The Gables

As you are well aware of, I was born with the curse of an unyielding sweet tooth. Therefore, high tea and me go hand in hand. Yesterday afternoon was spent at The Gables, located in one of the richest streets of Malvern, Finch Street. We drove under avenues where the gorgeous trees were swaying in the wind, and the experience felt so surreal. The sun was shining, I was surrounded by my girls, and the day was just so ideally relaxing. We were initially meant to go to Collin's Kitchen (in the Grand Hyatt), but I received a call from them, two hours before my booking, saying they had double booked me, and offered a weekend session instead for the same price. I was furious, and rejected their offer. I had to call up several different places that were either closed on Wednesdays, or needed 48 hours notice for a booking. FORTUNATELY FOR US, The Gables greeted us with open arms, and allowed a booking an hour and a half before they even open for their second session.

When we arrived, we were surrounded by tables of elderly people, which is the cutest thing to watch. We made a toast with our champagne (that we didn't finish) to stay forever friends until we were of old age and had grey hairs and saggy boobs. Cheers to that!

^ fruit and plain scones. yum yum yum.

They came out nice and warm, and therefore soft!

^ the "ribbon sandwiches" were extremely delicious!

Usually I love salmon, but the flavour of the capers were too strong for my taste buds.

^ mini quiches and mini meat pies.

Wish there were more of the mini quiches, because they were actually SO amazing.
Just melted in your mouth. There was not enough tomato sauce though.

^ assorted desserts, I was expecting macarons and cupcakes, judging from their website.

Some of the cakes were a bit dry, but my favourite was passionfruit.

^ Kimono by Maxwell & Williams.

Gorgeous colours and patterns - can be found at any House or homeware stores

^ can't have high tea without a little french bubbly ;)

So many people have asked me,

"Lisa, what is SOOOOOO good about high tea? You always seem to go, but it's so expensive..." 

I just say no, no,  no. You have got it all wrong. I can't really answer this question for you guys, it's something that you need to experience yourself. It's something to do with the girls, it's a different way of eating, it's a culture, a celebration, an eating foodgasm. And no, high tea is not expensive. It can range from $35-$95. You get what you pay for. The most I've spent on high tea is $70, and that will probably be the first and last time I do something like that. You might also think that it isn't a lot of food, but trust me, it is. 

^ me trying to act like a lady in the bathroom.

I wish I had a bathroom like that, it was absolutely beautiful. Like a model's change room.

^ Instagram: badasiandriver

No, I did not use any frame apps for this, I just took 19 photos, and print screened my camera roll for this effect. Don't you just love watching milk being poured into tea? It's one of my favourite moments.

^ finito

The Gables

11:00am -1:00pm and 2:00pm - 4:00pm

$45 on Wednesday, $55 on Sunday

16 Finch Street Malvern

(03) 9571 6631

Myer Mural Hall - High Tea

High Tea has always been my favourite pass time. Spending a mere $30-$50 to receive a three tiered tray full of sandwiches, scones, quiches, macarons and cake!!!!!!!!!!
Drinking tea out of pretty teacups.
Observing the decor.
Breathing in the sweet aromas.
Why would anyone complain about luxuriously eating food?!

When the ladies from work prompted to attend high tea at the Myer Murall Hall, I could not resist. I must admit I was rather reluctant to pay $70 for the experience, but I do not regret it at all. Going up six levels of the Myer Bourke St building felt like I was entering a whole new world. Hidden away upstairs, the ballroom was surrounded by walls of eight famous murals. It felt as though it was rich in culture from the 18th/19th circa. The feeling was so surreal, imagining people from upper class backgrounds that attended lavish gatherings at the Myer Mural Hall, built and owned by Sidney Myer. We were about to witness this in motion, but with a 21st century spin to it.

Imagine being greeted by good looking male waiters with glasses of champagne, live jazz music, expensive china, and finger food (lots of it). The menu was poorly chosen, but the sandwiches were my favourite! Scones are a given, they are everyones favourite because you get the best of both (jam and whipped cream) worlds.

^ adorable waiters. The uniform makes them look like crazy scientists though.

^ champagne showers

^ Table 17. We were surrounded by strangers but it didn't even matter. Everyone was so happy and lively and relaxed. 

^ Sparkling water, tea, juice and champagne. Everything but normal water.

^ chicken mayo sandwich (how cute is the plate?!)

^ my favourite photo of all time. I love that split second that milk hits the tea cup! It looks like a really cool explosion.

^ the food was really mediocre to be completely honest.
the jam for the scones was delicious though! like something fresh off a farm. 

^ expensive Chinaware. I wonder where you can purchase this from.

