No. 218: Diamond Jubilee/Anniversary Afternoon Tea @ Langham Pasadena

While afternoon teas are usually an indulgent affair, with the low-end ones running at approx. $20/person and the upscale affairs going close to $70, once a year there is a phenomenal promotion - the Anniversary Afternoon Tea at Langham Pasadena on June 10 - which they commemorate by offering their afternoon tea at its original price of 1 pence and 6 shillings (or, 15 U.S. cents -- yes, $0.15)

 

Alas, in past years I have missed out on this amazing deal because 1) June 10 fell on a weekday or 2) by the time I remembered about it, it has already been booked up. Not so in 2012, where it fortunately fell on a Sunday and... thanks to their PR and a last-minute cancellation of another table... I managed to wrangle a space for my friends and I.

 

This year's tea was made extra special because it also commemorates Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, which meant a glass of bubbly to go with our teas. I can certainly toast to that! Long live the Queen!

 

And just because this tea set costs less than a buck doesn't mean it's any less decadent. Our tasty affair started with bite-sized, open-faced tea sandwiches with exquisite toppings such as smoked salmon profiterole with shallot-caper cream and caviar, and prosciutto with egg on peppercorn-potato bread. Though I think our favorite is the watercress-pesto marinated shrimp on herb-garlic bread.

 

Next came a plate of mini desserts, some finger-friendly and others not so much. Having had such intensely-flavored savory sandwiches earlier, I personally liked the more delicate and subtle sweets on this plate, such as the airy, bright raspberry macaron and the spongy almond financier - though I definitely appreciate the artistic qualities of their fancier sweets too, especially the cloverleaf designs on the milk chocolate citrus torte and the plump, gold leaf-topped berries on the lemon-raspberry tart.

Of course, no afternoon tea is complete without scones, and these came to us still warm from the oven with a wonderful flaky crust and an interior that's impeccably light without being too crumbly. They were sublime with the Devonshire cream & lemon custard, as well as their strawberry preserves.

As for the tea itself, I stuck with the Langham Blend throughout the afternoon, their signature blend of Assam, Darjeeling and Tippy Golden Orange Pekoe that made for a black tea that's smooth enough to drink on its own, but definitely better with a lump of sugar and a spot of milk. My friends did opt for their lighter Green Tea Passion[fruit] and Chamomile teas as the day went on, though.

And like the afternoon teas we've had, time just slipped right by as we sipped, nibbled, relaxed and chatted away . . . has it been two and a half hours already? I guess all good things must come to an end . . . but not before we made a pact to do another tea in the near future, and try to come back again next year for this truly affordable luxury (even if it means taking that Monday off in 2013 . . . consider yourselves notified!)

And if you're feeling particularly posh and sweet-toothy, I'd also point you towards their Sunday chocolate afternoon tea... with a dessert buffet!

Lobby Lounge @ Langham Pasadena 
1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue 
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 585-6218 
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No. 197: Chocolate Afternoon Tea @ Langham (Pasadena)

I've been jonesing to check out Langham Pasadena's Chocolate Afternoon Tea ever since I read Pleasure Palate's post on it; and lucky for me, that time came in mid-April when my friends wanted to splurge and check out this fancier-than-usual tea service too (it's $59 here, considerably higher than our usual ~$30 tea outings.)

Unlike other tea rooms which can be overly stuffy and precious with the decor (a.k.a. lace doilies, tea cozies and porcelain dolls galore!); the one @ the Langham takes place in their expansive, airy Lobby Lounge take takes advantage of the sun with its near-full-length windows. And the chairs and couches were super-comfortable so we didn't have a qualm sitting there all afternoon long.

Our experience started off glasses of Champagne that, to our delight, turns out to be free-flowing for the duration of the afternoon tea -- along with sparkling cider or fizzy pink lemonade. We placed our tea orders and proceeded to scan, gawk (and maybe drool...) at the dessert bar that awaits us.

