Tag Archives: High tea

Celebrating Global Champagne Day like true ladies of leisure with Taittinger & The Table Bay

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Last Friday I took a half day’s leave (because I knew this was going to be a damn goodie) to join the folks from Taittinger SA at the beautiful Table Bay Hotel to celebrate Global Champagne Day… a day which to be honest, I didn’t even know existed, but was very very happy about because as everyone knows, after diamonds & shoes, champers is a girl’s best friend! ;)   Especially if it’s the fancy French kind all the way from the picturesque Reims region in viva la France (I popped in for a visit there a few years back – absolutely stunning)…

Our lovely host, Linette Cox (she from Taittinger SA), had commissioned an incredible cake creation from baking magicians, Charly’s Bakery.  It took me a while to spot it, even though it was pretty big, because at first glance it looked like a real Magnum sized bottle of bubbly.  Just check this out:

How freakin’ amazing is that??? It’s clear to see why Charly’s remains the go-to-people for cakes. The detail was seriously impressive…

BUT not only did we have this baby to dig into, we also had free reign over the High Tea area.  I’ve raved about the High Tea at the Table Bay before here on MLAWCT,  but I must say, they really outdid themselves this time round.  These are just some of the incredible creations which were on display:

I of course started off with my vegetables… i.e. the icing carrot on that yummy carrot cake…

They even had these really awesome strawberries wearing freakin’ tuxedos!!!

How do you like my date? He’s pretty suave I tell you…

These guys have taken dipped strawberries to the next level for sure.  Same goes with koeksisters, theirs comes with gold leaf daaahlings:

Jislaaik… maar dis flippen fancy ne…

All these beautiful things were thanks to the Table Bay’s total sweetheart of a pastry chef, Chef Robbie:

Beware ladies… a man who specialises in sweet treats will do serious damage to your bikini plans.  Code red! Back away!

Celebrating with us was the gorgeous Irma G from Heart 104.9fm and some of my favourite blogger ladies:

And after lots and lots of bubbly & high tea overindulgence, it was time for the official cutting of the champagne cake.  I for one was very excited to see what the cake inside looked like…

Linette doing the honours… and a ha! The famouse Charly’s wicked chocolate cake inside… Mmmmmmm

I have to say a HUGE thank you to Linette, Taittinger SA and the Table Bay for such a great afternoon away from the office.  I finally left there at 7pm, and that was simply because I had an engagement party to get to.  So a very successful afternoon indeed.

And hey, if you’re also a big champers fan, why not join Taittinger at the James Bond themed “Finer Things in Life” French champagne festival later this month, brought to you by Wine Concepts:

  • What to expect:  More than 20 cuvees from premium and boutique Champagne Houses, James Bond motorcars past and present and live music playing theme songs from James Bond movies. Hot and cold finger food will be served. Oysters, Cheese, Sushi and Chocolates will also be on offer. Generous prizes for lucky ticket holders and a charity auction for a private movie, dinner and stay at the 12 Apostles hotel in aid of St Luke’s Hospice.
  • Date/time:  Fri 23 Nov 2012 from 6pm to 9pm
  • Where:  At the Vineyard Hotel & Spa
  • Cost: R360 for early bird (still availalbe); R400 normal price
  • Tickets:  Available through Wine Concepts stores or Webtickets over here.

I say cheers to that! :)

xxx

High tea at the beautiful Table Bay Hotel

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Last Saturday, right in the middle of a mini Cape Storm, Bjorn and I got to enjoy a relaxing & indulgent afternoon of High Tea at the Table Bay Hotel in the V&A Waterfront.

Now this hotel has always been a favourite of mine.  I’ve been there for a few events and have also been to their Camelot Spa for a little treat for myself, but their restaurant & High tea are two things I had not yet had the pleasure of experiencing.

Every time I walk into that reception hall I’m blown away by how beautiful this hotel is.  It’s got that old world charm to it, rich colours, atrium style windows, furniture with a gorgeous antique feel, the kind of space which immediately makes you you think of royalty and how they probably live…

So the challenge for the afternoon:  High Tea consisting of 3 courses, each course carefully paired with fine teas from TWG.  TWG is a Singapore based company (just so you know).  They source the best tea leaves, spices and flavour-packed ingredients from all around the world, making their tea something quite special.  Food wise you’re also in really good hands because the High Tea menu has been specially created by the Table Bay executive chef, Jocelyn Myers.

