updated 5/23/13
GARDEN VIEW TEA ROOM Part 1.
hello everyone.
i've made two prior attempts to have lunch at the garden view tea room at the grand floridian. both times, emme & i could not make it. emme is slightly obsessed with her tea parties at home & i really wanted to experience a real tea party with her.
but after having experienced tea, i'm really glad i got to do this with rachel as emme passed out midway through the meal but it was really nice to experience this with an adult....and even better, an adult who likes disney!!
this was the only ADR where we were actually early. ironically, this was the only ADR where we waited close to an hour to be seated. emme was getting cranky, the cheesy potatoes i devoured at chef mickey's no longer occupied my tummy & i was hungry.
we were finally seated & the view was totally worth it.
our table was pretty large! i was so happy with that as i've seen some of the small tables from various pictures online. also, we have so much "stuff" such as cameras & phones...the large table was a welcomed treat.
cranky emme
rachel & i notice that it was really really cold inside of the room. maybe it was because they wanted us to enjoy our tea but dang, it was freezing inside!
gorgeous flowers!
our CM was riley & she was very knowledgeable about all things tea. here are some menu pictures.
i selected the "grand tea" as my meal & chose the "certified organic pear tree green" as my tea.
the china was so pretty. i was a bit worried for emme to touch it but i think with all the tea parties she has at home, she was a seasoned pro. no excessive clanking & nothing broke.
with my grand tea, i also got a nice glass of bubbly. yummy.
i ordered the "mrs. potts tea" for emme & asked if they could bring emme her sandwiches asap. i also requested all peanut butter sandwiches for emme as well as white milk as her tea.
emme & her "tea"
emme really liked her sandwiches. she was pretty hungry.
but she was totally falling asleep. it was so cute & so pitiful all at the same time.
for my tea, i ordered:
Certified Organic Pear Tree Garden
this was a green tea with a slight pear after taste. it was heavenly! i really enjoyed my tea. the great thing about the tea room is that the CM listens to your likes & dislikes & recommends a tea. if you don't like it, you are free to order another variety. i'm so glad i enjoyed my tea especially since it was freezing inside of the place.
the tea came in this fancy cozy that kept your pot well insulated. fancy schmancy!
for my meal, i took barb's advice & did not order the smoked salmon sandwich. instead, i substituted for an extra pear & gorgonzola cheese sandwich.
the sandwiches were: pear & gorgonzola cheese (2), cucumber & watercress, chicken curry & egg salad sandwich.
my favorite of the bunch was the pear & gorgonzola cheese. second was the cucumber & watercress sandwich. the egg salad was nothing spectatular & neither was the chicken curry sandwich. they weren't bad by any means but i wasn't blown away by the latter. i definitely could have done without the egg sandwich & wished i would have substituted for the cucumber sammy.
i'm not quite sure if it's how the sandwiches were suppose to be but some of my bread was on the "hard" side. it wasn't pillowy soft as i had envisioned. not sure if the sammies were sitting out for a bit but emme's peanut butter sandwiches were super fluffy.
Cucumber & Watercress tea sandwich
this sandwich was super refreshing. i loved the crunch of the cucumber. yummy!
in addition to the tea sandwiches, we got a slice of pate & an onion tart.
i absolutely loved the pate. it was wrapped in bacon! rachel wasn't a fan but me being the good friend that i am, ate her pate for her. that's what friends are for, right??
however, the star of this tea party was this onion tart.
OMG! this tart was epic. i loved everything about this tart. the onions were beautifully carmelized and the pastry was fluffy & buttery. together, it was magical. i was so sad when i took my last bite of the onion tart. i could have easily eaten about 2-3 of them.
Onion Tart
the onion tart was one of the best things i have eaten in my entire life. it was soooo delicious. it was probably the best bite of food i've had that entire weekend.