Jonella and I have had this planned for months. The festival of Norty's 50th birthday continued today. Norty had her birthday in January, but with COVID, we had to postpone this celebration. And then there was finding a suitable date, waiting for a booking. And finally the day came.
GIN HIGH TEA at the Flinders Hotel down the Mornington Peninsula. Wooohooooo.
A gin high tea combines two of my favourite things. High Tea - and gin.
I rocked up at Jonella and Thom's place at 10.30. Norty came soon after. We piled into Thom's car and he drove us down to Flinders, about an hour down the way on the Mornington Peninsula. Thom was our designated driver, as the thought of a high tea, two gin and tonics and a gin cocktail an hour out of town meant somebody had to drive. It fell to Thom. I'm normally the driver, but Thom's good like that. He's also a big man and big men tend to process alcohol better than women.
We made it down to Flinders with ample time for the midday start.
Well, what can I say? As birthday presents go, I wish somebody would give me something like this. It's awesome.
We were seated quickly, after doing the cursory COVID check in. The attentive staff gave us the menu, which gave us the choice of gin, the gin cocktails and the menu.
First up, a gin and tonic to start the day off well. The High Tea offers a good selection of local gins, including the yummy Original Gin Company flavoured gins and offerings from Bass and Flinders, Drops of Jupiter, Rocky Jones, Four Pillars and the Ink Gin Co.
Me, I started with and Ink Gin with elderflower tonic. I've had a bottle of Ink Gin in the cupboard for a while. It was a lovely, soft start to the day. Ink Gin is blue in the bottle. Add tonic and it comes out pink. And everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is made very good with the inclusion of elderflower tonic.
Jonella, Thom and Norty made their choices from the Original Gin Company gins - they way I saw it, may a well try those gins I don't drink regularly. This was a good, and bold move. Besides, Ink Gin is known as the Instagram gin...
Then the food came.
Oh my.
It was a wonderful spread.
We started with the pork, veal and fennel sausage rolls, with a homemade tomato sauce. Okay, they could have been a bit warmer, but they were very tasty.
Next, chicken, zucchini and comte tart. A lovely and deceptively light tart - just a mouthful and just enough.
I went for the finger sandwiches next. There were two sorts. Prawn and Cucumber, and Chicken and Pistou. I love high tea sandwiches with their crusts removed and their fresh, fresh bread. These were mighty tasty. I was also reminded of how much I miss England and their prawn sandwiches which can be found at any Boots Chemist or supermarket.
My favourite savoury was the smoked salmon blini with salmon roe and soft herbs. This was delightful, but smoked salmon is one of my most favourite things ever.
We lingered over lunch. Heading into the sweet things, another drink was ordered. For me, I went for the Sloe Gin Smash, a mix of Original Sloe Gin (YUM), and Rhubarb and Ginger Gin, mixed with Elderflower Jam and Soda. It was delightful.
Then there were the scones. Scones done right. Bottomless scones, both plain and pumpkin scones. Scones with raspberry and rhubarb jam and whipped cream. I have Cornish blood. Scones done right are the best - they appeal to my English Cream Tea roots. These were fantastic. Crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Mum couldn't have made better.
But I was filling up. It was a struggle to finish the food - but I am up to such challenges as I'm part Labrador as well.
Dessert was divine.
I started off with the chocolate mousse with pistachio cream. I'm not a chocolate lover, but this was just enough in its small glass. Any more would have been too much. Thom loved his. You can't take a man away from his chocolate mousse as you can see.
Then there was the passionfruit creme choux, with cream cheese and orange marmalade. I loved this. It wasn't too sweet and the flavours were complex as they were subtle. Then again, I love passionfruit, so what's not to love.
The best bit of the day was the rose, raspberry and lychee macaron. Oh my... there are not words, other than I was very, very happy to have ended the food on this.
And then the last gin and tonic for the road. For me, I chose the Rocky Jones pink gin, which was not what I was expecting when it came out. It reminded me of a dryer Poor Tom or Archie Rose, not a raspberry tainted affair I was expecting. It cleansed the palate and did the trick.
A good walk around Flinders, a stop at a couple of galleries was necessary. The other three stopped at the chocolate shop. I was fooded out, so stood outside - not able to stomach the thought of any more food. The smells made me feel a bit wretched. After this, we piled back into the car for the hour drive back to Jonella's place, after a quick stop at the beach. Being wet and blowing a gale, we didn't stay long. On a nicer day, we'd have walked down to the end of the pier.
By the time we got back, the worst of the alcohol had been processed and I was good to drive.
And now I'm home, having a cup of miso soup for dinner and a couple of anti-spasmodics have been taken to stave off a gall bladder attack.
But it's been a most wonderful day.
Today's song:
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