Vodka High Tea at Food Society

Posted by Kath

Nestled in the back streets of Darlinghurst, quirky, old world charm is the backdrop for what is probably one of the most laid-back and unique high tea experiences around town: the vodka high tea at Food Society.

Table setting at Food Society, Riley Street, Darlinghurst

Food Society is known for its unique eastern European offerings as well as being the original masters behind the Cuban themed food offerings at The Lobo Plantation. Head chef Fernando Sanchez ventures into the land of the high tea set on Saturdays, with an almost complete twist on tradition and plenty of flair.

An exciting arrangement of savoury and sweet canapés are matched with premium single origin teas, bubbles and/or vodka-based iced tea cocktails.

Watermelon Caipiroska (front) and  Spiced Apple Pie (back)

To kick off the high tea with a cheeky, boozy twist, we ordered a round of Food Society's signature vodka and tea infused cocktails. A perfect match for a summer's day was the Watermelon Caipiroska with a watermelon black tea, fresh lime and house infused melon vodka, finished with novel and refreshing watermelon ice cubes.

The Spiced Apple Pie cocktail was fuelled by house infused spiced apple juice, cinnamon, star anise, lemon zest and dangerously delicious Zubrowka bison grass vodka, served with crushed ice and a green apple garnish.

Goat's cheese tartlet

The allure of tiny pastries on pretty vintage tiered stands never fails to elicit an inner squeal of excitement from me, and the offerings at Food Society were definitely squeal-worthy.

The top layer of savoury canapés featured a delicate miniature tart of goat's cheese, pine nuts and mint; baked within a buttery shortcrust pastry shell and topped with a fine dice of caramelised fennel and parsnip, which added sweet notes to the creamy quiche.

Duck vol au vent

Next on the menu was an oh-so-retro vol au vent which, on first bite, overwhelmed the senses with a hit of white truffle. Divine with the flaky pastry and chanterelle mushrooms, the truffle flavour matched well with the soft confit duck, finished with a light chestnut cream - so much deliciousness in one little puff pastry case.

Salmon pastrami on truffle salt toast (left) and mini beef pie (right)

The second tier kept the flavours coming with my favourite offering of the day: smoky green tea smoked salmon pastrami atop a small crisp bread vessel of truffle salt toast, paired with pure chamomile flower jelly, celeriac cream and shiso leaves - unique and delicious at any angle.

To finish was a relatively substantial mini beef pie with a house made relish that was just as moreish as the other tiny offerings of the day.

Classic cucumber sandwich (top) and "The best chicken sandwich" 

On another tiered stand high tea tradition ruled with a selection of crustless finger sandwiches, beginning with a traditional cucumber sandwich of shaved cucumber ribbons, chervil cream cheese and pink peppercorns, topped with an added, luxurious surprise of salmon caviar.

Providing a more filling end to the savoury course was "The best chicken sandwich". Sandwiched between buttery, charred brioche slices were flakes of smoky Lilydale chicken with its classic herb partner - tarragon - as well as nasturtium flowers, all held together with a creamy duck egg hollandaise. Best chicken sandwich? Pretty close.

Tea set

At this point a spot of tea was more than welcome to provide some respite between courses. An impressive array of teas is available for selection, including a wide range of single origin tea leaves.

Berry macaron, sweet tea trifle, alfajores and dark chocolate truffle

The selection of sweets was brought forth on a beautifully arranged share platter, without a scone in sight. I started with a berry macaron that was lovely and light, bursting with berry flavour, while the dark chocolate truffle was all you'd want it to be with oozy chocolate inside and hints of lavender and earl grey tea.

The sweet tea trifle presented in a small glass jar was a nice transition from the darker, richer treats - and an exotic one at that. With a light custard of pomegranate and acai berry, a vodka-cured rhubarb jelly, vanilla sponge and sweet pickled Australian hibiscus flowers, the very modern trifle was finished with a salad of pomegranate and acai pearls.

Last of the small bites was the dulce de leche filled shortbread alfajores which had me wishing I could buy these by the box. Light buttery shortbread gave way to creamy dulce de leche that wasn't too sweet but bordering on the perfect, dreamy side of burnt caramel.

Czech style honey cake

What looked like the piece de resistance, lovingly surrounded by pretty white flowers, was the Czech style spiced honey cake. Unexpectedly soft, this delightful cake was crumbly and moist, laced with salted caramel cream and topped with some of the best honeycomb I've had, house made too, and finished with slices of sweet caramelised pears.

For a thoroughly delicious high tea experience that's not the same-old, Food Society provides a beautiful location and experience with a proper twist and all the quirk and flair you'd expect from an eastern European establishment - and with vodka, of course.

Food, Booze & Shoes dined at Food Society as a guest, with thanks to The Buzz Group.

