Wimbledon theme Afternoon Tea at Blythswood Square Hotel, Glasgow

I am still on holiday mood, so why not celebrate it by having a lovely afternoon tea. This time we went to Blythswood Square Hotel (http://www.townhousecompany.com/blythswoodsquare/) in Glasgow.

I remember when this building was used to be RAC club, which is now a 5-star spa hotel. Wow, such a long long long time ago ...

We stepped inside the building and went upstairs to the lounge where afternoon tea is served.

My husband and I have been to this hotel few times for having some cocktails in the evening on weekends. It has a very relaxing atmosphere and also has good selections of cocktails.

We were seated by the window side table where we had a very lovely view over the Blythswood Square.

When we were seated, they brought us glasses of cucumber water [water infused with slices of cucumbers] and the afternoon menu.

It's Wimbledon time so it's only apt to have their Wimbledon Afternoon Tea.

We don't eat meat so we asked for roast beef sandwich to be replaced by something else, which is not a problem to them at all.

They then brought a box containing selections of tea leaves we can choose. We can have unlimited tea to go with the afternoon tea.

There are Lapsing Souchong, Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon, Earl Grey,  Jasmine Green, Gun Powder Green and normal breakfast tea. You can also ask for a coffee instead if you wish.

I ordered Darjeeling as I like its floral aroma whilst my husband ordered Ceylon tea.

Since we are on holiday and I like cocktails at this place, my husband offered to drive so that Maria and I could have a glass of cocktail each to go with the afternoon tea. So we also perused the cocktail menu and decided to try their Local at Heart special selection by the hotel ... Blythswood Belter which has Scotland's national drink (?) Irn Bru, and Moet & Chandon Rose Champagne in it.

Despite the combination of ingredients, the cocktail is very enjoyable and actually goes very well with the Afternoon tea. We also loved the gradients of colours created by Peach bitters, Irn Bru and Rose Champagne - how pretty it is!

Anyway, whilst we were enjoying our lovely cocktail, our tea arrived...

After some wait, our Wimbledon theme afternoon tea arrived - we got a 3-tier stand each, delightful!

On the top tier there are selection of Wimbledon theme cakes of strawberry and cream corn, lemon and mint macaron decorated as a tennis ball, pistachio and polenta sponge decorated as a tennis court net with tennis racket and a ball made of marzipan, Champagne soaked berry pavlova and orange blossom cake....

Delightful orange blossom sponge cake 

Strawberry cream corn decorated with white chocolate
 - inside the corn there was custard cream 

We enjoyed our afternoon tea in a very leisurely pace in a relaxing atmosphere and without feeling being rushed.

After we finished, we walked down the stairs to the entrance, admiring their chandelier ....

As you go out, you also notice a lovely alcove where you can sit ...

Blythswood Square Hotel does themed afternoon tea depending on occasions. I may wish to come back and next time try their Halloween Afternoon Tea in Autumn ....

That's all forks!

Afternoon Tea at Rogano, Glasgow

My husband and I have recently been to Rogano (http://www.roganoglasgow.com) for their afternoon tea. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and the streets were busy with Sunday shoppers and with outside tables where people were enjoying drinks and brunches under the sun.

We stepped inside the Rogano, suddenly the hustle and bustles outside seemed so unreal as it was so quiet and relaxing. The restaurant was established in 1935 with Art Deco ambience and inside of the restaurant is a replica of that of the Queen Mary which was built on River Clyde around the time the restaurant opened. It is the oldest surviving restaurant in Glasgow and the building itself is A-listed.

We were seated right away. Nice to have an afternoon tea in a very relaxed atmosphere where you get proper cutlery and crisply ironed serviettes.

Rogano's Afternoon Tea menu is quite traditional but you get freshly prepared sandwiches with tasty fillings. Even simple thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches taste really good. You get:

Selections of Sandwiches

Smoked Salmon

Roast Beef (We got Goats Cheese as we don't eat meat)

Cucumber

****

Scones with fresh cream & strawberry jam

Rogano Shortbread

****

Strawberry Tart

Chocolate Eclair

Meringue 

with pot of tea

Sorry, you can't see sandwich with smoked salmon filling which is hidden behind ....

You all know the story of afternoon tea ...?

