High Tea at Montereys Brasserie, Pan Pacific Perth

The High Tea at Montereys Brasserie at the Pan Pacific Perth has been rebooted and redesigned to tantalise your tastebuds so let’s jump straight in!

Before I start on the food it is worth mentioning the rather grand entrance that comes with a pianist tinkling the ivories. I had barely taken that in when the very efficient waitress showed me to my window seat (that I might add was the perfect place to people watch) and another then poured me a glass of bubbles, Ferngrove Sparkling Cuvee. It wasn’t long before the three tiered tower of tasty treats appeared, one savoury and two sweet, perfect for a sweet tooth like myself.

I started with the bottom layer, the savouries. First up was the smoked Tasmanian salmon and dill mustard cream mini bagel. The salmon was plentiful whilst the dill mustard cream was a great alternative to your traditional cream cheese and the sprinkling of caviar on top gave it a little pop in your mouth.

Next up was my savoury pic of the day, the cucumber sandwich, but this wasn’t just any cucumber sandwich. For starters it was shaped like a pinwheel and the bread was not your traditional white but spinach bread. The cucumber filling was also a welcome surprise as that also stepped away from the norm in favour of Margaret River quark. I loved this so much that when the staff came around with plates of extra savouries (yes that’s a thing!) I took up the offer of another one without hesitation.

Runner-up was definitely my next savoury, smoked chicken, semi-dried tomato and aioli finger sandwich on semi-dried tomato bread. The flavours worked beautifully together with the hero definitely being the smoked chicken, yum!

I rounded off the savouries with the pork rillettes, muscatel jam on a truffle crisp. The rillettes (or pate) was full of flavour and the truffle crisp gave it the much needed crunch. This one was a crowd favourite as I noticed a lot of patrons were quick to take up the offer of extra servings.

At this point I ordered a peppermint tea for the sweets that lay ahead and this brings me to the middle layer of the tower where the scones resided. There was one very generous sized plain scone per person and the Margaret River double cream complimented the housemade jam well. The one thing that would’ve taken them from good to great was if they were warm as it’s not just about the taste, you then get the gentle waft of freshly baked scones that give the feeling they’ve come straight from the oven.

Then it was time to up the sugar ante and go up to the final tier on the tower. I started with what turned out to be dessert of the day, the petite lemon myrtle tart with yuzu gel. In other words, a mini lemon meringue tart that was to die for. Everything from the buttery tart shell to the fluffy meringue and lemon filling left me wanting another, and another. However, I still had a few desserts ahead of me so I moved onto the mango panna cotta with mango cream served in a tall glass. It was a welcome refreshing break that saw me trying to get every morsel out of the narrow glass with the other end of my spoon.

My next dessert was the crusted wattle seed choux pastry which is an alternate take on the profiterole. For starters the eclair casing had a biscuit topping with a rich chocolate button delicately placed on top. The custard filling was mild in flavour so it complimented the other components rather than take over as is often the case with a profiterole.

I rounded off my high tea experience with the chocolate & espresso buttercream sponge which reminded me of a mini tiramisu. The two bite delight was both pretty to look at and tasted just as good so it was the perfect way to end the afternoon.

On the presentation front a lot of the food was garnished with petite flowers that made them look oh so pretty and the option to have extra helpings both sweet and savoury was a crowd pleaser, myself included.

My only concerns were the lack of a food or beverage menu both at the table and verbally from the wait staff, and when it is busy as it was the day I was there the acoustics sometimes make it hard to hear. Upon saying that the high tea menu challenges tradition and pulls it off at every turn. There are different packages available, starting at a very respectable $49 all the way up to the luxe Moet and Chandon package for $95. All offerings come with bottomless tea and coffee.

Montereys Brasserie High Tea at Pan Pacific Perth is on every weekend from 2pm and it is popular so you will need to book, and be sure to specify your dietary requirements when you do.

High Tea at Montereys Brasserie Menu:

Sweet:

• House scones, house-made strawberry jam, Margaret River double cream
• Petite lemon myrtle tart, yuzu gel
• Chocolate & espresso buttercream sponge
• Crusted wattle seed choux pastry
• Northern Territory mango panna cotta, mango cream gf

Savoury:

• Pork Rillettes, muscatel jam, truffle crisp
• Mini bagel, smoked Tasmanian salmon, dill mustard cream
• Cucumber & Margaret River quark pinwheel
• Smoked chicken, semi-dried tomato aioli finger sandwich

 

Served with Dilmah Loose Leaf and Premium Loose Leaf Tea with the option to add a glass of sparkling wine.

 

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