High tea at The Loft - fit for a Queen

With the Queen's birthday coming up, celebrating with a high tea in Her Royal Majesty's honour surely wouldn't be inappropriate.

The Loft on King Street Wharf is well known for its weekend girly Traditional High Tea by the water in the gorgeous daytime bar setting, while for those not tea inclined there's also High Tea with a Twist; an alcoholic one, that is.

High Tea platters at The Loft, Lime Street, Sydney

While I've lost count of how many times I've been to The Loft for cocktails and functions (including a great night on Saturday just passed), this was my first high tea experience there.

The Loft bar

Being more of a savoury than sweets person, my high tea strategy is to go hard on the first savoury plate and ease off as I get to scones and sweets, washing down the latter with lots of hot tea.

Breakfast at Tiffany's cocktail (front) and Chandon Rose (back, flute)

The Loft's High Tea with a Twist includes either a Breakfast at Tiffany's cocktail or a glass of Chandon sparkling wine.

The bright fizz cocktail is based on Zubrowka vodka, peach liqueur, apple and passionfruit, finished with a light tea and topped with real Maraschino cherries.

Ovvio Black Rose Boudoir organic tea

The Loft uses the all-organic Ovvio range of tea for High Tea, having recently changed from using a better known brand which isn't completely organic.

The Black Rose Boudoir was a black tea fragant with rose petals and vanilla, served with milk on the side.

Ovvio Chai High Spice organic tea

I had the Chai High Spice made on water (rather than milk, which is an option with the Chai). Unlike a lot of commercial chai teas or chai lattes which aren't really chai, this black tea released the real flavours of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in smell and taste.

Ovvio Summer Pineapple organic tea

For warmer days there are also sweetened iced tea options using Ovvio tea. The Summer Pineapple was beautiful with pineapple and lemongrass flavours at the fore, and peppermint, lemon myrtle and licorice root as part of the tea, served on crushed ice with a pineapple wedge garnish.

Ovvio Sencha Green organic tea

It's probably here I should mention that High Tea at The Loft includes endless tea. For a tea lover like me, the opportunity to try a whole range of the Ovvio tea range was such a delight.

The Sencha Green tea was beautifully clean without bitterness, and would be my choice as an all-day, everyday tea.

Savoury platter

To the food, we started at the bottom of the three-tiered platter with a fabulous savoury selection. There were the customary crustless finger sandwiches on white bread, filled with devilled curry egg.

From the others, I couldn't actually pick a favourite as they were all exemplary morsels. From the tiny rectangular tarts filled with smoked salmon and caramelised red onion jam; the juicily roasted button mushrooms filled with ricotta and pesto; the creamy chicken salad served on red witlof leaf boats; or the miniature leek and gruyere quiches with beetroot relish.

It was probably the chicken salad that I liked best for being quite the unusual high tea item but overall, I was quite impressed with the savoury options (which at some venues seem to be an afterthought).

Plain and raisin scones

To the scones there was a plain or raisin-studded variety, both looking very professional and without the often rustic surfaces of home-made versions.

Both scones were light and fluffy inside but I was more taken by the whipped Chantilly cream which was infused with a stunning flavour - perhaps a tea variety.

There was also a house-made strawberry jam which was more a liquid than a jelly, but so intensely strawberry flavoured it was almost a better embodiment of the flavour than the fruit itself.

Sweets (and strawberry jam, centre)

I think the petite sweets platter is the highlight for most people. The sweets included a slightly-too-crunchy macaron (the green one anyway), mini red velvet cupcakes with a lovely crumb and texture within, and a miniature chocolate and salted caramel tart with gold leaf that was the perfect ending, and just the right size too for something so rich.

The view from The Loft balcony

With comfy lounge seats on the balcony, we lounged with pots of hot tea and satisfied bellies. The service during our high tea experience was impeccable and I probably would have lounged until beyond sunset if I hadn't made evening plans.

The Loft morphs into its night time persona around about 5.00pm so an elongated high tea could indeed turn into sunset cocktails, both quite fit for a Queen.

High Tea at The Loft is available every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3.00pm. Bookings are essential - see here for more details.

Food, Booze & Shoes dined at The Loft as a guest.

The White Hart High Tea: Cocktails with a twist

Traditional English high tea isn't quite my cup of tea - I mostly blame my prior experiences with stodgy scones. But when The White Hart in Neutral Bay - renowned for fun, novelty cocktails - invited me to their weekends-only "Smokin Speakeasy Iced Tea", hinting that it was high tea but not as I knew it, I was intrigued and arrived thirsty.

Twisted High Tea at The White Hart, Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay

The alluring offering sat pretty on three tiers and looked the part of high tea. But the fact that every morsel and drink required a detailed explanation proved that it was certainly high tea with a twist.

