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Glameating: The Art of the Melbourne Weekend Brunch

May 14, 2013 By glampacker Leave a Comment

Since moving to Melbourne I’ve realised that brunch is taken very seriously. On the weekend brunches are slow, lazy affairs. You can order multiple coffees. Or even a bloody mary. You can stick to simple menu choices. Or you can go for the weekend brunch feast.

In London I struggled to find good brunch places. In Melbourne, you are definitely spoilt for choice! There are a lot of cafes, new and old favourites, all over the city! I love finding new cafes, chatting to friendly baristas and sipping on my skinny latte.

So where are some of my tried and tested favourite brunch places in Melbourne?

Auction Rooms, Errol Street, North Melbourne

Located right in my hood, Auction Rooms used to be the WB Ellis Auction House and has now been transformed into a busy weekend brunch spot. There is usually a line of brunchers forming outside on Errol Street on a Saturday morning. On a clear autumn day, the glass doors open up and sunshine streams onto the front tables.

Auction Rooms takes brunch from your standard eggs and toast to another level. The menu has its own take on shakshouka with paprika, chorizo and beans and perfectly poached eggs. Another popular dish is the seared salmon with potato cake. These brunch dishes fill you up until dinner!

Auction Rooms has its own coffee roaster and offers a range of specialty coffees. I loved the house brew and my skinny latte however I did wish my latte was just a little bit bigger so I could savour more fine coffee!

Fitzrovia, Fitzroy Street, St Kilda

Fitzrovia is an urban gourmet cafe on Fitzroy Street. It’s also got a lot of rave reviews online. I brought my best friend who was visiting from Perth for her verdict. Fitzrovia is an airy, light filled cafe with floor to ceiling shopfront windows overlooking the green of Albert Park. There is no toast with jam and butter on this breakfast menu. It’s a well crafted brunch menu featuring hearty dishes with a creative twist.

I ordered zucchini and halloumi fritters with poached eggs, spiced cauliflower salad and green tomato relish. My bestie went for the rather rich but tasty thick cut bacon with Gruyere potato cake, fried eggs, chipotle, baby spinach and a beetroot remoulade. Definitely not your normal brunch experience. Each dish was warm and a mix of well matched flavours. However my fritters were a tad overdone. Other than that, we had a very tasty brunch served by a rather cute Italian waiter.

Manchester Press, Rankins Lane, Melbourne CBD

Manchester Press serves up epic brunch dishes. Located down a Melbourne CBD alleyway, Manchester Press has a rustic feel with its wooden tables and friendly, attentive staff. It’s a little out of the way from the hustle of the city and doesn’t have a noticeable sign on the front door. So if you see a nondescript glass door and Melbourne weekend brunch crowd inside – you’re in the right place!

The brunch portions at Manchester Press are huge plates of healthy, delicious food. I ordered the avocado and feta cheese on toast which was almost like eating a whole avocado with a lightly dressed green salad. This seemed to be one of the most popular dishes on the menu! Although my friends can also vouch for the bircher muesli. I liked Manchester Press for its no fuss approach to food and warm customer service. There are also communal tables which are great for single diners – you never know who you might meet over your cappuccino!

Market Lane Coffee, Prahran Markets, Prahran

There are a few Market Lane Coffee branches around Melbourne and they are reknown for its coffee. The largest Market Lane Coffee branch in Prahran is located near the Prahran Markets. The only thing to order for weekend brunch is their mushroom burgers. You can smell the garlic and mushrooms sizzling outside on the barbecue. Served on a sourdough bun, how could you not devour the juicy mushroom burger? Seems healthier than a normal burger after all!

There is usually a line for coffee at Market Lane Coffee. It’s worth the wait! For coffee lovers they even serve drip blends, roasts and hold coffee tastings each Friday and Saturday at 10am.

Di Bella Cafe, North Melbourne

Di Bella is a specialty coffee roastery warehouse. That’s right Di Bella actually roasts its own coffee in the cafe! Di Bella is an ethical coffee brand stocked in many Melbourne cafes. In its namesake cafe you can see a rather impressive looking roastery and drink the roasted blend too.

Since I felt like a full brunch feast I ordered the eggs benedict. Poached eggs are one of my favourite brunch meals because I’ve never managed to perfect making this at home. The perfectly oozing egg yolk onto my ham and corn fritters was utterly delicious. Prompt customer service and a lively atmosphere makes Di Bella worth a second visit.