As we settled into our seats and took in the waterfront views, our waiter came to say hi:

This is Frankie.  He painstakingly brought us our food crumb by crumb… like the little piece he has there next to him…

OK OK, that didn’t actually happen. :)   But that would have been a pretty awesome Disney moment, right?  Our real waiter was Sergio and he was an absolute sweetheart.  He didn’t even blink an eye when I put milk & sugar into one of my teas, which when it comes to top quality tea, that’s like asking for All Gold tomato sauce at a fine dining spot…

For the first course however, I was brave and went for the Royal Darjeeling tea without any milk or sugar.  And I was really surprised.  I didn’t need to add anything because the flavour just popped.  Bjorn had the Lung Ching tea, which is a green tea and according to Sergio his top choice for that particular course.  Now courses one & two are served at your table and then for course three, they let you loose on the cake buffet.

We kicked things of with some fancy finger sandwiches:

Clockwise from left: egg mayo, cucumber & cream cheese, veggie wrap and salmon & cream cheese.

But it doesn’t stop there, they also bring you a selection of mini quiches:

From front to back: mushroom & ham, bacon and salmon.

Normally I don’t really enjoy quiches, especially when they’ve got that soggy eggy texture to them. Blegh.  But these had a nice crispy crust and were totally yum.

Course number 2 is probably one of my favourite things in the world:  scones with fresh cream & preserves.  You just don’t get better than that.

You get a selection of scones: in the front you have a plain one, then in the back there’s a raisin scone and on the right is my favourite out of the bunch, a red pepper scone. This is then paired with a plum preserve, fresh cream, clotted cream & lemon curd.

This was so good, we asked for a 2nd round of scones.  Forgot to mention with course 1, you can even ask for a refill! :)   Paired with our scones we both opted for the French Earl Grey tea.  This is where I crumbled and added the milk & sugar.  Just because I’m used to having my Earl Grey that way.  But I think Bjorn was a bit embarrassed. hehe.

To catch our breath a bit before we tucked into course number 3, Sergio brought us some of the recommended teas for the last course to see & smell:

Beautiful right?  Clockwise from top left: Pink Flamingo green tea, Red Christmas rooibos tea, Bain de Roses black tea (there’s an extra cost for this one though) and the Number 12 black tea (you can see there it has some coffee beans & dried coconut mixed in with the tea leaves)

They all had such an incredible aroma, but I looove pink, so my choice was easy peasy:

The Pink Flamingo! It kinda smelt like Turkish delight, but not quite. I’m still trying to figure out what it reminds me off.

It was at this point Bjorn let me in on his “buffet conspiracy theory”.  He was like: “You see, they fill you up with the sandwiches and scones, delicious as they were, but in the hope that you’ll be too full to overindulge at the cake table.  But they won’t get me.. I’ll show ‘em…”  I had to laugh (a lot).  The look of determination in his eyes was quite impressive.  Obviously some kind of previous buffet trauma was still haunting him. ;)   He was very serious about this, something which was quite evident when you compared our two cake plates.  This was mine:

A good selection I thought…

But this was his:

Right… where to start…

I couldn’t even finish mine, but he worked through his plate like a man on a mission.  I just had to steal this piccie from his Instagram feed to show you:

hehehehehehehe…

Now I was pretty full after this amazing treat.  My stomach had kinda popped out like a little pregnant belly.  But needless to say, a certain someone felt a little more uncomfortable than that… My advice:  Just pace yourself and you’ll be fine.  There’s no need to rush and also no need to panic. ;)

A huge thank you to Sarah Prins, the PR Manager at Sun International for setting this up for us.  This was certainly a very special treat and we loved every single minute of it.

Important things to note:

  • High Tea takes place daily from 14:30 to 17:30
  • The cost is R185 per person
  • Rather be safe than sorry and call ahead to book a table:  021 406 5988

Let them eat cake!

xxx

A High Tea treat at Myatt

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On Wed eve, Leila and myself headed over to the V&A Waterfront to be spoilt with High Tea at Myatt Cafe.

I’ve mentioned this place in one of my blog posts before.  It’s truly stunning.  Just check it out:

We met up with total sweetheart, Leozette, from Greater Than PR.  Myatt is one of the clients she looks after and she was awesome enough to put together this little dessert extravaganza for us.  Thanks again babe! ;)

That’s Leozette in the middle

Now Myatt’s High Tea spread is normally served from 3:30pm to 6:30pm.  It costs R150 per person and you get the following:

  • Tea or coffee of you choice
  • 3 x macarons
  • 1 x scone with strawberry preserve & cream
  • 2 x types of finger sandwiches of your choice
  • 2 x mini croissants of your choice
  • 2 x pastries of your choice

Just look at our “tower of indulgence”:

Totally worth the kilojoules!