Every component on the three tiers, some very unusual and innovative, was alcoholic; most a classic cocktail or drink in a new, deconstructed and edible form. It was recommended that we start from the top tier and work our way down to the sweeter cocktail treats.

Long Island Iced Tea - served with dry ice

We started first with a cup of tea: Long Island Iced Tea chilled with smoking dry ice, that is. Served separately in a dated, non-matching tea set, the sweet cocktail was more ladylike than lethal.

Martini jelly

To the top tier I couldn't resist the classic martini, made as a clear jelly with a green olive submerged within. Getting through the foam, there was a noticeable kick to the jelly with the martini definitely on the dirty side.

Vodka and tonic jelly (left) and white peach bellini

Prettily pink, the other slender shot glass held a white peach bellini topped with sparkling wine and "peach air" that was impressively true to taste.

The top tier also featured two clear jelly squares: a gin and tonic jelly (with the British flag) and a vodka and tonic jelly (with the US flag) - both of a delightfully wobbly texture and true flavours.

Deconstructed Mojito

Things ramped up on the second tier with a syringe appearing as part of a deconstructed mojito. Filled with white rum and sparkling water, the idea is to squirt liquid onto the spoon with the teal green mint jelly and taste as one mouthful.

The only trouble was that the mint jelly tasted more like toothpaste mintiness and I then inhaled a spoonful of what tasted like straight rum. Hello!

Shandy (back, left) and deconstructed Bloody Mary (front)

I've always liked shandy - that slightly daggy but refreshing mixed drink of beer and lemonade. This version of beer with a lemonade foam was probably more suitable as a drink on the top tier rather than second given the bitterness of the beer.

We were most impressed with the deconstructed Bloody Mary, comprising a piece of cucumber; a vodka jelly with tomato and Bloody Mary spicing; and wasabi foam. Consumed as a savoury mouthful, it was an ingenious eye-opener and the closest it got to the real thing.

Long Island Iced Tea marshmallows

We ended with the sweeter stuff: dreamy Long Island Iced Tea marshmallows, melting Clover Club and Piña Colada sorbets, an espresso foam (presumably of the martini variety) and The White Hart's signature pot of edible chocolate soil with absinthe jelly snakes.

Apart from the resultant sugar high, I'm not too sure of the total alcoholic content of the high tea, especially with the Long Island Iced Tea - so do check with The White Hart if you're driving and definitely come with your sense of novelty and adventure on hand.

The White Hart is serving its "Smokin Speakeasy Iced Tea" for $55 every Saturday and Sunday from 2-6pm. Bookings essential.

Food, booze and shoes sampled the "Smokin Speakeasy Iced Tea" as a guest of The White Hart.

High and certainly not dry

As part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival last month, I dragged some girls up several flights of escalators in the city’s Queen Victoria Building to feast at the newly opened Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria on level 2. With beautiful surrounds and Bacco’s own fitout quite impressive, we’d decided to take it all in and linger over Saturday afternoon high tea.

Sparkling wine with high tea at Bacco Wine Bar Pasticceria,
Level 2, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney

We have the sparkling wine option – a flute of something fizzy and frivolous to start the session in one of the shop’s inside booths. Most of the seating options are actually outside of the store, tables and chairs in the plush retail surrounds of the QVB’s level 2.

Bacco high tea

It was one of those days to be indoors with food – and sure, why not a drink – wiling away time with gossip, advice and all things girly. Having never had high tea before, I was mostly excited by the thought of tiers of food before me, especially the cakes.

Our second high tea stand

The descent of our high tea platters is a rather exciting moment – two three-tiered stands filled with our high tea goodies and so tall that I have to get up to view the cakes. They’ve arranged our high tea for three over two stands, although the first thing I notice is that there’s only two halves of a cannoli – that already does not bode well.

Middle tier plate of savouries

We naturally head to the centre of the stands first, savoury to start. Rather than finger sandwiches, there’s a bit of an Italian theme to these bread creations, on foccacia and looking very appetising.

Smoked salmon, cheese and dill sandwich bite

The smoked salmon item was on a little square of bread with a crumbly white cheese (feta, perhaps), topped off with a small piece of jewel-orange salmon and fresh sprigs of dill. It was a cute bite on the slightly crisp bread, the saltiness of the cheese just right with the smoked salmon.

MiddleRoast capsicum and olive tapenade

The other bite was topped with an olive tapenade and bit of roasted red capsicum – the former a little overpowering on the tiny bit of bread, while the capsicum provided some offsetting sweetness.

Prosciutto, bocconcini, tomato and basil mini sandwich

The unanimous favourite was the one most resembling a sandwich: thick squares of foccacia sandwiching prosciutto, a slice of bocconcini, tomato and basil – salad and indeed sandwich perfection. Reminds me of a deli sandwich I had on the southern Italian island of Capri.

