Tag: #FairmontEmpressVictoria

What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge – Fairmont Empress Edition

On By Widow BadassIn Adventures in Food, What's On Your Plate54 Comments

In December my co-host Donna and I decided to treat each other for Christmas with an experience – Christmas High Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria. We had already tried a couple of high teas closer to home and I knew we would eventually make our way to the Grand Dame of all high teas on the island but didn’t think it would happen so soon. Kudos to Donna for suggesting it and making it happen!

We were kinda excited to make it to the lobby of the hotel. In case there was any doubt.
High tea is always served in the upstairs Lobby Lounge. Our table (framed by potted palms and near the grand piano) was waiting for us, candles in the tea warmers already lit.
Our server Yousef brought our teas shortly after we made our selections, and instructed us on the use of the tea timer.
Yousef also offered to capture the moment of our first sips of tea.
My beautiful friend and co-host, Donna.
It was a Christmas High Tea, and the sweets tier reflected that beautifully.
The savouries were also delicious! These are just a few of them.
And the still-warm scone was absolutely amazing with clotted cream and strawberry-vanilla jam.
Donna insisted I shoot this proof of her eating Christmas cake. (It was very good and I would have gladly eaten her piece and she could have eaten my chocolate thingy…which I ended up taking home for the kids, along with Donna’s macaron.)

During our 2 hour tea we were treated to piano playing as well as carol singers. Magical! After experiencing uh..overwhelm at the size and quantity of offerings at another high tea, we were pleased to be able to consume almost everything on our tiered tray…it would have been a shame not to; everything was so pretty and delicious!

I remember having high tea at the Empress back in 2003 with my late husband (then boyfriend) and the kids. He kept asking our server for more sandwiches, which were promptly supplied! I suppose this happens, with the men people with larger appetites who partake? I wonder if extra sandwiches would still be provided now, in these different times.

It was the perfect kick-off to the fast-approaching holidays, and with the perfect companion! Of course, we found our way to the hotel’s gift shop after our tea experience, and as well as purchasing some tea and one of those cute tea timers, I found the holy grail this:

I had been looking for a new waffle weave robe for years…ever since the one I had bought on my honeymoon had become threadbare from constant use been retired. SCORE!!! Merry Christmas to me 😉. Thank you, Fairmont Empress!

Please join me and Donna in sharing what’s on your plate! Join the Link Party or let me know in the Comments. I hope you all had a wonderful December however you celebrate (or not)!

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Rock on,

The WB