Their tea selection is on the small side, but give nods to both classic varieties (Organic Earl Grey & English Breakfasts) and dessert-themed twists (Chocolate Mint Truffle & Pear Caramel.) Our group wound up picking Mayan Truffle, Pear Caramel and English Breakfast to share (and, like the sparklies, are all-you-care-to-drink.) Thankfully, the sweet-sounding teas are only sweet-smelling while still tasting very much like teas, and totally enjoyable without any additional sugar and milk (actually, the only tea I used them on was the English Breakfast!)

A little while after the teas, our afternoon tiers arrived. It included five chocolate-themed, open-faced tea sandwiches that were thankfully a lot more savory than the menu suggests. While my friends were enamored with foie gras mousse profiterole with chocolate dust, I'm more impressed with their vanilla-marinated shrimp sandwich with white-chocolate & avocado mousse. Meaty and succulent with just a subtly sweet scent of vanilla and cocoa butter to make it intriguing. I also enjoyed the serrano ham with burrata mousse & 'chocolate caviar'.

The scones (in cocoa-marbled and chocolate chip varieties) were warm, fluffy and delicious with their clotted cream, lemon curd and assorted preserves (the blueberry is my favorite.)

And then, the moment we all have been waiting for... their "pastry presentation", which included:

a chocolate fountain for fruits and sweets ready for DIY dipping (though I found almond nougats, flavored marshmallows and fruits excellent on their own... particularly the strawberries to accent my Champagne.)

truffles served in a chocolate sculpture

a mini-desserts buffet of mostly-finger-friendly sweets (the only thing that really required utensils was the white chocolate-green tea panna cotta)

Of course, it's only blogger duty that I wound up sampling at least one of everything offered (the above was the first of three plates I went through) -- they all pretty solid, but my faves included the panna cotta, the chocolate-orange tea bread and cardamom-spiced truffles.

I'll also add a note that throughout the three hours (and beyond) of the tea, the service was exceptional - with frequent refilling of sparklies and teas, allowing us to finish our beverages in the adjacent Tap Room bar when they had to close out the Lobby Lounge after official tea time for a bridal shower, and even giving us some nuts for feeding the resort's squirrely residents when we took a stroll around their gardens afterwards...

It made for an absolutely blissful afternoon that left us full of food, teas, conversations and plans for future gatherings in this little luxurious oasis that feels strangely so far away from the city (even though we were only 15 minutes away from Old Town Pasadena.)

What Do Others Say?
- LAist managed to squeeze in a visit for this "stately and delightful rituals" during their wildly popular annual "Hats Off to London" promotion, when they offer afternoon tea for its original price of one shilling and six pences (15 cents in US money)
- Gastronomy found "few things in this world more pleasurable than enjoying afternoon tea in a pretty room" here and also loved the chocolate fountain foods sans the chocolate itself
- Life on a Silver Platter notes that this place is "serious about its chocolate" during the tea

More photos in flickr set here

Chocolate Afternoon Tea @ Langham Pasadena
(Sundays noon to 3 p.m.; they also offer a traditional afternoon tea on Thurs. - Sat.)
1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 585-6218
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Special Foodventure #157: Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at Boxwood Café (West Hollywood)

It's been a while since I gone on afternoon tea with friends; of course, with the debut of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland - numerous eateries around town jumped at the chance to (re) promote their tea services. Of the ones doing an Alice themed tea, the one at the Boxwood Café looked the most appealing, so that's where ConBon, Jennio and I went for a lazy Saturday afternoon of sips, bites and chit-chat.

Located in the London West Hollywood, the restaurant's decor matched that of the hotel -- light creamy beiges for an airy, ethereal feel with glitzy gold accents and tres-chic marble tables and columns with plush overstuffed chairs and couches lined with embossed leather. As for other patrons, we had expected just hotel guests and maybe some ladies-who-lunch, but it was a wide ranging crowd, twentysomething group of friends catching up, Hollywoody executives engaging in biz gossip, mothers and daughters in teatime dress-up, and of course, camera-touting bloggers like us.

