I (Amanda) love a good high tea so when there is a new one on the scene I like to put on my Sunday best, gather the ladies and get to sipping on some tea in the fine china. Sean’s Kitchen (SK) has recently introduced a modern take on the classic high tea and are labelling it a ‘Girl’s Day Out’… and that is exactly what we experienced!
The Girls Day Out package is $49 and includes a glass of NV Louis Bouillot Perle de Vigne, Grand Reserve Burgundy from France.
Next we make our one and only decision for the day… which fresh fruit and vegetable smoothie would we like and should we spike it with white rum, gin or vodka (for an extra $8).
Seems like a silly question to a girls gone wild, I mean girls day out crowd but never the less I decide on the ‘Pink Grapefruit, Kale, Coriander and Apple’ smoothie spiked with a shot of gin. The smoothie has a mix of tart, sweet and bitter, is thick and pulpy with an overall healthy taste which could have benefited from an extra slip of the hand holding that gin bottle!
The first dish out is the ‘Heirloom Tomatoes, Strawberry, Watermelon, Pomegranate’ with lemon labne cheese. A summery salad feel, it was colourful and playful on the plate and worked well for today’s sunny warm weather. All the elements were fresh and sweet as you would expect with the basil leaves and acidity of the lemon labne cutting through the sweetness of the fruit. Although I think the pomegranate was missing from the dish today. Overall a great light start.
The wonderful smelling ‘Chicken Lollipops’ are served next. These lightly crumbed chicken drumsticks are well seasoned, tasty and impressively tender and moist within. When dipped in that divine hollandaise we were glad we had two each to devour, as one would definitely have not sufficed!
The ‘Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches’ with green goddess dressing were decent sized meaty crabs sandwiched in an oval shaped brioche bun. These were a crowd favourite around the table with the sweet fresh buns and lovely light batter encasing the delicate crab within. An overall predominant sweetness to the dish with the ‘green goddess dressing’ bringing the earthy flavours to soften and balance out the sandwich.
The ‘Duck Liver Parfait’ with brioche is what I believe to be a signature dish at SK because it has been on the menu since the beginning and is still as special as the first time I encountered it. Presented in a sealed jar that we peel back to reveal the full flavoured duck pate makes eating this pate all the more fun. Spreading the pate on the thickly sliced brioche toast which we are kindly provided a second piece of to ensure there is enough to go around is a perfect pairing of sweet and savoury.
To bring some freshness back to the palate we are then served the ‘Waldorf ‘Moderne’ a la Sean’. This salad consists of poached corn fed chicken, apple, celery, smoked almonds, cos lettuce and red onion. Juicy shreds of chicken are kept moist by the poaching method and is superb to eat with the fresh celery and lettuce, sweetness of the apple and crunch of the almonds.
Our last savoury dish for the day is the ‘Fremantle Octopus’ with Kipfler potatoes, Sicilian olives, chilli and gremolata and a wedge of lemon on the side. This was also a very light and enjoyable dish with tender octopus and fresh acidity from the gremolata and freshly squeezed lemon. Extra bulk was provided in the potatoes and lots of fresh herbs boosted the flavour profile even further.
Dessert is provided all at once unlike the savoury dishes which were a scattered approach. Today we have ‘Passionfruit Kiss Doughnut Holes’, Today’s ‘Soft Serve Ice Cream’ Special and ‘Mexican Fresh Fruit Pops’. Our favourite was the Anzac Day inspired soft serve ice cream. It was cleverly presented like an ice cream in a cone that had fallen onto a plate. There were lashes of creamy vanilla soft serve ice cream, creme fraiche, delectable clumps of Anzac biscuits and sweet caramelised figs. What can I say but if only this could be a standard menu item, I’d be there every week for a fix!
The girls enjoyed the fruit popsicles with real fruit pieces within the ice block. Sweet and fun to eat! The only disappointment for the day were the overcooked doughnuts which were small balls of dough covered in a hard passionfruit glaze. If these doughnuts were still light and fluffy within then this would have been a winner of a dish too. Although I would have also preferred to see a gooey moist passionfruit glaze over the doughnuts rather than the hard set dry version presented today.
The girls and I had a wonderful day out at SK’s modern day version of high tea. It is far from the petite finger food you will find at a classic high tea but you will definitely go home from this modern day version a little more fuller and a lot more tipsier! The Girl’s Day Out menu is available from brunch through until late lunch, seven days a week, for tables of three or more. So round up the girls and book in a day out today! Or if you would like to host your own high tea, check out Sean Connolly’s Strawberry Panna Cotta on our recipe page.
Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly :: I’m sure if you let SK’s know your dietary requirements prior they would design a menu to suit.
Child Friendly :: This is ‘Girls’ Day Out’ – your opportunity to leave the kids at home!
Ambiance :: 4.5/5 – Stylish, fun and somewhere you want to be seen!
Service :: 4/5 – Friendly and attentive.
Food :: 8.5/10 – A great selection of dishes to keep the girl’s full and happy.
In total OTCB gives Sean’s Kitchen 17/20 chops on The Chopping Board.
Amanda xx
