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Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor, a Melbourne Tradition. Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright 2014 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor, a Melbourne Tradition That’s a Must

Afternoon tea at The Hotel Windsor is a quintessential Melbourne experience for many, and for locals as much as tourists. While afternoon tea may currently be in vogue – it was inevitable it would follow on from the cupcake fad – the Hotel Windsor has been serving its traditional afternoon tea continuously since 1883, and it’s as popular as ever. Reservations are essential.

While we rarely partake in the ritual ourselves – there’s very little time between lunch and dinner as it is (and on the day we did partake we’d had lunch at the Middle Park Hotel and were due at Cutler & Co for dinner!) – we had to find out what the fuss was all about.

And we can see the charm of the thing. Afternoon tea at The Hotel Windsor is served in an elegant dining room with mirrors on the walls, chandeliers dripping from the ceiling, colossal flower arrangements, and white linen and silver on the tables. It starts with flutes of sparkling, followed by the arrival of a traditional tiered silver stand of dainty sandwiches, pies, scones, and cupcakes, along with a choice of fine teas.

Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor, a Melbourne Tradition. Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright 2014 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Waiters in smart black suits serve guests who have gone to some trouble to dress up for the afternoon. On the day we went a couple of young women wearing cocktail dresses and little hats and carrying tiny handbags tottered between their table and the dessert buffet in their towering heels.

Grandmothers wore pearls and heady perfume, while little girls skipped about in flouncy white dresses and bows in their curled hair. An extended family spanning several generations spent the afternoon sharing stories and laughs over scones that were just like nanna used to make. It was all very civilised and old-fashioned and it was heartening to see.

Afternoon Tea at the Hotel Windsor – A Melbourne Tradition That’s a Must

We had to find out more – to find out why Melburnians have for so long embraced afternoon tea at the Windsor, whether I should have been wearing high heels, and how do you make a great cup of tea. We consulted Joseph De Rozario, butler at the Hotel Windsor for 37 years.

Interview with butler Joseph De Rozario on Afternoon Tea at the Hotel Windsor

Q. Why makes afternoon tea at The Hotel Windsor so special?

A. It’s famous because we’ve served traditional afternoon tea for the longest time in Melbourne and people like the atmosphere and sense of history. Afternoon tea is an old tradition so it’s nice to enjoy the experience in equally historic surroundings. People come and relax, enjoy a glass of bubbly when they arrive, and they like the choice of tea, which is unique to the hotel, which we give them in individual pots. People also like the freshly made scones and pastries. We make everything here at the hotel daily so it’s always fresh. The sandwiches are very good – people particularly like the cucumber ones.

Q. Do you think it has changed much since 1883?

A. The three-tiered stands are different today than they were when I first started serving afternoon tea. The china plates now were silver plates back then and the actual stand was slightly different, though still silver. We didn’t have a dessert buffet back then. We had a trolley of gateaux and pastries, and we used to go around with that trolley and serve the guests individually. Guest started with scones then sandwiches and finished with pastries, now people tend to start with sandwiches. We used to serve afternoon tea from 3-5pm. We also served morning tea as well from 10.30-11.30am but we don’t serve that anymore. It consisted of muffins and finger sandwiches and was popular with ladies who came to Melbourne on shopping trips.

Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor, a Melbourne Tradition. Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright 2014 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Q. Afternoon tea seems to be fashionable again.

A. Afternoon Tea is more popular than ever at The Hotel Windsor. We’ve even started serving it twice a day now to keep up with demand. I think people like taking the time to enjoy good company, some bubby and great food. Everything else is so rushed these days. Coming in for afternoon tea is special, it’s not something you rush through like you do lunch.

Q. What should traditional afternoon tea include?

A. Oh yes, cucumber sandwiches are a must, along with scones with jam and cream, chicken sandwiches, a variety of pastries, and of course the bubbly as well.

Q. Was sparkling wine traditionally required?

A. Bubbles are not an essential part of afternoon tea but it’s a nice touch. I’m not sure if other hotels offer it but it’s always been on the menu at the Windsor. Sparkling should be served on arrival, as it gives guests time to relax and enjoy it, and then finish with a hot cup of tea or coffee to their liking.

Q. So coffee is allowed?

A. Coffee is allowed but most people will drink tea in the afternoon to relax them a little bit. After a hard days work people like a cup of tea. As the saying goes “if you are cold tea will warm you up, if you’re heated it will cool you, if you’re depressed it will cheer you, and if you’re excited it will calm you.”

Q. What sort of tea should be served?

A. For afternoon tea it’s better to serve English Breakfast which is full bodied and not so strong and is a really relaxing tea for the afternoon. Darjeeling tea too. At the moment we have our own brand that is called the Windsor Blend, which is a blend of English Breakfast and Darjeeling Tea and is specially made for the Windsor. You can’t buy it anywhere else.