Here's the menu promising the myriad of whimsical delights to come, I was mildly disappointed that the upgrade price for champagne cocktails changed from $5 a person (which is still listed on their Website menu at time of this posting!) to a $17 a person (indicated by the $45/person at bottom of above-menu.) The three of us had looked forward to checking out color-themed "Drink Me" concoctions ("Red" with Pama Liqueur and pom juice, "Orange" with Triple Sec plus citrus juices, "Purple" with Framboise liqueur, for example) but decided to just do the regular virgin tea at $28/person instead.

Conbon and Jennio must've feel particularly fruity today, as they opted for the mountain berry and tangerine infused teas. I went for a mystical-sounding "Life Through Water" described at the time by our server that it's "rockstar on crack" because it apparently left her hyper all day when she tried it. I was surprised upon serving that it's the lightest of the three brews, and sure enough, it didn't taste particularly strong. Turns out that this was a green tea blended with lemongrass, peppermint and yerba mate. Not particularly buzz-inducing for my coffee-twice-daily body, but it was pleasant to drink with nice notes of sweet grass and mint plus a clean finish. No milk needed here, and even sugar lumps are optional for this one.

Shorty after tasting each other teas, the servers (yes, plural!) brought out the tea set, three food-packed tiers plus an extra plate for starters and scone condiments!

For an amuse, we started off with demitasse cups filled with poached strawberries and coconut foam. A lighter and more refreshing spin off the classic Strawberries Romanoff, we finished these off in no time.

Then came the mini plain and blackcurrant scones, with colored Devonshire cream and berry compote. We love that the scones are not the dense bricks 'o carbs we've had at other afternoon tea services, but fluffy like a freshly-baked biscuit. And the compote was excellent, vibrant with berry flavors and just the right balance between sweet and acidity, it made the bland cream pale in comparison, even if it was lilac-tinted.

Next up, two-bite tea sandwiches (crusts off, of course!) from left to right: roast beef with horseradish crème fraiche, salmon with sour cream and lemon, tomato-cherry jam with aged English cheddar and smoked ham with red onion marmalade. We were collectively underwhelmed by the roast beef sandwich, but found the other ones delicious and interesting. My favorite was the smoked ham, which had a great sweet-savory contrast between the meat and the sweet onions.

Finally, my favorite part of any afternoon teas, all the sweets and pastries! This also is where they truly let their Alice creativity shine - what with brightly colored macarons with "contrasting color fillings" (my yellow-and-green one turned out to be lemon-almond,) blackberry panna cotta and jelly shots, Queen of Hearts lemon curd tarts with berries, chocolate decadence cake with a ball of lavender ganache, and chocolate-enrobed "mushroom" cakes. I love the range it covered, something berryish, something citrusy, something chocolaty (and everything tasty) but the chocolate decadence definitely takes the cake - it tastes like a flourless chocolate batter baked (or chilled) just enough to hold together, but practically melts into rich, dark chocolate ganache goodness upon landing in my mouth. And it was delicious enough that my friends asked the server to wrap up their half-eaten chocolate decadences home.

And even though the mildly stormy and rainy weather was less than ideal for an afternoon tea, we had a wonderful time lazily lounging about (and props to the front-of-house staff for their super-friendly service, particularly in refilling our teapots twice and never trying to hustle us out long after the food is done with!) And if Boxwood's other meals are anything like their afternoon teas, that's something I definitely look forward to returning to.

But in the meantime, you have the rest of the month to enjoy the Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea; 3 to 5 p.m. daily and I presume on April Fools it'll revert back to their regular version.

More photos on the flickr set here

Boxwood Café by Gordon Ramsay
at the London West Hollywood
1020 North San Vicente Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 358-7788

Special Foodventure #134: Delish Dishes from San Francisco

Pork 3 Ways from Range - glazed rib, braised belly and sausage served with white beans and pickled onions

Ok, now that I got everyone (myself included) thirsty with my favorite SF beverages -- it's only fitting that I dive into the food scene there too (afterall, this blog is titled foodventures!) So here are some of my favorite bites from that sunny June weekend in San Francisco.

