I headed over to Market Square to use my ninth voucher from the play book, a free tour of Market Square, which promised 'Gamblers, Gold and Ghosts'. Two hosts, Chris and Kit from a local walking tour company were giving a forty-five minute taster of their product. Using Market Square as a base, Chris guided me and about fifteen others through the corners of the square, giving bits of the seedy history of the city and a few ghost stories mixed in.
I hadn't known that between Johnson and Pandora there once was the Johnson Street Ravine, which divided the European section of Victoria from Chinatown. Nor did I know that there was a pub called the Drake on the corner of Johnson and Wharf in the 50's that was as disreputable as they come... a far cry from today's Drake Eatery. Chris related the importance of the Chinese immigrants into Victoria, as merchants, workers and traders during the Fraser Valley Gold rush. And the subsequent heavy use of Chinese labour in building the trans-Canada railway. The various ghost stories were interesting but only in a the context of the history that surrounded them. I don't believe in ghosts, but I quite like a good detective story or unsolved murder. It was a good tour, with the one thing I didn't like was the slightly episodic nature of the stories rather than a central narrative. For people who like to hear about the local level of history and see what the streets of Victoria were once like, worth going.
Walking out of Market Square, I headed over to Harbour Air. 50% of postcards and souvenirs led to more postcards for the veritable pile I've created to send home. I didn't take them up on the 20% flight discount, but that's a great deal if you knew you were flying that weekend. Voucher ten torn out.
A quick walk to Roger's Chocolate in Government street and some Victoria Creams purchased in a two for one deal. This shop is awesome for chocolate lovers, of course with rows and rows of locally made goods, displayed in racks like a old-time store, with old-time wooden shelves and an old-time hexagonally tiled floor. Chocolates were given to the Brunette later. Voucher eleven completed.
Voucher twelve is the rather boring free gym bag and four weeks membership of Good Life Fitness for $10. I figure if I can hit two classes or sessions there I'll have got my value out of it. (The Brunette just commented on the bag that she's not quite sure where I got it from. There's only four logos on it, so it might be a bit too subtle for her. I'll let Good Life know they need to make it a bit more obvious when creating promotional hand outs.)
Voucher thirteen was the one I'd really been waiting for, though. Half-priced afternoon tea at the Empress. The Brunette and family had to cancel due to illness, to their dismay and mine. I had a reservation to the hottest deal in town and no-one to share it with!
However, I managed to convince Andrea to come for tea at the last minute. Everyone I know whose visited Victoria talks about Afternoon Tea here as an option, served in the traditional style with plates of tiny sandwiches and little sweet desserts. But at fifty bucks (plus) a time, I'd never been, preferring a $5 cuppa at Murchies or a $2 brew in a paper cup from Speciality Teas.
Okay, standing on the side of the street sipping an Earl Grey while watching the traffic pass by and the homeless guy panhandle for change is NOT the same experience as having a smartly dressed lady usher you to an over padded chair with a view of the harbour. Tea here is not just about what you get, it is HOW you get it.
After being seated Yousef, our server, came over with a couple of bowls of Strawberries and Cream, and a tea menu. We went for the recommended Empress Tea, a mix of various leaves, and probably served here since the hotel was built. Tea came out in two massive pots, and poured into some fine china tea cups by the extremely polite and effective Yousef. Splash of milk and a big long sip. Ahhh, that fine, fine feeling of good black tea. It rushes up the tongue and into the brain and tells me that world is spinning in the right direction and I don't need to get off it, not today.
I tried to teach Andrea how to sip it with the pinkie properly extended, but that was didn't go so well, and we just supped and sipped as we cared. Neither of us poured it into the saucer(*), so I think we passed the social etiquette test required.
Along with the tea came a stack of plates in a serving tower. On the bottom rung we had a set of little sandwiches, including cucumber on white bread with the crusts cut off. Level two contained a large scone, cream and jam. And on the top, some petit fours, little elegant little confectioneries.
The rolled salmon sandwich tasty, with fresh meat. A thin slice of salmon rolled into a spiral with brown bread and butter, then thin slices served. Like a very savoury Swiss roll. The tiny egg-salad croissants were nice to, with lots of creamy, fresh flavour. The cucumber sandwiches were indeed refreshing, as they should be. The rye-bread and coronation chicken was not so enjoyable... not enough filling, rye bread was a little dry. Plus it's rye bread, and I react badly to rye beer or rye liquor, so I associate it with moods swings, nausea and general mardiness. I believe Andrea enjoyed all the sandwiches she tried, avoiding the ham and chicken.
The scone was fresh and soft and full of dried fruit. I experiemented having it both Cornish and Devon style. Fruit first THEN cream (Cornish), or cream first THEN fruit (Devonshire style). My experiment came to the conclusion is that it doesn't matter, as long as you are feeding your face with good jam, fresh cream and crumbly, dense scones. Which I was. I know my tea partner enjoyed the scones as she was oddly silent for five minutes while she ate it, with a far away look her eye, like she was contemplating something.
Finally, the petit fours. I avoid the coconut macaroon, as I dislike dessicated coconut. I loved the tiny chocolate tea cup filled with a thick chocolate ganache and raspberry syrup. The lemon cup thing was super tart, and sharp. The thin shortbread was shortbread, delicate and easy to digest with just a hint of biscuit and butter flavour. If there was anything else up on that top level that I ate, it wasn't very memorable.
Overall, we had a nice, relaxing long hour of tea and chat and good food. The surroundings are elegant, with a mix of sofas, chairs and slightly more formal dining table chairs. The staff are super effective, friendly but keeping out of the way to allow you to enjoy the experience. For the $25.00 we paid (plus a generous tip) it was worth it. I am not sure I can convince myself that the peak tourist season cost of $63 is worth it. The line ups to get will of course tell you that many people think it's the thing to do in Victoria, and there's nowhere else quite like the Empress in the city. And nowhere else that does afternoon tea to this scale.
I said my thanks and goodbyes to Andrea and headed back to the James Bay Inn for a sit down, write up the report and a night in the pub with some other friends. And we'll leave that section for another post.
(*) Historical note: Iranians traditionally drank tea this way, and it was a common way to cool hot tea down in the past. 'We've' just all decided it's not the done thing any more.
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