Filed Under: australia, food, melbourne Tagged With: brunch, cafe, coffee, eating

My Amazing Race Experience in Melbourne

April 30, 2013 By glampacker Leave a Comment

Would you eat live worms?

Or run around the city of Melbourne and do crazy challenges in under 3 hours?

I recently participated in the Great Pursuit hosted by Uplift Events. This is an “Amazing Race” style event which features physical and mental challenges in an orienteering race around Melbourne.

I love the Amazing Race. It’s one of my favourite TV shows combining travel, teamwork and fun challenges. I like the idea of travelling taking you out of your comfort zone and then just that little bit further!

The Great Pursuit perhaps isn’t as intense. You can grab your Myki and catch the tram around Melbourne rather than running around to complete challenges. You can go as hard as you want as it’s all in the name of fun. There isn’t a million dollar cash prize. However it was certainly a fun and challenging way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

You start off with a briefing in Federation Square and getting a sheet of paper listing 12 challenges which are literally spread out all over Melbourne CBD. You have to complete all 12 challenges to finish the amazing race around Melbourne within 3 hours.

Challenges included going to some of Melbourne’s most famous landmarks. And knowing where they are! Some participants had maps of the city but given we had 12 challenges in total you do need to plan out where you’re going and how not to waste time. So if you know Melbourne well it worked to your amazing race advantage!

Do you walk, run or tram? Do you collaborate with other teams? Do you and your partner work well as a team?

My partner was my brother and to be fair, most of the time except for the odd childhood squabble, I like to think that we get along pretty well! My brother is a good motivator aka hard task master who kept making sure I was running my way through Melbourne’s laneways, googling the right clues and time checking.

I can’t reveal all the places or challenges as there are still more Great Pursuit races to go in Melbourne this month but I will say some of the highlights included:

Eating live worms for the first time
Seeing places around Melbourne that I’d heard of but never visited
Being pushed to achieve a goal in under three hours

I am very proud to say that Team #146 came second! That’s right we came second out of 120 teams! That is certainly no mean feat and I felt such a big sense of accomplishment afterwards. Especially as our time was 2 hours and 22 minutes and we were half an hour behind team number one.

I’m really keen to participate in the Great Amazing Race in Melbourne this October in the name of charity. After all if we came second, we have to raise the stakes!

So what do live worms taste like? Chicken of course.

Filed Under: australia, melbourne

Wanderlusting: 1000 Steps Kokoda Track Memorial Walk, Dandenong

April 19, 2013 By glampacker Leave a Comment

Hiking up 1000 steps of the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk sounds like a lot of climbing. The 1,000 steps in Dandenong is well known among Melbournians. It’s a 2.8 kilometre hike up stone stairs in Upper Ferntree Gully. The 1,000 steps is a 45 minute drive west from Melbourne’s CBD. Once you reach the top it’s a popular barbecue spot, provided you brought all your food up the 1,000 steps with you!

Why is the 1000 steps in Dandenong popular? You’re out of Melbourne’s hustle and bustle. Away from trams and cars, you feel like you’re deep in lush forrest, surrounded by trees and ferns, breathing in fresh air.

The 1000 steps seemed to be pretty easy at first. There were a lot of families embarking on the steps. So if kids can leap up the 1000 steps in Dandenong, how hard could it be?

The thing about starting to hike up the 1000 steps is that you can never really see how many steps are left. Are you there yet? Is there a pit stop bench to pause on? Why do the steps suddenly get steeper?

The good news is that once the steps get steeper, you’re almost at the end of the 1000 steps in Dandenong! I’m proud to say that I only stopped to catch my breath a few times. Some of the steps can be wet or muddy and running the steps is not recommended!

I pushed on though. Past the negative thoughts and other hikers around me. When you get to the top it’s at first a little anti-climatic. There isn’t a view of Melbourne at the top of the 1,000 steps. But you do feel a large sense of accomplishment reaching the peak of the 1000 steps! I speak from experience as your calf muscles will definitely feel every step the next day…

However if you press on the hiking trail you can find a grass clearing with barbecues and picnic areas. Or if you’re feeling energised after all the 1000 steps you can then continue on the Tyson Trek.

The Tyson Trek is less crowded and takes you down a slight gully. The gravel hiking path is about a 30 minute walk or a faster run.

Hiking the 1000 steps in Dandenong isn’t as difficult as Cinque Terre in Italy. However I would still reccommend wearing good walking shoes and taking a water bottle. If you’re feeling out of breath, pause and step out of the way.