Beet salad @ Nopalito - not on their menu since it was their special of the day (hopefully I'll be lucky enough to enjoy these again in the future), it's a simple dish made with wedges of assorted beets and citrus, with cotija cheese and a light vinaigrette. I don't order beets often because I'm always scared of the 'muddy' flavor many of them possess from being too old, improperly washed, etc., but that only makes me appreciate great beets that much more, which these were. Sweet, tart and juicy with points of saltiness from the cheese, it's a perfect way to start off a lunch with my friend.

Goat cheese & sorrel ravioli with lime butter and chives @ Range - another great starter dish, I absolutely love how bright and vibrant the ravioli and the sauce is; the lime butter's tartness is definitely palate opening, followed by the molten creaminess of the goat cheese. The Pork 3 Ways dish I had for entreé is pretty decent too and a great sampler dish, but not as memorable.

Wisconsin burger & garlic fries @ Taylor's Automatic Refresher - lacking the time to go to the actual location in Napa, we opted for this Ferry Building outpost instead. With sauteed mushrooms, melty sharp cheddar, bacon, mayo and sweet-n-smoky barbecue sauce sandwiched between sourdough bread, this Niman Ranch beef burger (which I ordered medium-well) is like Carl's Jr. Western Cheeseburger meets Jack-in-the-Box Sourdough burger -- in a very, very good-and-greasy way. Likewise for the pungent fries tossed in parsley and garlic butter AFTER being fried. With its shameless flaunting of all things carby and fatty, it's definitely no place for a dieter -- and THE place to be for delicious diner fare with a modern touch.

If my aorta hadn't threatened to close up on me, I might have tried their mahi mahi fish n chips, their chili-spiced sweet potato fries or cold mug 'o beer too and just people-watch all afternoon long (and BOY were there some eye-catching folks when I went up, since my weekender up coincided with SF Pride 2009! It made the jam-packed light rail rides similarly interesting too . . . is it flattering or scary to be hit on while riding public transportation?)

Fried pork belly nuggets w housemade honey mustard @ Magnolia Pub - it's a pub where beer pours heavy (20 oz English pints!) serving up dishes like pork belly, breaded and deep-fried to a flaky crisp w creamy interior, along with a housemade spicy honey mustard sauce. Need I say more?

Ricotta fritters @ Alembic Bar - every bit as sophisticated and eccentric as the strawberry alarm clock cocktail there, the fluffy, cheesy fritters are accompanied by white-balsamic-poached strawberries, raspberry foam, and an unexpected dusting of black pepper. Simply wonderful play of different textures and flavors, sweet-sour-spicy and simply bursting with ripe berry flavors.

Afternoon tea sandwiches @ the Fairmont Hotel's Laurel Court Lounge- while the whole afternoon tea was nice, I was particularly enamored by the quality and creativity of the tea sandwiches here, including coconut curry chicken salad on a herb roll, five-spice beeef tenderloin with apple slaw on black olive baguette and dungeness-crab-and-mango salad in a corn muffin. No stale and bleh watercress-and-cream-cheese here! And for such a delicious tea service in a classy hotel, the $36/person pricetag is totally worth it!

Spicy seafood soup @ Heaven's Dog - I was definitely skeptical of the cuisine here since the menu looked like gussied up Chinese fare with the prices to boot (scallion pancakes $7? $10 beef chow fun? what the...) but this $10 entree is large enough to serve two and is very tasty, even if not particularly spicy. Tender pieces of assorted seafood (wild shrimp, alaskan halibut, squid, scallop) swam in a light-yet-hearty-and-flavorful broth with firm, toothy wheat noodles. Comforting and definitely not anything I'd find in a typical Chinese restaurant, it was worth the extra price premium and yes, I did slurp every last drop of the soup from the bowl.