Afternoon Tea at The Hotel Windsor, a Melbourne Tradition. Melbourne, Victoria. Copyright 2014 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Q. What’s the secret to making perfect tea?

A. You have to boil the water first – make sure it is cold to start with and don’t over-boil it because it will kill the oxygen in the water – and make sure you have a porcelain or china pot. First you pour the loose tea in the pot, one teaspoon of tea for the pot and one teaspoon for the cup. Then pour hot boiling water over the loose tea and let it sit for 3-4 minutes depending on how strong you like your tea. Always add your milk to the cup before you pour in the hot tea. Because it’s a fine china cup and the cup might crack with the boiling water so the milk cools the tea as it enters.

Q. Afternoon tea at home?

A. If I’m having afternoon tea at home I would definitely have a china tea set and china plates to serve the scones, pastries and sandwiches on. But I don’t think the tiered stand is essential.

Q. Should the butler or host always pour the tea and serve food?

A. The correct protocol would be that the butler serves the first tea and coffee and then goes around with the savouries and pastries, and then offers a second time to see if they would like more tea and coffee. If they refuse then leave the guests be. We only offer them the second round. If they accept this round then we let them help themselves a third round if they wish.

Q. Dress code?

A. At The Windsor it’s neat clean, tidy casual dress, no shorts or thongs.

Q. And what if afternoon tea never ends and guests don’t want to go? Invite them for *high tea?

A. Ha! Ha! That’s a good idea! In the last session of our afternoon teas we sometimes get people not wanting to leave and once we have cleared the tables and it’s approaching the end of the day we politely inform them that we need to prepare the room for dinner service.

The Hotel Windsor

111 Spring Street, Melbourne
www.thehotelwindsor.com.au

* There is a misconception that afternoon tea and high tea are the same things, however, high tea in Britain was traditionally an early working class dinner – which explains why Australians of our grandparents’ generation referred to dinner as ‘tea’.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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Comments

  1. Brendan says

    March 31, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    I think The Windsor is the only way to have High Tea. Other places do their High Tea, but there is nothing like having a treat at The Old Lady Windsor

  2. Lara Dunston says

    April 2, 2012 at 5:25 pm

    Hi Brendan – I don’t think The Windsor does a High Tea… or do they? I think they might just do the Afternoon Teas these days. Or do you mean ‘afternoon tea’ when you say ‘high tea’? I’ve noticed that some people conflate the two terms, but historically ‘high tea’ was an early dinner, eaten around 6.30pm. Regardless, totally agree with you that The Windsor’s tea is a pretty special experience. We had no idea how popular it was when we went. It was good to see. Thanks for dropping by!

  3. Jo karnaghan says

    May 6, 2012 at 11:54 am

    The Windsor also does an amazing Christmas dinner on Christmas day – but it is very expensive and very popular. If you think you are going to be in Melbourne on the day you need to book about 6months in advance. Well worth the effort though – and no one has to wash up afterwards!

  4. Lara Dunston says

    May 7, 2012 at 12:54 pm

    Great tip! I think the warm environment would be nice for a family in Melbourne over Christmas. Thanks, Jo!

  5. Lara Dunston says

    June 28, 2012 at 1:05 am

    Exactly right! Thank you! High tea is lighter than dinner, but, no, definitely not lighter than afternoon tea, and the high tea has the savoury element and afternoon teas don’t always have, not in Australia anyway. Australia obviously adapted their high tea from the British and so over time it evolved and we had different things, and then, it eventually became ‘tea’ (especially to those who lived in the country), the name for a very early dinner. So I find it so odd to return to Australia after all these years and nobody seems to know that anymore. It’s continually conflated with Afternoon Tea, which these days is all about cupcakes and macarons. Thanks for dropping by!

  6. Becky Willis says

    June 28, 2012 at 12:57 am

    A high tea around here in Devon, UK, consists of doorstep wedges of bread, lovely cheese cut from the whole cheese preferably, home-baked hams, chutney and often finished with traditional heavier cakes than those served at Afternoon Tea. Farmhouse fruitcake, gingercake or even a nice jam roly-poly if you’re lucky! High tea is not the lighter meal that an Afternoon tea is.

  7. Rosie says

    May 24, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    Lara is correct. High tea was a working class meal, with some kind of meat or egg with bread, and for instance, in Yorkshire, they made Yorkshire pudding, so that less meat had to be provided (often had many mouths to feed). but high tea was ‘dinner’ as the evening meal, and in those days, your ‘dinner’ was your lunch (something tied in a hanky if you were lucky).

  8. Lara Dunston says

    May 30, 2015 at 2:11 pm

    Thanks for the additional insight, Rosie. I do wish people would stop using the two interchangeably. Thanks for dropping by!

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Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
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This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

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Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

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It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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