In 1840, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, Anna, became hungry around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. In those days upper class people only ate 2 meals a day, breakfast and dinner and dinner was served fashionably late at 8 o'clock. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (later on, the Earl of Sandwich came upon an idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. She then started inviting friends over to join her.

But why cucumber sandwich? So I have done the quick internet research. According to Wikipedia, cucumber sandwiches contain little protein, not sustaining for a proper meal. Upper classes could afford to eat foods with little nutritive value and cucumber sandwiches, which are also dainty prepared became part of the stereotypical finger food for afternoon tea. (By contract, lower working class were eating protein-filled sandwiches for supper.)

Apparently there are also some rules in how to prepare cucumber sandwich. 'The slices of bread are carefully buttered all the way to the edges in the thinnest coating, which is only to protect the bread from becoming damp with cucumber juice, and the slices of cucumber that have been dashed with salt and lemon juice are placed in the sandwich just before serving in order to prevent the sandwich from becoming damp enough to moisten the eater's fingers (Wikipedia).'  There are also some rules about what type of [white] bread to use and how it should be cut ....  however I shall not bore you with that.

Sandwiches are really delicious - even simple ingredients such as cucumber (hear, hear) or egg mayonnaise. I am not keen on goat cheese but that was nice, and the bread was so soft ...

We then move on to cakes, scones and shortbreads. They are delicious. We thought scones were really good.

We were not rushed and the atmosphere was very relaxing with courteous waiting service. Portion size was perfect. Excellent atmosphere, beautiful Art Deco surroundings, linen serviettes and table cloths, courteous service and delicious quality food. All is for £15 per person and does not break your bank, ha ha ha.  This traditional experience is what I like about Rogano's Afternoon Tea. I know it may be a bit old fashioned but I like it. They serve this between 3pm to 5pm.

Apparently, Rogano was originally founded as something of a 'men only' establishment in 1874 and few years later a guy called James Henry Roger assumed ownership with another guy a Mr Anderson. They then combined the first three letters of Roger and the first three letters of "another" to name the restaurant Rogano. An old story goes that James Henry Roger's son hanged himself in one of the cloakrooms and his ghost still haunts the restaurant .... (all from http://oldglasgow.tumblr.com/post/67578195529/oysters-ghost-stories-anonymous-of-probably).
Is this true ... or just an old story ...? Who knows, however this does not deter me going back to Rogano, and I am so glad that the restaurant is no longer men-only establishment.

That's all forks!

Thai Afternoon Tea at Chaophraya, Glasgow

Last weekend, Emily and Maria took me to Chaophraya (http://chaophraya.co.uk/venues/chaophraya-glasgow/) for Mothers Day's Thai afternoon tea treat.

I had no idea what they planned for me on the day or where we were going, if we were going anywhere at all. I asked, 'What's the dress code?' They said, 'Smart casual'. So I gathered that we were going somewhere instead of staying at home.

They gave me a box of present and a bunch of Tulip which is one of my favourite flowers.

Yuki being nosy what's in the box .....

When I opened the box, there is a set of lovely teacup and saucer with my favourite Lindor chocolate. This was a clue ... we were going for an afternoon tea. Wonderful! Anything that involves food, that's me!

I still did not know where we were going at that stage. We got into Emily's car and headed toward Glasgow. I listed all possible afternoon tea places on Sunday in the city that we have not been in my head.  We parked the car, started walking on Buchanan Street. I was wondering if we were heading toward Princes Square. Next thing, Emily and Maria pointed at the entrance of Chaophraya. Here we were.

I did not expect this at all. What a lovely surprised and what Thai afternoon would be like!!!

We stepped inside. We checked in at the reception and were taken into our table.

Our table was in Palm Sugar bar lounge. The place was bustling with other Afternoon tea parties already.

A nice corner with my personal throne ....

 

 Table is all set and we were waiting for our food ...

The next thing, our afternoon tea stand arrived!!!

Instead of normal sections of sandwiches, you get Thai style spring rolls, satays and fritter and fish cakes, etc....

These are my vegetarian options....

I had these with a pot of Jasmin tea which went very well with these food... 

We then had scones with Thai infused jam ...

Then moved on to cakes too .... cup cakes, chocolate brownies with peanut butter and mini macaroons.