Blackcurrant scone @ Tartine Bakery - I know, I know -- with such gorgeous and tasty-looking baked goods staring back at me, all I got was a scone? Well, this was on my last day in SF and I really felt like something light after all that gluttony (not to mention having my scone interest revived with a recent Bon Appetit article.) Tartine's version was great, substantial but not brick-like, with just a kiss of sweetness and wonderfully perfumed with the lush aromas of the currants. Round it off with a cup of freshly-brewed Four Barrel coffee and I got a blissful half-hour breakfast filled with more people-watching and art-admiring (Tartine has an exhibition of paintings in the café!) But don't fret about my just-a-scone, I snagged two deeply chocolaty brownies and a dark chocolate-roasted hazelnut tart to bring back as edible souvenirs!

Mocha Mi Su @ Citizen Cake - a dessert that's well-balanced in taste (if not in calories) the chocolate genoise cake is layered with mocha and creme fraiche mousses, creating a satisfying mix of flavors and textures that's intense without being overwhelming. Each individual layer is great on its own, but it transforms into something magically wonderful when eaten together -- the closest thing I can relate it to is a lighter, more airy mocha cheesecake w a dark chocolate crust. (Oh yeah, I also got one of their ginger cookie-creme sandwiches to go, which I had later that night -- totally kick Little Debbie's out of the ball park!)

Well, there's my (not-so) few favorite bites from just four days in San Francisco . . . and that's not even counting the entire day my friend and I spent in Sonoma County! (yes another post on that to come soon.)

Again, much thanks to the folks who provided me recs for the numerous places I've visited (and then some), including Mattatouille's Matt, Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, Virginia of ThePerfectSpotSF, Lesley of TastingTableLA, Liz from Food She Thought, Kristin of Do You Like Bubbles; much appreciated suggestions from the others as well that I wasn't able to check out -- my stay was only so long this time, but I'll surely keep them on hand for my next visit.


Nopalito
306 Broderick St
San Francisco, CA 94117-2275
(415) 437-0303

Range
842 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110-1737
(415) 282-8283

Taylor's Automatic Refresher
1 Ferry Building # 355, San Francisco
(415) 788-8200

Magnolia
1398 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415)864-7468

Alembic Bar
1725 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 666-0822

Fairmont Hotel Laurel Court Lounge
950 Mason St
San Francisco, CA 94108-6000
(415) 772-5260

Heaven's Dog
1148 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 863-6008

Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94110-1528
(415) 487-2600

Citizen Cake
399 Grove St
San Francisco, CA 94102-4418
(415) 861-2228

Mini Foodventure #118: Tea Rose Garden (Pasadena)

No matter the weather, even this sudden heat wave, afternoon tea is probably my favorite food-oriented ritual. Calm, relaxed pace, lots of tea and conversation, and a good sampling of different savory and sweet foods. And one of my favorite spots for everyday, casual afternoon teas that won't break the bank is Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena.

Part tea room, part florist - it's a small and cute shop on Raymond just on the edge of Old Town Pasadena. Filled with delightful china, giftshop knick-knacks (leaning a bit heavy on bridal / baby shower stuff, for obvious reasons) and wonderfully perfumed with the smell of fresh-cut flowers, it's a delightful escape from the hub-bub of the city, particularly if you sit in their quaint little courtyard in the back.

Their afternoon tea is $18.95 and includes a pot of tea - with a pretty vast selection for you to choose from - and the following foods:

- a refreshing spring petal salad (not pictured) with mixed greens and edible flowers tossed in housemade raspberry vinaigrette

- six pieces of tea sandwiches and you can choose up to three flavors (my faves are the spicy salmon tempter, the cranberry chicken and goat cheese & sun-dried tomato)

- a warm scone of your choice (rarely do I see a teashop where you can choose your own scone, so far my preferred ones here are maple pecan, candied ginger and lemon-blueberry), with Devonshire cream and raspberry jam. Crumbly, creamy goodness!

