Around the World in 80 Days: H Tasting Lounge Afternoon Tea Review
Want to take a culinary journey without leaving Vancouver? Give The Around the World in 80 days afternoon tea at H Tasting Lounge a try.
** Thank you H Tasting Lounge for collaborating on this post. As always opinions are my own.
This Tea is based on the novel by French writer Jules Verne and it follows Phileas Fogg as he attempts to travel around the world in 80 days.
Sticking to the theme of adventure the menu for this tea comes in a bound leather book. Inside there are gorgeous illustrations accompanying the menu.
For our tea, we got a color changing blue tea containing butterfly pea flower. With the addition of acid this tea goes from a beautiful blue to a rich purple color.
The journey begins with the restaurants iconic cotton candy. This time the cotton candy hangs below a hot air balloon like a cloud. The cotton candy is flavoured with citrus and passionfruit and I can say the fruity flavour truly comes through.
Each item from the sweet and savory side represents a different country that Phileas Fogg visited. You have the option to enjoy the food in the suggested tasting or order from the restaurant. The menu also presents the food in the order of the countries Phileas Fogg visited.
The suggested tasting order begins in Egypt and ends in India. There were so many items from this tea which were delicious and stood out.
The starting items including the savoury twice baked croissant filled with cheese and potato as well as the pistachio currant scones were delicious.
After these starters the ferris wheel carrying your sweet and savory delights is presented. Honestly, every savory item on this menu was delicious. The olive oil poached lobster representing the USA was unique since it came in its own sealed tin which you opened. Inside was the lobster perfectly presented with caviar on top. These interactive elements really set this tea apart from others. Also how are they packaging the food up so perfectly in these tins?!
Other savoury dishes included a cacio e pepe risotto ball representing Italy, a braised beef and mushroom tart for England and a deconstructed BBQ pork spring roll for Hong Kong. Each one was delicious.
For dessert we were told to end with the chocolate cardamom coffee cake representing India since it had the richest flavours and the matcha yuzu tart for Japan, both were gorgeous and delicious. There was a small matcha sponge on the cake that looked like a small bonsai tree. The lychee cream puff representing China and the strawberry macaron for Paris stood out the least to me but were still very good. The chocolate cardamom coffee cake was rich and dense and the perfect ending to a very filling tea.
If you are in Vancouver and looking for a beautifully presented Tea with delicious food I definitely recommend The Around the World in 80 days Afternoon Tea at H tasting Lounge.
