Afternoon Tea at Abkhazi Gardens

August 8, 2015 By Korena in the Kitchen 3 Comments

Afternoon Tea at Abkhazi Garden | Korena in the Kitchen As you know, I recently had a birthday, which means I also recently had a birthday tea party with Lynette. We had been meaning to go to The Teahouse at Abkhazi Garden for years but never got around to it – and then when I found out that the woman who has the locker next to me at the gym is the owner of said Teahouse, it finally gave us the nudge we needed to make it happen.

The Abkhazi Garden has a pretty interesting history (it was created by the actual Prince and Princess Abkhazi and their story is rather amazing) and today it is owned by The Land Conservancy of BC and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteer gardeners.

Abkhazi Garden flowers | Korena in the Kitchen

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The New Oak Bay Beach Hotel’s Afternoon Tea

January 15, 2014 By Korena in the Kitchen 11 Comments

Afternoon tea at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel

My friend Lynette and I are self-styled afternoon tea aficionados, and we like to keep tabs on the establishments that serve afternoon tea in Victoria – you know, for quality control. So when I discovered that the newly re-constructed Oak Bay Beach Hotel had such an offering… well, it was high time for a tea party with our friends Whittney and Katheryn. Pinkies up, ladies!

First, a little background on the location: the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel is actually the third incarnation of the hotel. The first hotel was built in 1927 and unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1930, when an exact replica of the hotel was rebuilt on the site. The hotel became immensely popular, and in the 1950’s Victoria’s first neighbourhood pub, The Snug, was opened on the premises, soon becoming a local landmark. Passing from owner to owner, the hotel and its popularity stood in it all its 1930s glory until 2006, when it became clear that the building needed such extensive renovations and updates that it would be necessary to re-build from scratch. So they did. They dismantled the old hotel, saving much of its architectural elements and furniture to be re-used in the new hotel, which opened in 2012. While I am unable to draw a comparison because I never visited the old hotel, the new one certainly is grand, and judging by how bustling it was with locals just hanging out in the lobby, pub, and coffee shop, I think it’s still got its old charm….

A Trio of Chocolate Cakes

November 5, 2013 By Korena in the Kitchen 9 Comments

The past few months have contained a lot of cakes – chocolate cakes, to be specific. And not for me, but for other people, which is almost more fun because I get to bake my heart out without worrying about who will eat it all. 😉

Back in August, my lovely friend Tanya asked me to make some chocolate cupcakes for a baby shower, the theme for which was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, so I did what I could to turn the cupcakes into teacups without resorting to fiddly fondant or store-bought teacup paper liners.

I baked the Cook’s Illustrated Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes in some pretty floral cupcake papers to simulate china cups, filled the cakes with chocolate ganache, and frosted them with the rebar chocolate cream cheese frosting.

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Buttermilk Scones

March 5, 2013 By Korena in the Kitchen 26 Comments

Buttermilk Scones I almost never buy buttermilk, but a few weeks ago I had some in the fridge (leftover from making these) and was looking for ways to use it up. Scones jumped into my head because I also happened to have some lemon curd to use up, and there is practically nothing I like better than scones with lemon curd.

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Tea Party!

July 18, 2012 By Korena in the Kitchen 5 Comments

This year is Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.

Crab pâté and smoked salmon are delicious.

I love tea parties.

Head over to the SeaChange blog to see how I combined these three facts into something worth raising your pinky for. 😀

Lovely Scones

April 24, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 6 Comments

In grade 7/8 Home Ec, we learned how to make scones and sew boxer shorts. I have never in my life ever sewn another pair of boxer shorts, but this scone recipe is probably the most-loved recipe I have: I use it a lot and the scones (or baking powder biscuits, whatever you want to call them) always turn out perfectly. You can use whole wheat flour if you want or add chopped herbs, grated cheese, dried fruit, fresh or frozen berries, chocolate chips… endless delicious possibilities.

The important thing with making scones is not to over-mix when adding the milk to the dry ingredients, and also not to over-knead the dough before cutting it. The best way to think about it, in both instances, is as more of a folding action, rather than a stirring or kneading action. This gives you light, flaky, perfect scones.

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Afternoon Tea at the White Heather Tea Room

March 19, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 18 Comments

My friend Lynette and I are secretly little old ladies at heart. One of the defining things about our friendship is our undying love of tiny sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, and tea, and we often celebrate the milestones in our lives by going out for afternoon tea. Heck, we don’t need a milestone – any occasion is a good excuse. We have even gone so far as to dream up a “Tea Tour” of the English countryside, wherein we would travel from tea shop to tea shop, sampling afternoon teas and writing reviews to publish in a book (who knows how realistic this is, but a dream is a dream, right?). In preparation, we have been to nearly every afternoon tea-serving establishment in Victoria, from the quintessential (and expensive) Fairmont Empress Hotel to the more-British-than-Britain (and now defunct) Blethering Place, but we have not yet written any reviews.