^ live music was heaven to my ears

^ view from the top of the staircase. Tables and tables ready for Sunday brunch.

^ the macarons were really bad... I wonder who caters for the Myer Mural Hall because it was really bad. They should invest in La Belle Miette macarons. 

^ panorama photo thanks to Thao's camera! Ignore ma awkward face.

Miss Marple's Tea Room

Sincere apologies to those who have me on Facebook or Instagram (username: badasiandriver), for I am constantly plaguing newsfeeds with check-ins / images of food. I hope you all appreciate my food adventures by living vicariously through this blog (which I alsoooo hope that you are sharing this with your friends and maybe family... haha)!!! Todays adventure was at Miss Marple's Tea Room , a little old shack on Mount Dandenong Tourist Road. Judging by the visual aesthetics of the website, you can tell what kind of place it was... I found myself in Sassafras with no cellular reception, surrounded by tea pots, tourists and elderly people. Seeing Miss Marple's just gave me a burning desire to open my own sweets store/relaxation place far from Melbourne. Sometimes we really owe it to ourselves to get away from the bustling city and appreciate our surroundings. The sunny weather that Melbourne was blessed with today made me feel extremely happy :)

Since the place does not accept bookings, the four blonde waitresses were running around trying to get everyone settled in their seats, serve and clean all at the same time. They had fantastic memory and were very friendly (bar one)! There was about a 15/20 minute wait to be seated which was a bit of a bummer. Menus are placed on the table so there was nothing to look at and drool over while we were waiting, there was no phone service for us to refresh Facebook or Instagram, and it was way too windy to go and browse. We just sat and properly conversed (which we normally do anyway). Technology really brings out the worst in us.

^ Instagram: badasiandriver 

 Lunch is served after a long wait.

 Devonshire Scones, the biggest scones i have ever eaten in my life

The food was relatively mediocre and unreasonably priced. We paid $50 for two main meals, two huge ass scones and two beverages. The quiche that I ordered was far from pleasant... it was soft, ridiculously soggy and flavourless. It wasn't as firm as quiches are meant to be, and I had to ask for tomato sauce on the side to spread over for more zing. The taste was extremely eggy which I did not enjoy. However, the fresh tasting salad and salty fries made up for the quiche! I probably should have ordered the pie though... 

Devonshire scones (either plain or fruity) were Two for $9 buttttt definitely worth it - they were the biggest scones I have ever seen in my life. Be warned, you should go to Miss Marple's on an empty stomach because you will walk out with a food coma. Take caution with the desserts that you order, because they don't hold back on the portion size. They have huge plates of chocolate and strawberry goodness. It made my mouth water every time the waitress would bring it out to the tables around us, but I was wayyyy too full to order it. Perhaps next time I will visit Cafe de Beaumarchais which is located four doors down in Sassafras, then go to Miss Marple's for dessert nomnomnom.

Wish I ordered these, the waffles looked so big and golden.

English Breakfast Tea ($3.95) and Strawberry Milkshake ($5.00)

Fish and Chips - $17.50

Egg and Bacon Quiche - $16.00

The Menu: Separated in chapters.

Homemade jam and whipped cream

Drinking tea to cure my food baby. 

The place was surrounded by many tourists and elderly people. The establishment has been around for many decades and is a hidden gem in the Dandenong Mountains. Victoria has so many special places to see, it's up to you to go and find them. Even though I didn't have an extremely enjoyable experience at the Tea Room, I would recommend you go there for a day trip just to relax and drink delicious tea.

After the tea room, Giraffe and I went for a walk around the streets. This was definitely my favourite place. I can only hope that one day my house will look like this, I'm already starting to have a mini collection of tea cups and tea boxes that will set me up for life!!!

Giraffe tea pots! How cute :)

Really really really creepy toys.

^ vanilla, peppermint, mango and green tea :) - 20c a packet

^ 100g of Mango Tea for $7

So who was Miss Marple? I will be honest... I HAVE NO IDEA. I assume she was an actress of some sort, because the entire restaurant had images, newspaper clippings and more images of the woman. I want a quaint little place that is dedicated to me!!! Overall, I wouldn't suggest you go to this restaurant if you are thinking of eating fine food, but definitely go for the DELICIOUS RANGE OF DESSERTS and to simply enjoy the experience of driving around nature and getting away from the city to a hidden gem in the Dandenong Ranges.

Miss Marple's Tea Room

Address: 382 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, Sassafras, Victoria 3787

Contact: 9755 1610

Hours: Everyday, 11am - 4:30pm

Price: $$$

Website: http://www.missmarples.com.au/