If you’re super fit, please don’t run around the walkers. Finishing the 1,000 steps Kokoda Track Memorial Walk in Dandenong is a mean feat for non-hikers like me!

Filed Under: australia, melbourne Tagged With: autumn, hiking, nature

High Tea at the Langham Hotel Melbourne

April 1, 2013 By glampacker 2 Comments

High tea at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne is a lavish and intimate experience.

To celebrate Easter this year, I had a high tea feast at one of Melbourne’s most premium luxury hotels. The Langham Hotel offers a decadent high tea experience on weekends in their Aria restaurant. In a quiet corner, we were seated promptly to make important decisions like should we start with a glass of Chandon NV and then have the Langham Silk Tea blend? Given that it was Easter and we were having a glamorous high tea – starting with a sparkling wine toast is mandatory!

The most impressive part of high tea at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne is the dessert buffet. Featuring artistically styled dessert towers with an Easter theme, the cakes are exquisitely designed. Little chocolate tarts with gold leaves. Chocolate tarts with solid chocolate. Vanilla bean mousse with a white chocolate green leaf. Chocolate gateaux. It was really a chocolate feast, complemented by a chocolate fountain!

After sampling some of the chocolate desserts, the three tiered cake stand was served. It featured gourmet sandwiches including smoked salmon, cucumber, egg and prosciutto crudites and cheese and onion tartlets. The petit scones were dusted with icing sugar and accompanied by raspberry jam, butter and clotted cream. It isn’t a high tea experience without clotted cream!

Our tea was very fruity however and I would’ve preferred to go with a darjeeling tea to wash down the amount of sugar we were consuming. However we were served iced water as well, which can be quite rare during high tea.

I’ve been to a lot of high teas in London and around the world. The high tea experience at the Langham Hotel, Melbourne is unique because of its decadent chocolate buffet. You can devour as much chocolate as you like – since it was Easter I won’t mention how much chocolate we ate…

After all the desserts and tea we had to enjoy the lingering autumn sunshine and walk off the sugar along the Yarra River. It was a very pleasant way to spend Easter Sunday in Melbourne.

Filed Under: australia, food, melbourne Tagged With: afternoon tea, autumn, high tea, langham hotel, review

Things I’ve Learnt from Living in Melbourne

March 17, 2013 By glampacker 3 Comments

When you move interstate in your home country you don’t expect a lot of things to be that different. Moving from my relaxed hometown of Perth in Western Australia to London, one of the world’s busiest and liveliest cities, was definitely a big eye opener. I learnt a lot of things from moving to London with nothing but a backpack – a lot of things I learnt the hard way!

After two years in London I decided to move to Melbourne to experience life on the East Coast of Australia. It’s always tough at first moving to a new city. This time though things were a little bit easier. I had a social network. I had some Aussie dollars saved. I also knew Melbourne pretty well. Or at least I thought I did!

There are a few things I’ve learnt from living in Melbourne which show subtle differences in Australian culture from one side of the country to the next. Some things are stereotypically Melbourne. Other things I’ve learnt the hard way. I’m really enjoying living in Melbourne, with events like White Night and French music festivals, endless cafes and many new experiences to be had…Melbourne is starting to feel more like home.

In Melbourne people really do take coffee seriously

There are so many cafes in Melbourne and new ones are constantly popping up. Yes there are also coffee chains throughout the city. However my favourite cafes are the tiny ones I’ve found hidden in the city’s laneways or cafes with friendly barista who genuinely care when they ask you how your day has been. The coffee scene is pretty competitive in Melbourne – where being a coffee snob is not necessarily a bad thing! Rather than visiting the most popular cafes I like to grab my signature skinny latte from:

Padre, Queen Victoria Market

Cafenatics, Shop 8/9 Equitable Place, Melbourne CBD

In Melbourne no one runs for trams

Seriously I have never seen anyone run for a tram. Maybe it’s because Melbournians are too cool for running for trams. Or perhaps because trams are usually pretty frequent throughout the day. Nevertheless trams are the easiest way to get around Melbourne quickly. I’ve learnt to tram travel like a pro – tag on with your Myki travel card only when you hop on the tram in Zone 1. Also stand near the door – old trams don’t usually have air conditioning!