To be honest, by this time we were full and could not finish all the cakes. We asked for doggy bag ...

That was a lovely afternoon tea. We did not have any cocktails to go with it but we could if we wanted. Maybe next time...  I really enjoyed the afternoon tea.

It was a lovely Mother's Day present - Thank you Emily, Maria, Craig and Dale!!!

And I surely did have a lovely day!

You can also read my earlier blog about the lunch I had at Chaophraya ....

That's all forks!

Afternoon Tea at MacDonald Inchyra Hotel, Falkirk, Scotland

We have just come back from a lovely Afternoon Tea at MacDonald Inchyra Hotel (http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk) in Falkirk, Scotland.

It was not a nice day, a little bit wet and grey at around 3 degree outside however considering that it is approaching mid January we should not complain about the weather.

I have been to this place a long long time ago but they must have done refurbishment, I thought the reception was quite welcoming and cosy with the decor being almost like someone's living room rather than cold, impersonal and business like.

We are a party of four - my mother-in-law Mary, my younger daughter Maria, my husband and me. Our table, that could seat 6 people, was already set for four of us so there is some extra room on the table, which was good.

As soon as we were seated, Mary spotted brown sugar cubes and popped one into her mouth like a candy.  There is also a big jug of cold water with ice cubes and a slice of lemon on our table, which I thought was a very nice gesture. It was also nice to get proper cloth serviettes instead of paper napkins.

Once someone came to take our orders for tea, our Afternoon Tea stand arrived in good time.

I phoned in advance that half of us would like vegetarian option. When the stand came to our table, we thought half of sandwiches on the bottom layer was vegetarian; it turned out that we got a separate plate for vegetarian options, along with another plate of cakes!!

Wow, what a spread!

Selections of sandwiches for standard one are smoked salmon, egg mayonnaise, ham, and cheese with pickles, along with mini canapés with brie cheese and caramelised onion chutney and sausage rolls. 

For vegetarian option, we got selections of egg mayo, cheese with pickles in white, brown and poppy seeds (?) breads as well as canapés of brie cheese with caramelised onion chutney and also smoked haddock (don't know why smoked haddock for vegetarian option but we are happy with this as we do eat fish; we just order vegetarian as it would be easier than explaining that we don't eat meat but we eat fish and seafood).

There were 8 scones - 4 plain ones and 4 with currants (or sultina?) which came with raspberry jam and cream.

Cakes were also delicious - lovely soft sponges including chocolate orange, fruit cake and ginger ones as well as mini tartlet with custard cream filling with strawberries. There were also boozy cherries too. 

This was actually itson voucher deal and we did not expect this much selections of sandwiches and cakes as well as generous portions. We got two teapots which they happily replenished for us right away when we asked and it was really a good brew. 

I saw other people having afternoon tea and they all seemed enjoying themselves too. The Bar/Restaurant area is very nice and relaxing with soft lighting. The place was busy enough but not too busy, staff let us take our time to enjoy our afternoon tea in a relaxing atomosphre and we never felt being rushed. 

I then notice there were few people coming into the bar in their fluffy white robes and slippers ordering drinks. The Hotel has spa facility and their Luxury Afternoon Tea Spa Day package includes fluffy robes, slippers and towels, 1 x 60 minute treatment such as stress-away muscle massage or hot stone full massage, use of spa facilities, afternoon tea and glass of fizz. Wow, that sounds really relaxing already. Just think -  having a lovely hot stone full body massage and then sauntering into the bar in a fluffy comfy robe and slippers for a glass of bubbly and later on, have a relaxing and lovely afternoon tea. It sounds like a lovely way to spend your weekend!

There were so much food and we could not finish all. We asked if we could take away cakes, which was no problem for them to arrange. 

We really enjoyed our Afternoon Tea experience at Macdonald Inchyra Hotel.  The hotel is located in Grangemouth area, which is primarily known for the large petrochemical industry including oil refinery. It's not a sort of place you think of coming unless you got business here, that being said, it is central to Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh to visit as tourists; it is also easy access to the Kelpies, the largest equine sculptures of 30 meters high. And from our house, it is probably around 30 minutes drive. You never know. We may come back to this hotel again for spa break with afternoon tea....

We have had a lovely afternoon tea today and it was a great way to start our weekend ....

That's all forks!