As part of a Fashion Week crossover The Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park has teamed with two sustainable indigenous fashion brands, Miimi & Jinda and Ngali, to create a high tea featuring native Australian ingredients.
The Gallery at the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park sits off to one side of the foyer and is a comfortable space with plenty of room to relax. We visited on Mother’s Day weekend so they also had their signature high tea buffet up and running – it looked just as delicious as the high tea we enjoyed.
Firstly, the open chicken sandwich on toasted focaccia was delicious. A generous scoop of tender chicken with mayo was soft against the crunch of the focaccia crostini and dotted with flecks of nutty, roasted wattleseed.
The smoked salmon blini had just the right amount of smoke that didn’t overpower the other flavours, and the fingerlime caviar gave bursts of citrus tang to cut through the richness of the salmon and sour cream.
Arancini balls can be a little hit and miss on any menu, but these ones were fantastic. The rice was cooked perfectly with no chalky centre and the pumpkin and feta had been pureed and mixed through rather than being left in chunks. It meant that each bite was sweet and creamy. The bush tomato chutney served with it had a wonderful smokiness about it along with a lightly spicy sweetness, like a BBQ sauce, but better!
The last savoury dish was our favourite. Whipping the goats cheese gave the tart a wonderful lightness and the lemon myrtle really freshened things up. The Kakadu plum confit added an element of sweetness.
Based on the savoury tier it’s clear to see that the chefs are skilled at balancing savoury/sweet flavours. As for the sweet tier, nothing was overly sweet. Yes, there were elements of sweetness in each dish, but that sweetness was tempered quite well to make well balanced bites.
The meringue cup was a crispy light outer shell with just a hint of fluffy pav in the middle. What was in the centre though was a deliciously tangy curd and of course a lashing of whipped cream on top, what pavlova doesn’t have that.
The raspberry and rosella mousse balls balanced on top of the almond frangipane tart were soft and creamy. The biscuity shell added some crunch and encased the frangipane filling.
A decadent dark chocolate cup was up next. The addition of native wattleseed added a roasted richness. Decorated with a pretty chocolate fan and some whipped cream it’s a big chocolate hit in a single bite.
It’s always nice to see coffee make an appearance at a high tea and this mousse was light and airy with a real coffee kick to it. Surrounded by a white chocolate box it was again a great example of balancing the sweetness of chocolate and the bitterness of coffee.
The scones were served hot and nestled in a cloth serviette so that by the time you’re ready to eat them they are the perfect temperature. The plain scone wasn’t as crumbly as some others, more like a bread texture, but slathered with the jam and cream just as delicious. The lemon myrtle scone was such an interesting flavour. When tasted alone it was a smack to the tastebuds with lemon myrtle, but slathering it with cream really tamed the lemon zing and made the scone shine.
Being a fashion week crossover this one was due to finish at the end of May but on our visit they said it has been extended until the end of June 2023. That means there’s plenty of time for you to head along and try the high tea with pops of native Australian ingredients. It’s a great point of difference and we definitely recommend it.
Fashion High Tea Menu:
Savoury:
- House cured herb salmon gravlax blini, sour cream, fingerlime caviar
- Pumpkin and feta arancini, bush tomato chutney and mountain pepperberry
- Open faced chicken and wattleseed focaccia crostini, micro amaranth
- Whipped lemon myrtle goats cheese tart, Kakadu plum confit, macadamia crumb
Sweet:
- Coffee mousse, crispy chocolate base and coffee caviar
- Almond frangipane tart with raspberry and rosella mousse
- Dark chocolate cup with wattleseed ganache, whipped cream
- Mini meringue filled with passion fruit Kakadu plum curd
Scones:
- Plain scone
- Lemon myrtle and lemonade scone
- Served with jam and fresh cream
High Tea Sydney – find more experiences
in our High Tea Venue Directory
Reviews for this venue:
- 30 September 2020: Take Away High Tea from The Gallery, Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
- 1 September 2019: High Tea at Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
- 23 May 2018: High Tea at the Sheraton on the Park Sydney
- 1 February 2014: High Tea at Sheraton on the Park Sydney