In Melbourne you have to dress for four seasons in one day

I have experienced an endless summer in Melbourne which lured me into a false sense of security. I thought that maybe I could have Perth weather for awhile where it’s a constant 30 degrees until April. After a mid-March heatwave in Melbourne of 35 degree days I think my endless summer is officially over. Melbourne weather is unpredictable. One of things I’ve learnt from living in Melbourne is that it is actually true – there can be four seasons in one day! I will now dress like a Melbournian – wearing ankle boots year round, having layers of clothing and an umbrella in my handbag. It’s a bit like dressing for London, minus one or two layers in winter!

In Melbourne, people really do love sports

Melbourne is known for being the sporting capital of Australia. There’s the Australian Open tennis grand slam, Spring Racing Carnival, the recent Grand Prix and football season is just starting. Melbournians get really patriotic about hosting sporting events. Even the least sporty person will still admit to supporting a football team. I still haven’t decided on my football team yet – I think I’ll stick to supporting the West Coast Eagles for now! You can take the girl out of Perth but you can only go so far right?!

In Melbourne, you are in a foodie paradise

One of my goals since living in Melbourne is to experience lots of new places – ideally one per week. In Melbourne there is a big ‘foodie scene’. There are lots of restaurants and reviewers, brunches to be eaten, mains to order… Eating in Melbourne on a budget is also really easy. Whilst there are great fine dining restaurants on my list of places to eat, there are also places that are cheap and tasty – like I love Pho in Richmond. Brunch is also a serious weekend event. My newest discovery is Fitzrovia in St Kilda for brunch. It has a bright and airy open space and friendly service – the corn fritters are delicious!

In Melbourne, driving is quite an experience!

Hook turns freak me out. It’s just not natural to turn right when you’re in the left lane. So when I drive in the Melbourne CBD I tend to avoid hook turns! There are a few strange things on Melbourne roads. Lanes that appear out of nowhere. Tolls that can add up quite quickly. Drivers are also a bit more aggressive than in Perth. I am gaining more confidence driving in Melbourne and getting more familiar with the roads. However relying on my GPS too much is definitely something I’ve learnt to avoid in Melbourne – the hard way!

Filed Under: australia, melbourne Tagged With: drinking, eating, Reflection, summer

Wanderlusting: White Night Melbourne

February 24, 2013 By glampacker Leave a Comment

I’ve lived in Melbourne for almost six months now. Despite this I take Melbourne a lot more for granted than I took London. There are times when I miss London terribly. In Melbourne, I know the trams, the city laneways, the best places for a coffee or a cupcake. I’ve always wanted to live in Melbourne.

Sometimes it takes an epic event to make you see a city with fresh eyes. For the very first time Melbourne came to life for a 12 hour celebration of arts and culture. White Night Melbourne on 23 February was a night time festival from 7.00pm to 7.00am. City streets were overtaken by people not cars. Melbourne’s iconic buildings were illuminated with colourful projections and silhouettes.

During White Night in Melbourne, I walked the city streets seeing everything differently. It didn’t feel like a typical Saturday night at all. There were many families around and everyone around was in high spirits.

Federation Square turned into a massive dance floor complete with disco balls. ‘I Could’ve Danced All Night’ saw dance lessons being taught to hundreds of people busting a move in Federation Square. I learnt swing dancing and salsa somewhere between the hours of 10.00pm and 1.00am during White Night.

Flinders Street Station turned into a concert venue. It was like Flinders Street had turned into a music festival. It was also strange seeing people sitting in the middle of Flinders Street!

My favourite gallery in the city, NGV International, stayed open late as well. The strangest masterpiece of the evening was a moving artwork make completely out of foam. The foam ebbed and flowed, stretching all the way to the stained glass ceiling. We had fun trying to catch the foam, blowing at it and feeling like it was a spiderweb.

During White Night Melbourne I felt like I was finally starting to feel more like a Melbournian. I loved walking around the city on a balmy summer night. I felt incredibly safe and had so much fun. White Night Melbourne was art for the masses in an incredibly easy, fun and free festival. Can’t wait to, hopefully, experience White Night again in Melbourne next year!

All photos were taken on my iPhone.

Filed Under: australia, melbourne Tagged With: arts, culture, festivals, summer

French Music Festival in Melbourne

January 21, 2013 By glampacker 1 Comment

One of my glampacking new year’s resolutions for 2013 was to experience the best of Melbourne. Melbourne is my new adopted home. As a glampacker who is now spending more time in Australia than abroad, I want to see, taste and do more in Melbourne.