That tart right at the top, next to the macarons was this seriously amazing banana fridge tart type thing.  It rocked my world!  I basically at the whole thing myself… barely giving poor Leozette & Leila a taste. Mwhahahahahaha…

There was so much to sample, we were totally stuffed by the end of it and there was still some things left over!  Leila took a little doggy bag home for her man.  I could never do something like that, it would be demolished in the car on the way home.  I’m a bad girlfriend.  But I’ve come to terms with that shortcoming. hehe.

One thing that really stands out about Myatt is their incredible attention to detail.  From the beautiful imported china, to the interesting black chandeliers hanging above.  Everything has been carefully thought out.   Even the water is an experience:

Naturally flavoured with strawberries, oranges & mint… so yum!

Now look at all the tempting treats they have in their glass display unit – so cruel:

Eat us Karisa… eat us!!!

Once again I had a vision of people serving these to me while running on the treadmill. I must still try that out to see if it works. :)

We popped over to the inside of the shop as well and it turns out it’s just as impressive as the outside dining area:

This is where you’ll find their insane chocolate collection.  They are called Mary Chocolates and are imported from Belgium and crafted especially for Myatt.  They have 38 variants to choose from… yes, that’s right 38!!!

But be warned:  These babies don’t come cheap.  At R22 per piece, you really have to savor them slowly.  But standing in front of the chocolate display, you quickly seem to forget about the price tag…

Seriously, if I worked here, I would be the size of a house!

I tried the “Astrid” – Orange zest marzipan in dark chocolate.  It was deliciously bitter yet sweet at the same time.  I know marzipan’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but I love it.  I think a few of these would make a really nice gift for someone with a serious sweet tooth.

By the end of the evening I had what I’m calling a “High Tea Boep”  – thank goodness I was wearing a dress.  I think I would have been bulging over my pants otherwise…

This was such a decadent experience.  I would highly recommend their High Tea for an afternoon with your girls or maybe even to spoil your mom, she did bring you into the world after all.  I think she’s proved that she deserves this. ;)

xxx

High tea daaaahlings

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On Sunday I headed over to The Last Word in Constantia for an afternoon of indulgence with my girls… oh yeah, we rocked some High tea ladies & gentlemen! ;)

The Last Word is a range of beautiful, intimate hotels in and around the Cape Town area.  You’ll find their other hotels in Bishopscourt, Camps Bay, Long Beach & Franschhoek.  And then they also have this kick ass luxury yacht called “Princess Emma” which you can rent out – will keep that in mind if I happen to meet a very rich hot boy who wants to spoil me endlessly… haha.

Anyhoo, the Contantia hotel is just absolutely gorgeous:

Loved how they mixed a bit of that old school charm with a fresh modern palate...

There’s also a beautiful garden & pool area:

I will have to come back in summer ;)

But obviously I zoned in on the high tea spread pretty damn quickly.   I mean, I hadn’t been starving myself for nothing people!  It was game time…

Oh yeah baby... I WILL be sampling every one of you...

I have to also point out that they pay serious attention to detail here.  Just look at how amazing even the sugar is:

All sugar needs multi coloured sparkles!

Also the service was fantastic.  They made us feel like like the princesses we always knew we were. ;)   Here’s “the gang” enjoying a glass of champers:

Ladies of leasure... haha

Now I have a very strict high tea strategy:  Start with the savoury stuff & then totally overdo it on the sweets!   Here’s my savoury plate:

Even cucumber sandwiches y'all!

And then… hold yourselves back… here’s sweet plate nr 1:

That mini creme brulee rocked my world... and I don't even normally touch the stuff!

There was a sweet plate nr 2 as well.  But I think at that point I was too hyped up on sugar to even take a picture of it.  It did include a super tasty koeksuster – for my “Afrikaanse meisie” fix – some more creme brulee and a mini custard & jam tart thingy.  Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum…

Of course no high tea would be complete without an actual cup of tea, no would it?  Just look at how pretty they present your little tea cup:

I demand little flowers next to my tea cups all the time from now on!

What an awesome way to spend a Sunday afternoon…

At only R100 per person, it’s cheaper than the other high tea options in Cape Town.  But trust me, that’s definitely not because you’re getting anything less.  This place is superb.  I especially loved how cosy it was.  You just wanted to chill there for hours on end… We even got to take a little stroll in the garden.  Pure bliss.

I’m going to give The Last Word a Miss K Kiss-o-Meter rating of:

xxx