All that Glitters is... Gold?
Trump International Hotel Vancouver just introduced their afternoon tea service for the first time on June 9th and I wanted to try it out right away. So after attending a fun one-year anniversary party at Mister Ice Cream in Yaletown, we headed down to the Trump Hotel to experience the new tea service in their champagne lounge.
The champagne lounge has it's own grand entrance separate from the hotel and a side door which leads into MOTT33, an elegant dining establishment with an international presence, serving "luxury Chinese" food. The space is chic and elegant, filled with plush seafoam green booths, low white marble tables and high ceilings with a skylight showing off the 69 other floors above. Basically, it's what you think a hotel bearing the opulent Trump brand name should be. However, unlike the gilded Trump Towers of 80's excess in New York of recent Apprentice fame, it features sleeker and more modern details of a newly built hotel from this era.
But of course, it's Trump, there needs to be some gold right? Yes, you'll see a more muted and modern rendition of it on the opulent doors and large block partitions inside the room. And I swear, I even found some gold in my tea too. On several occasions when I poured the black "Immortal Tea" I ordered into my tea cup, I could see little glistening gold flakes floating inside. I had to confirm this with my tea partner, Roanna, but after peering curiously into my cup, all she could tell me was that I was still just an ordinary girl with a regular cup of tea in my hand. Oh well...even if it's non-existent, I guess life is never dull when we believe we can see sparkles wherever we go 🙂
The Tea Set
The tea set was served on a unique hexagon display that we were told was specially crafted for the tea service. It reminded me of the chic tea sets offered in luxury hotels in Asia. Out of all the tea sets I've had in the city this, along with the one at Fairmont Pacific Rim, is the most cosmopolitan. Nestled on the stylish non-traditional display were delicate savoury pieces which had influences from the different regions of the world: matcha scones, cucumber & dill sandwiches, spicy duck crepe and a 'Salmon a la Bombay' Slider to name a few. Another note of worth is that everything including the sweets are made in-house.
I quite enjoyed the food and loved the ambiance and service. It's easy to feel completely at ease sitting on their plush booth seats while basking in the abundant natural light that pours through the skylight while listening to live music playing in the background. I would definitely recommend it for those who appreciate attentive service and a modern take on afternoon tea served in a chic setting.
Until our next tea date.
XOXO,
Mimi
❤ OTHER NOTES:
Notable Points:
- Brand new, newly-built property
- Unique specially created display case
- The newest afternoon tea offering in Vancouver
- Complimentary iced tea
- 5-star service and ambiance
Ambience: Sleek and chic lounge with plush booths, textured walls and marble tables.
Scones: The matcha scone, served warm, was excessively crumbly which did not allow the proper application of the toppings; the clotted cream was a bit rubbery so it made it even harder to spread (the plain raisin scone did not have this problem.) There were three toppings to choose from which was appreciated since most sets only offer two. There was clotted cream, "homemade" lemonade raspberry jam and passion fruit curd (it was listed as lemon curd on the menu but I believe it is passion fruit by the taste. I could be wrong...). The passion fruit curd was tart and mouthwatering, a nice and unique offering.
Savoury: A very thoughtful selection of four savouries inspired by the different regions of the world. All of them were fresh and flavourful, and were small in comparison to the larger sized desserts. The salmon a la bombay slider stood out for it's distinctive curry flavour and interesting flavour pairing with the smoked salmon.
Sweets: The seven sweets were a mixed bunch ranging from average to excellent. The matcha swiss roll didn't have much of matcha flavour and the cake wasn't too fluffy. Actually, both the matcha scone and matcha had a very muted matcha flavour, I'm not certain if this was a deliberate attempt to tailor it for local tastes. The macaron was filled with a raspberry cream and wasn't too hollow. The items that really stood out were the hazelnut chocolate cake, raspberry rose and lychee Paris brest, and cheese cake pop. The chocolate cake had an appealing texture with crispy layers; the brest was filled with a tart raspberry buttercream and the exotic sweet taste of lychees - a winning combo; and the cheese cake pop, the breakout hit, had a very crispy white chocolate shell with a soft rich cream cheese mousse on the inside. The cotton candy, not listed on the menu, was a whimsical bonus. I appreciated that all the desserts were all of a good size.
Tea: A small collection of teas: 11 black, 3 red/rooibos, 6 green, 1 herbal. The "Immortal Tea" I chose was very strong and near bitter when I had my first sip. I'm not sure if it was steeped with water that was too hot or for too long (the tea pot also did not easily facilitate the tea to be pulled out of the pot). It had a woodsy fragrance and was astringent. It was much more approachable with some sugar and the cream which I requested later. On the other hand, the Bains de Rose, a TWG Branded Tea, is a light colored and light bodied tea that had a pleasant rose fragrance. I really enjoyed this one.
Tea Ware: The unique hexagaon display was custom-built specially for the hotel's tea service. The rest of the teaware were white and modern.
Alcoholic Beverages: Similar to Laduree, Fairmont Pacific Rim, Notch 8, alcoholic beverages can be ordered with the tea set from the bar. Special additions can be made to the tea set by adding Prosecco for $63/set or champagne and Louis XIII truffles wrapped with gold for $88/set.
Service: Fully staffed and professional. We were always checked on. The manager also stopped by and took some time to explain some of the notable points of the tea service and the champagne lounge itself.
Other notes:
♥ Tea Set $48/per person
(includes one pot of tea)
1 mini scone, 1 regular size scone, 4 savouries, 6 sweets, complimentary iced tea
Add Prosecco for $63/set
Add champagne and Louis XIII truffles wrapped with gold for $88/set
♥ Reserve online: Champagne Lounge
♥ Parking: Metered street parking along the side streets but not outside the front entrance on Georgia. $6/hour. Closest skytrain station is Burrad and Vancouver City Centre. There are also Car2Go parking lots available on Alberni street if you're taking a Car2Go.
♥ Address: 1161 WEST GEORGIA STREET, VANCOUVER , BRITISH COLUMBIA V6E 0C6
♥ TEL: 866.800.0295
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