When I lived in London it was easy to go on a glampacker weekend in Paris in just a two hour train ride. Of course it’s impossible to go to Paris on the weekend when you live in Melbourne. Or is it?!

Going to the So Frenchy So Chic French music festival in Melbourne gave me the full French experience with phenomenal summer weather. In Werribee Park, a 30 minute drive from Melbourne CBD, the So Frenchy So Chic festival combined French food, French music, French drinks and Australian high summer.

This French music festival was very glamorous with flowing French champagne in chic little carry bags and white tents selling crepes, macarons, cheese, baguettes and packed lunchboxes featuring smoked salmon dip and rich chocolate pots. It was also a very family friendly French music festival with lots of picnicking families, face painting for children and games of boules.

Then of course there was French music! The four main acts playing at the music festival were Revolver, Melanie Pain, Carmen Maria Vega and Nadeah. An eclectic mix of modern French music, a hipster rock band and powerful female musicians – who were all rather glam! Even if Carmen had to endure 48 hours of travelling to Melbourne and a missing suitcase!

My So Frenchy So Chic French music festival experience in Melbourne was also my first time in Werribee Park. Werribee Park is home to an elegant Victorian mansion. It feels a bit like Downton Abbey, only you’re in Australia! Built by the Chirnside Family in 1877, you can explore the inside of Werribee Park mansion and it’s 60 rooms. You can even choose to stay overnight at the luxury hotel and spa, for the full Downton experience!

The grounds of Werribee Park are well maintained with a lake that even has an island with a secret cave structure. The Chirnside Family took great pride in the gardens. Werribee Park is also home to the Victorian State Rose Garden and the nearby Werribee Zoo.

To end a French music festival adventure in Melbourne the afternoon must of course end with macarons – my flavours of choice were salted caramel, pistachio and violet!

Filed Under: melbourne Tagged With: festival, macarons, music, summmer

Farewell London: the next Glampacking Europe Adventure

July 16, 2012 By glampacker 7 Comments

View of Westminster and Big Ben from the London Eye

Dear London

I love you but I’m leaving you.

I’ve reached the end of my two year UK working holiday visa and it’s been an amazing two years of glampacking!

When I first moved to London with nothing but a backpack, I survived glampacking Europe and travelling in style on a budget but had no job, no friends and nowhere to live. Rather than freaking out, I lived in London on a budget and first stayed in a hostel run by nuns, which I affectionately dubbed ‘the nunnery’. At this secret London hostel I made friends from all over the world and as a result got to experience glampacking trips to Italy and Spain living like a local.

Looking over Ponte Vecchio in Florence

London is a fabulous city and has so much to offer visitors especially in this Olympic year. However London can also be overwhelming and navigating this epic city can be a rollercoaster ride of emotions. After my first year of living in London, I felt like I had learnt so much about job-hunting, flat-sharing and public transport etiquette!

I accomplished a lot things on my London Glampacking List, the highlights include:

Enjoying summer sunshine in Hampstead Heath

Enjoying afternoon tea at the Ritz
Hosting Aussie visitors and taking them to my favourite corners of London, like Notting Hill
Visiting the grand London markets on the weekend, particularly Spitalfields, Brick Lane and Sunday UpMarket and the foodie paradise of Borough Market
Going on day trips to Oxford, Cambridge and my favourite UK city outside of London – Bath
Picnicking in Hampstead Heath
Being able to call myself a Londoner!

There was one major reason why I moved to London – to travel as much as I could around Europe. I practically lived on a student budget so I could save for trips or escape on the weekends to Madrid or Paris, only a short flight or train ride away.

Beautiful sunflower fields as seen from a train window from Madrid to Bilbao, Spain

Over the past two years on my UK working holiday I have done things I never imagined I would ever do like:

Survived a blizzard in New York City and even went sledding in Brooklyn
Experienced a traditional Easter and Christmas in Northern Italy, near Lake Como
Volunteered at Eastern Europe’s largest bear sanctuary with Oyster Worldwide
Seen the sights of Galicia and saw a hidden side of Spain like discovering the most beautiful beach in Spain, Cies Islands

Managed to drive on the right side of the road on the island of Menorca to a Cave Bar called Cava en Xoir to see sunset over the Mediterranean
Fell head over heels in love with Santorini in the Greek Islands
Ate a lot of Spanish and Italian food and learnt how to make Spanish omelette
Went on a pilgrimage to Gallipoli
Drank a lot of Turkish tea in Istanbul

I will never tired of glampacking in Europe and will miss my London family dearly. However the lure of the Aussie dollar, of beaches and sunshine and my friends and family have pulled me back home.