- mixed fruits (also not pictured)

- a chewy, mildly-sweet rose sugar cookie

- tea time sweets: bite-sized squares of lemon bar, vanilla cheesecake, apple crisp and walnut brownie.

Even if I'm starving, I'm generally beyond stuffed after the scone and wound up taking the cookie and sweets to go. But the food and tea here are solidly delicious, and it's a great way to relax after an afternoon of errands or shopping, or to get sugared up for an evening of festivities . . .

A few tips/observations: they DO host a lot of showers and parties here and it's pretty small place, so even if you have a party of two, best to call a day or two ahead to reserve a table (esp. for weekends.) Also, a 15% gratuity is added to every check, but feel free to add more as you see fit.

What Do Others Say?
- Solid four stars from 46 reps of the Yelperocracy
- Best of LA wrote about it on LA.foodblogging, loved the sandwiches and got surprisingly full too

Tea Rose Garden
28 S Raymond Ave
Pasadena, CA
(626) 578-1144
Website

Mini Foodventure #86: Royal/T (Culver City)

Admittedly, I entered Royal/T with a skeptical heart; on one hand, it is pretty cool to be dine in such an artsy space filled with assorted installations, paintings and sculptures and be served by cosplay-waitresses in French maid costumes. On the other hand, if that's the selling point, how good can the food be? But since I had other friends curious about checking this place out, I decided to give this place a try.
Situated roughly midway between Downtown Culver City and the Helms District, Royal/T is a pretty expansive converted space that's part gallery (featuring some Murakami works, Gothic Lolita wall murals, and a Porta-Party that... you'll just have to go to find out!) part design shop (selling a lot of Japanese and Japan-inspired items alongside sleek designer products such as urban mini concrete planters and sleek-yet-functional insulated Bodum glassware) and of course, part tea shop. While I was most interested in the last one, it was pretty cool wandering through the whole space and checking out the various collection, works and stuff for sale. And yes, I did porta-party!
Wanting to sample a little of everything, my friend and I both got the afternoon tea set. For teas, I opted for the royal matcha green latte, which was an excellent rich and nutty brew that was perfect with a spoonful of sugar. My compadré got the Tokyo breakfast, a slightly fruitier remix of the traditional English breakfast that still went well with sugar and milk. I was also very impressed with the Bodum glassware, whose air-blown design functions like a thermos, insulating the beverage and keeping it warm way longer than normal teacups!
As for the edibles, they certainly look cute ~ but failed to impress my tastebuds. The sandwiches were all variants of open-faced white-bread with mayo and cucumber topped with something (avocado slices, spicy tuna, etc.), overall I found them unremarkable and messy to eat, but my cucumber-loathing friend absolutely didn't care for them (usually she understands if there's one cucumber sandwich in her afternoon tea set, but all four?!) The warm mushroom quiche was pretty flavorful, but the sweets (mini berry tart, dense chocolate cake, taro mousse tart) again failed to leave a mark. My biggest disappointment, however, was the total utter absence of scones (and its accompanying jellies and cream) ~ totally shattered my afternoon/high tea world!

The overall 'meh'ness of the foods only confirmed my first impression, more scene than substance -- foodwise. At least there was yummy tea to wash it all down.
Nonetheless, it was a nice atmosphere, the drinks were decent, the staff was nice (and totally didn't mind posing for the above photo -- a request which I'm sure they're used to and sick of) and the rest of the menu looks reasonably priced so I wouldn't object to a return trip and maybe try a few of their other a la carte items (baked eggs, sandwiches, rice bowls), or maybe just to have a sip of delicious tea in an artsy setting after a meal elsewhere in the C.C.

What Do Others Say?:
Potatomato loved the environs and drinks too; friend said other foods there are mediocre
Best of LA enjoyed the teas as well, sandwiches were hit and miss
Caroline on Crack got the inside scoop with owner Susan Hancock
Yelpers give it 3.5 stars
FoodDiggers graded it 86/100 (higher on vibe points than anything else, obvs)

Royal/T
8910 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
T 310 559 6300
www.royal-t.org