THE SECRET GARDEN

Deep in the heart of Kitsilano in Vancouver there is a well kept secret place named "The Secret Garden Tea Company". The link will not copy and paste for some reason but if you Google the name it will come up and tell the history of this establishment. For quite some time my friend Loretta has been talking about us visiting this place where they serve a true English "High Tea". However, you have to plan well in advance as they have limited seating and fill up very quickly. A few weeks back Loretta suggested this date and booked a table. It was a good thing she had been here before because if you don't know it is there, you would have a hard time finding it. From the street it is a nondescript store front painted a dark green with a small hanging sign above the entry way. Once you enter you are shown to your table where a menu is presented with pages and pages of choices of tea you can order. None of us were terribly imaginative, some had a tea called "Queen Helen" (which the Helen in our group found to be suitably named LOL) and an English breakfast tea.

Here you can see the hanging sign outside and the rather hard to see green painted front of the tea room.

Tea is served in individual tea pots with cute tea cozies on them. The china is English Bone china and the placard indicates the times High Tea is served.

And here we are. Starting from the left side is Loretta's dear Mom Susie, next to her is Loretta, next to Loretta is an old school chum of hers named Helen, then is Leona, who is Loretta's younger sister (and one of Susie's other daughters...there are 4 in all!) and finally myself all decked out for Christmas in my Christmas tree shirt.

The high tea is served on a 3 tiered plate. On the second layer is a cranberry scone and slices of coconut banana loaf. The little dishes contain clotted cream and jam to spread on the scones and bread.

The lower layer of the plate contains various little sandwiches. Some are on bread, others are on tiny mini croissants. In the middle of this plate are egg rolled sandwiches. My favorite was the pesto chicken on the croissant, but all were delicious!

Loretta and Helen enjoying their tea.

Leona and I.

The desert section of the cake plate was at the top and was decadent. There were miniature lemon tarts that are excellent. An apple cheesecake with a dollop of whipped creme and tiny miniature gingerbread men on top as a garnish...note the one on the right is handicapped and only has one eye..Leona packed him up to take home....she thought her sons would like to see him! And finally a chocolate brownie type of square with a glob of fancy pink frosting and sitting on top of that a tiny miniature pinwheel cookie. Imagine the time it must take to make these teeny tiny garnishes for the desserts. They were all excellent and it would be hard to pick a favorite but I did really enjoy the lemon tart a lot.

Soon it was time to head home as Loretta had another event to prepare for. I went into her house for a few minutes to see my buddy Kelsie the doggie and to collect a few things I had left there and Loretta brought her new Elsie Dinsmore doll down to show me...isn't she just the most darling doll? She is made by a company called Life Of Faith and they have apparently stopped making the dolls now. Loretta has her dressed in a Daisy Kingdom dress that suits her to a T. I have a few other cute pictures but will have to post them in a week or two as they involve a Chatty doll and the lovely outfit she is wearing. The outfit which Loretta has just completed making is for a Christmas swap in one of the doll collector groups we belong too and just in case her swap partner happens to read the blog, I don't want to post any pictures that will tip her off as to what she is receiving and ruin her surprise! In the background of this picture you can see a bit of Loretta's lovely Christmas Village that she has set up on the piano top for the Christmas season. It is so pretty and she has it in a perfect spot.