Truly Scrumptious

We have dined at the C before and had high tea there before but never a vegan high tea, and on a lovely Easter Sunday, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to try one of the few vegan high teas available in Perth. To be honest, it didn’t really have to be vegan, but it did have to be dairy free, so sometimes with a dairy heavy option like high tea, it’s easier to go vegan. If you don’t already know, The C is on the 33rd floor of St Martin’s Tower on St George’s Terrace, and it revolves, so you get a full view of the Swan, King’s Park and beyond as you rotate around at the top of the CBD.

We were seated by the window and given water, but it was some time before we were offered tea. My partner chose to have coffee instead, wanting a soy decaf flat white, and we were quickly told that this ‘wasn’t included in the high tea package’, only percolated coffee was included and we would have to pay extra. At the end of the meal we found out that this was a full price coffee, not the difference in price between percolated and other coffees, which seemed a bit mean of them. Anyhow, I chose a green sencha tea which was very good.

When the three tier stand arrived, we anticipated a lovely tea.

The savouries consisted of rice paper rolls, spring rolls and sliders. The first one we tried was a slider with vegan cheese and tomato. The roll was nice but the filling was under-seasoned and a little bland. The spring rolls were filled with mainly cabbage but some other vegetables, but again seasoning was lacking and we sought out a salt pot to help. The rice paper rolls contained tofu, noodles, carrot, onion and cabbage, and came with a dipping sauce, but again they were bland. The fourth item was a roll with avocado and grated carrot. I didn’t try this but my partner said that the roll was tasty and the avocado nicely ripe.

Scones were good, with a choice or fruit or plain, served with jam and coconut cream. The coconut cream was quite runny, but the scones were nice and I enjoyed them.

The desserts were a bit of a mixed bag. Fruit kebabs were simple but nice. The cashew cheesecake was grainy and not really pleasant to eat. The chocolate caramel slice was sweet and heavy.

So what was the verdict? It was nice but not special, and to be honest a bit of a lazy menu. They really could have made a few minor tweaks to make it a great menu. Instead of vegan cheese and tomato in a roll, how about a vegan tart with caramelised onions, vegan cheddar and tomato. How about a slice of crispy tofu bahn mi – that would have been so tasty! A finger sandwich with vegan pesto and roasted veggies would have been superb. Some tasty mushrooms in the spring roll and some more seasoning would have elevated it to another level.

Instead of dense vegan cakes, we could have had a little vegan lemon meringue, the fruits could have been arranged on a little vegan flan, the cheesecake could have been whipped strawberries and coconut cream. Vegan isn’t all about grated carrot and dense nutty desserts!

Will we go back? I doubt it, unless they lift their vegan game.

Last visit date – April 2021

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