My next adventure will be something different. Whilst I have a renewed appreciation for my hometown of Perth, Western Australia, I will be doing something I’ve always wanted to do…I’m moving to Melbourne.

Melbourne has always been my adopted city. I love Melbourne’s vibe, the café culture, the fashion and the trams. I will hopefully be able to call myself a Melbournian soon and experience events like the Melbourne Cup and the Australian Open…and also get used to four seasons in one day.

Can’t wait to drink Aussie coffee!

After my time in London I feel like I’m ready to take on anything and have no doubt the glampacking isn’t ending. It’s only beginning!

My glam European finale will take me to:

Copenhagen, Denmark
Vienna and Salzburg, Austria
Venice, Milan and Cinque Terre, Italy
And finishing in Paris, where else?

I will also be visiting Singapore – I’ve desperately missed hawker food and humid weather and seeing new sights like Universal Studios and Marina Bay Sands.

In between the packing and trip planning I am very sad to be saying goodbye to London but am also very excited about my next adventure.

Follow my glampacking Europe finale on Glampacker and the twitter hashtag #Euroglampacker!

Filed Under: europe, london, melbourne Tagged With: drink, eating, life, new beginnings, Reflection, summer, trip planning

Melbourne Day Trip: Drive to Torquay

January 21, 2010 By glampacker Leave a Comment

For the time-poor road tripper, Torquay is an easy drive from Melbourne for sun, sand and surf. It’s just over an hour’s drive to Torquay from Melbourne’s city centre. Torquay is a very relaxed surfer town. You know you’re in serious surfer territory when the surf stores lining the main street are as large as a department store!

After the short drive to Torquay, you’ll be keen to hit the beach. The beach was packed with on a 40 degree day, but rather than going for a dip I walked along the beach. I let the water wash across my feet as I went shell hunting. I checked out the rocky coves and avoided the seaweed.

If you’re headed out on a drive to Torquay for a day trip don’t forget your hat, sunscreen and bathers. Thongs aka flip flops are also essential!

Filed Under: australia, melbourne Tagged With: beach, Day Trip, landscapes, summer, things to do

High Tea at the Hotel Windsor, Melbourne

January 15, 2010 By glampacker Leave a Comment

Traditional High Tea at the Hotel Windsor is a Melbourne institution. When my bestie informed me we were going to high tea in Melbourne I had a sneaking suspicion that was where we were headed.

On a pleasantly warm Friday afternoon dressed in a ladylike fashion, we were ushered to a table whilst the smiling waiter explained high tea at the Hotel Windsor to us first-timers. Firstly, we were treated to a glass of sparkling rose, the 3 tiered stand featuring finger sandwiches, petit fours and scones would be brought out and we would be offered freshly brewed tea or coffee. Simple, right?

High tea at the Hotel Windsor was being served in the Grand Ballroom due to renovations, an ostentatious Victorian-era room with high ceilings and decorative walls. Most tables were filled with couples, families including one with a toddler who charmed the socks off the patrons around us, mothers with their young daughters dressed in their prettiest floral dresses with matching handbags and (low) heels and then there were us – Ladies Who High Tea.

We couldn’t help but say yes to the rose which was light and had a fruity palate.

The delicate finger sandwiches featured smoked salmon, egg and cucumber. No crusts in sight!

The plain and raisin scones were warm and fluffy with the choice of strawberry, blueberry and clotted cream. There is no slathering during High Tea at Hotel Windsor. Gently slicing the scone in half lengthways, you use separate knives to layer the scone first with jam and then with a generous helping of cream. Be generous, you don’t go to High Tea everyday!

Just as we bit into our scones and craving piping hot tea, it was served in its own tea pot with additional hot water.

Then there were the petit fours – which one to start from? The standout petit four was the delicate pear tart which had a custard dream filling wrapped in a glazed, ultra thin slice of pear. It was heavenly.

The service at High Tea at Hotel Windsor was prompt, friendly and anticpated our needs before we could voice them. Upon leaving one of the waitstaff asked if we enjoyed it and we replied strongly in the affirmative.

The Hotel Windsor
111 Spring Street, Melbourne
High Tea is served 3 – 5 pm weekdays

Filed Under: australia, melbourne Tagged With: afternoon tea, drinking, eating, reviews, summer