finally got to try it with her (plus nine more people)! Despite its size on the outside, the inside was rather quaint, brightly coloured with a cozy atmosphere. At around 4:30PM, the place is still busy, but I noticed that no one else was having high tea. Instead, they were having sandwiches and proper meals... Perhaps another occasion to try out their sandwiches?

The seating was a little bit awkward, as there were two tables that could not possibly be joined due to the size of the room. We sat in the back, and I had to decide where to sit down. As Peggy got there before me, along side Genesis and Louise, I sat with them while the rest sat together.

Upon sitting down, I was introduced to two new friends. First was Genesis' friend Hope, and second Louise's boyfriend Ben. They are such wonderful people, with no dull moment with our time together. With such warm introductions, I possibly couldn't wait for the food to come.

But before food comes tea, coming in such variety of tea sets:

Even mismatched cups compliment each other

Sugar: yes please

The tea I ordered had a Toffee flavour, and it was incredibly sweet, making it a perfect pairing for cream. But I love how it was presented:

With a freaking tea cozy!

Not really sure if the tea cozy does anything, but it makes presentation appealing. As we talked about ourselves and getting to know one another (the topics were sporadically coming out), the food finally arrived. I don't know what it is about high tea, but the food is always deceptive. It may look small, but it's always makes you full. Here is what it looked like:

Three tiers of heaven!

Hope & Genesis, such cuties

So let's take a look into each tier, shall we? At the bottom were the sandwiches, comprising of egg salad (I think that's a standard sandwich), baby shrimp croissant, and a miniature ham bun. I am not the biggest fan of ham, but I must say it was rather delectable. Although, my favourite would have to be the shrimp croissant, there was a nice creamed texture to it that synched well with the crunchiness of the bread. I wonder if high tea shops make their own breads - if they do, I would like a loaf please. But seriously, look at this:

A star full of carbs, wonderful and glorious carbs

Next comes the scones and breads, which are the segue to the final tier, desserts. The weakness of this tier would have to be the devonshire cream and strawberry jam, adding richness and emphasizing how good these little devils truly are: 

Scones are the death of me

Finally, we have the main attraction of the show: the desserts. The chocolate was marvellously rich, that my tastebuds punched me when I took my first bite into these jam-packed guys. I think lemon is an underrated flavour in desserts, because I am always pleased whenever I try a dessert and gooey lemon comes out of nowhere. Not like I wasn't expecting it, but I don't see why more people enjoy such little joys of sweet and sour lemon (it's a thrill for the senses). The best dessert was their Easter-inspired 'cake.' I can't remember what it's officially called, but it was soft and melted once it entered your mouth. Couldn't label the flavour, as it wasn't familiar other than something loosely reminiscent of caramel. If they made a bigger size, I would devour it in no time:

Incredible how I managed to resist before approaching the desserts

Not only was I glad to try this experience most people's first time at high tea (mostly the boys), but also how everyone got along with each other quite well. There were times when it got rather interesting (especially at the boys' table), but it's nothing that a little conversation that could fix things. Although the two tables didn't have much a chance to interact, they tried their best to get to know one another. With more shops to try, we shall definitely do this again some time! Until next time,

(Back, left to right: Ben, myself, KC, Elliot, Mitchell)

(Front, left to right: Louise, Peggy, Genesis, Hope, Ming, Frances)

Pinky's out