The world class pastry team at The Treasury, InterContinental Sydney are busy serving up a classic high tea menu with their own modern interpretations.
Since we last visited the InterContinental Sydney The Cortile has been transformed into a plush new space and rebranded as The Treasury. Still framed by the sandstone arches of the original treasury building built in 1851 the space is now a lot more inviting with lush greenery dotted around between the tables and green velvet banquettes. A central feature is the glittering curved bar which would be a great place to pull up a seat for an after-work drink with friends. The original domed atrium soaring above lets natural light stream through during the day.
Once seated a bottle of sparkling wine from Bimbadgen Estate in the Hunter Valley quickly arrived at the table and a glass each was poured. The tea served in The Treasury is by Mayde Tea (see full list below). It was a nice touch having little pots of leaves brought to the table to see and smell while they were explained. It made selecting one to try a lot more interactive and fun than just picking off a list.
The fine bone china teaware used for this high tea is the Sultan’s Garden which is designed by UK ceramics expert, William Edwards. It is exquisite, with the green palms and eclectic animal patterns blending in perfectly with the rest of the Treasury’s interiors.
The immaculate presentation of the three tier stand highlights just how talented this pastry team are. Each element is meticulously crafted and garnished making it a joy to both look at and eat.
The egg and truffle sandwich on white bread with mayo is a delightful blend of flavours. There’s richness from the egg with a tang from the mayo and an underlying gentle hum of truffle.
The usually traditional smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches are perfectly melded into the one delicious ribbon sandwich here. The thinly sliced cucumber adds a refreshing lightness against the rich smoked salmon. The sapphire blue scampi caviar adds a decadent saltiness.
The buttery shortcrust tart contains perfectly roasted onions, the kind that make you want to buy a bag of onions on the way home to try and recreate them yourself. The little squares of compressed pear add some texture and sweetness and the tang of the goats cheese rounds out the dish.
Moving on to the sweets, the calamansi tart is similar to a lemon meringue pie. A calamansi is an Asian citrus fruit described as a cross between a lemon, lime and orange. The curd was quite tangy at first with an underlying sweetness. The torched Italian meringue adds a creaminess, with the sweet shortcrust shell adding texture.
The Callebaut parfait is luxuriously smooth and intensely rich. Being a parfait instead of a mousse it holds it shape perfectly while it waits its turn to be enjoyed. The sable biscuit it rests on gives a nice crunch.
Choux buns always run the risk of softening instead of maintaining their light crispness and these ones were no different. But that didn’t really matter, the vanilla pistachio custard was silky and sweet with an added crunch from the roast coconut and the fresh cubes of mango adding a tropical vibrancy.
There were both plain and fruit scones served. Perfectly cooked with a great crust and textured crumb structure, slathered with the house made jam and cream they were a joy to eat.
Overall, this is one of the better five-star hotel high teas we’ve experienced in recent years. We highly recommend you get the gang together and book yourselves a table soon.
High Tea Menu:
Savoury:
- Egg, herb and white truffle sandwich
- Huon salmon, lemon myrtle, scampi caviar
- Mountain pepperberry pastrami, smoked tomato relish
- Goats cheese, roasted onion and compressed pear tart
Sweet:
- Calamansi tart, burned Italian meringue, fresh raspberry
- Strawberry tart, hazelnut frangipane, vanilla and lavender cream, rhubarb preserve
- Pistachio choux, vanilla and pistachio custard, roasted coconut, mango
- 54 % dark Callebaut chocolate parfait, tonka seed crèmeux, cocoa sable breton, milk chocolate tuile
Scones:
- Traditional and fruit, clotted cream and house-crafted berry preserve
Tea selection by Mayde Tea:
- Australian Native – strawberry gum, lemon myrtle, peppermint gum, rosella, aniseed myrtle, lemongrass
- Earl Grey – black tea and bergamot
- Green Sencha, Jasmine and Rose – green sencha, jasmine flowers and rose petals
- English Breakfast – black tea
- Organic Chai – black tea, cinnamon, ginger, clove and black pepper
- Rooibos Turmeric Chai – rooibos, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, turmeric, clove and black pepper
- Hibiscus Lemon Myrtle – lemon myrtle, rooibos, hibiscus and jasmine flowers
- Serenity – chamomile, passionflower, rose petals and lavender
High Tea Sydney – find more experiences
in our High Tea Venue Directory
Reviews for this venue:
- 8 June 2021: Sky Tea in the Panorama Lounge Bar, InterContinental Sydney
- 30 November 2019: The Nutcracker High Tea at the InterContinental Sydney
- 3 December 2017: High Tea at The Cortile, InterContinental Sydney
- 5 August 2015: High Tea at the InterContinental Hotel Sydney
- 18 July 2012: High Coffee at the InterContinental Sydney
- 4 November 2010: High Tea at the InterContinental Sydney
