Eternal Summer Iced Tea Party @ The Urban Tea Merchant

I was so excited to be invited to The Urban Tea Merchant's "Eternal Summer Iced Tea Party"! I arrived and was welcomed by these beautifully fun & colourful Iced Teas! They're unveiling their line of TWG Iced Teas, and we got to try 3 of them - Pink Flamingo, Eternal Summer, and Cocktail Hour.  They all smelled delicious, and were very tasty iced cold - perfect for a hot summer day!

Next, we were treated to their new tea set, available all summer, the "Summer Westcoast Tea Set"! Here's everything that is offered on the menu for $45 per person:

TWG Tea from their extensive tea list

SAVOURIES:
Miso Maple Sablefish, “Place Vendome Tea” Black Radish
Lime and Chili BC Halibut, Alaska King Crab, “Matcha” Drawn Butter
Sea Scallops Crudo, Fresh Goji Berries, Coconut White Balsamic Splash “Passion Fruit Tea”
Uni Chawanmushi (Dashi Soup Custard), Trout Caviar, Pickled Shemiji Mushrooms

SWEETS:
Passion-Framboise Tart, “Valentine’s Breakfast Tea” Raspberry Coulis
TWG Tea Macaron
“Tokyo-Singapore Tea” Ricotta Cheesecake
White And Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberry
Mélange of Fresh Fruit

My absolutely favourite was their very unique Uni Chawanmushi! The Uni custard was so smooth, paired perfectly with the flavour & texture of the Trout Caviar.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Thank you Chef Cliff for this amazing creation!

Of course, they included their iconic Sablefish. I was told that this item is, by far, the most popular on all their tea sets since offering a food menu, and they wouldn't dream of taking it off their menu!

Summer West Coast Tea Set

Uni Chawanmushi (Dashi Soup Custard) with Trout Caviar & Pickled Shemji Mushrooms

Sea Scallops Crudo with Fresh Goji Berries & Coconut White Balsamic Splash

Lime and Chili BC Halibut & Alaska King Crab, with “Matcha” Drawn Butter

Miso Maple Sablefish, with “Place Vendome Tea” Black Radish

Sweets: Passion-Framboise Tart, TWG Tea Macaron, Ricotta Cheesecake, White & Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberry & Mélange of Fresh Fruit

We were lucky enough to try 2 of their desserts, created by Pastry Chef Tom, who is new to the Urban Tea Merchant family. This is their Raspberry Tart Au Passion Ganache - look how pretty it looks! Every bite was very light & flavourful - perfect for the summer!

Raspberry Tart Au Passion Ganache - Fresh Raspberries, Passion Fruit Au White Chocolate Ganache & “Valentine Breakfast Tea” Coulis

Lastly, we tried the Jivara Chocolate Mousse, infused with French Earl Grey, and is gluten free! Most people who know me, knows that I'm not a huge dessert fan, but this mousse was so light and airy that I had to gobble up the whole thing! Each bite melted in my mouth, and the caramel added a very interesting crunch in my mouth!

Jivara Chocolate Mousse - “French Earl Grey” Classic Decadent Chocolate Cremeux Cake - Gluten Free

I highly recommend heading in to The Urban Tea Merchant to pick up some Iced Teas, fill up your pitchers, and enjoy some refreshing glasses of Iced Teas this summer!

Words & Photos: Jenn Chan

Top Patios in Vancouver Series: Bridges

Bridges is that big, yellow building you see down below as you cross the Granville Street Bridge. "That look neat", you say to yourself, "I should definitely go there sometime!" Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, yet every time you cross that bridge the giant, yellow restaurant beckons like a seductive siren on the high seas. "Granville Island is so touristy, too many people", you tell yourself when the guilt of not following through creeps in, "maybe when summer's over and things quiet down." 

Did you know that, in the area in and around David Lam Park, you can park your car for free, forever? A quick $3 trip across False Creek on the water taxi, a pleasure in itself, and you're in the hustle and bustle, you're part of the scene, you see why people travel the globe to visit our great city! Do yourself a favour and visit the Island tomorrow! Did you know people in Sweden dream of one day doing so? That Russians, in a far-off, smoke-filled bar, are discussing all the art studios and farm to table restaurants?

The first thing you notice about Bridges when you walk through its grand entryway are the smiling faces. The hostesses are happy, the waitresses are happy and the people behind the small ice cream counter, the Sugar Bay, serving Bridges house made gelato, are happy. And you'll be happy too, trust me :) 

We took our seats on the patio, overlooking posh marinas and the iconic Burrard and Granville Bridges, and ordered a couple of cocktails: a Strawberry Crush and an Italian Spritz. The former consisting of Vodka, Peach Schnapps, muddled cucumber and strawberry and the latter Aperol, Prosecco and soda; refreshing and delicious!

Strawberry Crush & Italian Spritz

Much to our delight the Spot Prawn season had started that very day! The fishing vessels dock 100 metres from where we sat in the warm, afternoon sun and, we were proudly informed, the Spot Prawns in the appetizer we were about to enjoy were pulled from the water 3 hours earlier. Set mouths to drool! Lightly poached and served with a few minimalistic lemons and nothing else. Nothing else was needed! If you haven't had Spot Prawns sprint to Bridges first thing tomorrow and give them a Google right now!

Poached Spot Prawns

Our entrées consisted of Smoked Salmon Pizza with Onions and Capers (hold the onions) and the Baked Lobster with fresh green beans and house made Focaccia. The pizza was incredible, the crust light, crisp and fresh and the salmon delicious! The lobster, all 1 1/4 LBs of it, was delicious! Fresh, plump and perfectly baked. The craftsmen at Bridges even took the time to pre-crack the delicious crustacean so as to make my complete, inelegant inhalation of them much easier! A perfect 10/10!

Baked Lobster

Smoked Salmon Pizza

For dessert we indulged in the decadent, house made Pavlova and their famous Turtle Pie. Pavlova is a culinary delight! A house made meringue with a scoop of similarly Bridges made vanilla ice cream, covered in fudge and surrounded by fresh strawberries. It is an 13/10, worth a 2 hour drive, no, a 10 hour drive, in a blizzard, under gunfire. The Turtle Pie, woefully neglected until the Pavlova was completely gone, is a delightful caramel, chocolate and pecan pie. Itself a lovely dessert and well worth an order!

Strawberry Pavlova & Turtle Pie

In all because of the surroundings, the top notch service, the incredible food and the masterfully concocted drinks Bridges is a must go!

Words: Scott Allan
Photos: Jenn Chan