We got through most of the sandwiches pretty well, but then realised that there was a long way to go and only limited stomach capacity left. This high tea thing was not going to end in a ladylike fashion.

Friand on bottom tier plate - carb fest

The scones plate was not just scones at all. There was a plain scone for us each with jam and cream on the side, but there were also friands, brioche slices and an apple Danish, all garnished with scattered fresh strawberries and dried apricots. This was the scary carb-loaded plate of flours and sugars.

(Clockwise from top)
Scones, brioche, friands and whipped cream

I start easy on the small brioche slice with a sugared top surface, itself rich and buttery but cut so thin as to fool me into a false texture of lightness. I’m not the hugest fan of friands so I skipped my half in favour of the apple danish, which was flakey and crisp under its sweet glaze with a filling of custard and diced apple.

Scone with strawberry jam and cream

And then it was time to take on, essentially, the main course - the scone. I’ve had many a hard and stodgy scone before, which probably contributes to my non-appreciation of them. However, after splitting this floury monster on my plate, slathering a thin layer of whipped cream and dolloping on copious amounts of strawberry jam, I realise that this is not a stodgy version but a surprisingly light one with fluffy insides. QQQ88P6QKHMD

While the outsides maintained a softly crisp layer, the insides were almost to the point of springy and simply divine with the jam (which seemed gracefully low on seeds). Definitely one of my better scone memories, but even then I could only get through half of it if I had any chance of trying the cakes.

Top tier plate of cakes

Probably more than an hour in – cake time, finally. Despite being about 85% full, I was determined to get through as much of the last plate as possible. However, it just wasn’t going to happen. I decided to stake my claim on one of the cannoli halves, knowing well the Bacco cannoli and its potentially life changing capabilities.

Ricotta cannoli

This sweetened ricotta filling was dotted with bits of fruit, glacé cherries and candied peel among others, and I simply adored the flavours. But the cannoli shell was unfortunately a little on the soft side, as if it had been filled many hours ago and had taken in moisture from the filling – a shame really.

(Left to right) Triple Cioccolato, ricotta cannoli, passionfruit macaron

Next up we attacked the macarons as I thought they would be less rich than the rest of the chocolate and mousse cakes – I seem to have forgotten about the sugar content of macarons.

The white macaron was coconut flavoured; the orange we guessed as passionfruit and the pink overheard as being black cherry. Each was rather subtle in flavour that without the shredded coconut top and eavesdropping, I possibly wouldn’t have known the flavours of the first and last. The passionfruit remains a guess.

While the flavours were a little light, the textures were spot on with the chocolate ganache filling of the black cherry macaron a highlight. Further eavesdropping revealed plans for Bacco to open a dedicated macaron store directly opposite the current QVB shop – look out Zumbo.

(Left to right) Triple Cioccolato, coconut macaron, Pear Caramello

My next piece of gluttony was the pear caramello cake which had, oddly I thought, a chocolate crackle base. The middle layer of golden butterscotch mousse was sensational with pear pieces floating about, while the chocolate layer tempered the sweetness a little. The caramel, chocolate and crunchy popped rice reminded me a little of a Streets Golden Gaytime, although nothing really compares with the Gaytime biscuit crumb.

It was here the wall was hit and the only word I knew was “No”. I couldn’t have another mouthful, even a taste of Bacco's signature triple chocolate cake, and definitely not of the walnut topped Americano dark chocolate brownie. Even many minutes later and after a strong, reviving skim cappuccino, the answer was still “No”.

I did, however, avoid mortifying food wastage by requesting the leftovers to take home (well, not the smoked salmon leftover – can you imagine that next to the pear, caramel mousse?), making a lovely treat later that day and the next.

In fact, the Triple Cioccolato cake was probably ideally served cold out of the fridge as I had it later, rather than the softened, near melting texture it was taking on at the top of the high tea stand after hours of our picking at it. It was a fabulously decadent cake of milk, white and dark chocolate layers, and undoubtedly sexy. The chocolate brownie was probably my least favourite of the lot, simply as it wasn’t as spectacular as the other or unachievable at home.

The grape lights of Bacco

At the end of our high tea, with me clutching one of those gorgeous Bacco cake boxes, I’m not quite sure how it’s supposed to work, especially if it’s meant to be an afternoon tea type affair. There is just way too much food (or maybe just enough for the beefy fellows) that would result in (a) wastage, (b) skipping the next meal, or (c) stuffing oneself silly – all of which are most unladylike.

Is this specific to Bacco who might be trying to compensate for ambience and the very average service? Or is high tea really just so much food and sugar that it gets you on a consumption/sugar high?