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THE SECRET GARDEN TEA COMPANY
There's something so whimsical about The Secret Garden in Kerrisdale, Vancouver. I love going there because I feel instantly transported into a different world - one that is seemingly full of mystery, inspiration, great smells and tastes! Everyone is so nice over there- the customer service is truly phenomenal and the food & tea there is delicious!
I first discovered The Secret Garden when I had the chance to work with Jam PR and The Secret Garden for their 22nd year anniversary event! I created a floating flowers and teacups art installation that you can still take pics with to this day! If you'd like to see it, check out this link.
After that, I was hooked! If you've been there, you know exactly what I mean. If you havn't- be sure to find out! Not to mention that Kathy and Erin, the two amazing women behind this cute place, are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet!
HIGH TEA WITH THE LADIES
In late February, myself and a group of my friends - who are mostly bloggers - were lucky to get invited to have High Tea at the Secret Garden. We were a group of 6 as you can see in our above picture. From left to right: Melissa, Yasmine, Emily, Po On, Orla and myself. We had so much fun! There's something special about being with great company, eating delicious food, and sipping on succulent tea. We had layers and layers of great tasting creations. I love seeing artistic passion being translated into many different fields- and you can tell that they are passionate about theirs!
FEB & MARCH HIGH TEA
The menu was curated for the February and March season, and it was very well done. The colours were beautifully selected to balance out the plates and the season as well. For their current seasonal menu check out this link.
SAVORIES:
- Secret Garden Egg Pinwheels
- Cheddar Onion Roast Beef on Housemade Buttermilk Biscuits
- Shrimp Reuben Mini Croissants
SWEETS
- Petit Fruit Scone with Raspberry Jam & Devonshire Cream
- Tea Cake Slices
- Tangy Mini Lemon Tart
- Flourless Chocolate-Walnut-Date Cake with Orange Ganache
- Traditional Québec Sugar Pie with Crème Chantilly
- Pot of Tea
Like I said- layers and layers of delicious creations!! We all had different favorites- but Orla, Melissa, Emily and myself all preferred the Traditional Québec Sugar Pie with Crème Chantilly. I would say I was biased - due to being from Montreal - but it truly was delicious and I wasn't the only one to love it! It reminded me of home and had a refreshing twist to it.
THE TEA CHOICES
Now, let's talk about Tea! There isn't one I've tried there that I didn't like. And I enjoy seeing all the different colours they become in the teapot. It's almost like watercolour.. some of them are so delightful, I wonder what would happen if I were to paint a monochromatic painting with it. Should I try it?
This time, I chose to have the Vanilla Almond - which is the Staff's favorite actually. I've had it before, and I loved it once again! The Creamy Earl grey is also an absolute delight, which was chosen by Orla and Melissa. Some others that were chosen were Buckingham Palace and Lavender Earl Grey.
It's really no wonder that they were voted “Best Teahouse in Vancouver” in the Georgia Straight Golden Plate awards as well as voted #1 Tea House in the Best of Vancouver Awards nine times, and counting! I'm impressed!
We had a wonderful time chatting about everything and exchanging our thoughts on the different tastes and aromas we were perceiving. It was a great afternoon and I recommend you check it out for yourself! Let me know what you would have chosen for tea and what you would look forward to having from the savories or sweets!
Here's an illustration I did from that day! My creativity was fueled by all the visual, olfactory and tasteful senses from that day :) I made it with acrylic paints on Arches watercolour paper. I added a few golden highlights as well as some pearl shimmer iridescent paint for an extra layer of beauty!
You probably know by now that I do get quite inspired by food :) here is a Macaron illustration that I find very fitting with High Tea Discussions :) You can view more of this collection by heading here.
Thanks everyone, I'm looking forward to more layers of creations now!
Until next time :) Karlie
xx
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A big thank you to The Secret Garden Tea Company for hosting us for high tea! As always, all opinions are my own.
Secret Garden Tea Company | 2130 W. 40th Ave, Vancouver |(604) 261-3070 | secretgardentea.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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