The themed high tea at the Tea Room in the National Gallery of Victoria is back. Last year, it was French. In conjunction with Claude Monet’s masterpieces. Now, it’s Italian-inspired. This year’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces features the Italian Masterpieces from Spain’s Royal Court, Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Melburnians will be able to enjoy the world-first exhibition of magnificent and rich collection of paintings and drawings spanning 300 years of Italian art, from the early 16th to 18th centuries. Artists such as Raphael, Correggio, Titian, Tintoretto, the Carracchi, Poussin and Tiepolo are represented at this exhibit.
The exhibition is on display at the Gallery from May 16th until the 31st of August 2014.
I was pretty excited when I found out about this particular high tea. As much as I love tasting food, I savour with my eyes too. I appreciate the aesthetics of the whole theme. It makes the experience a delight.
At the NGV, the ambiance was quite vibrant, infectious even. People milling around clutching notepads or pamphlets, conversing about paintings, contemplating which gallery to go in first while finishing their takeaway coffee cups, etc. Tourists, art enthusiasts, mums with kids in tow, ordinary people who just wanted a place to ponder, relax, and the like, were everywhere.
All these activities we saw from the balcony of the Tea Room while awaiting our welcome drinks of Prosecco – an Italian sparkling wine made from Glera grapes.
To go along with the Italian theme, of course, we got an Italian server. Molto bello! But quite distracting! I couldn’t even remember half of what he said when he started describing each morsel. Lol!
The savouries, sweets and scones arrived, in that order, and not on the traditional three-tier tray, but separately. The savouries were placed on small panels of wood, like makeshift plates, and placed on small silver folding stands.
I enjoyed the Italian Croque Monsieur (pan-grilled focaccia with mozzarella and prosciutto). And the beef pie was yum too. The mini pizza with olive was a tad dry though.
The second thing that caught my eye was the bell jar that contained the desserts. I loved the way it was presented. Each one of us had the glass dome which showcased interesting array of sweets.
What was visually delectable was the small flowerpot with cherry tomato, mozzarella, chocolate soil and basil in it. To get the full taste, I had to dig my spoon all the way to the bottom. It tasted sweet but at the same time, savoury too. It left me confused. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s probably that my palate isn’t that well-developed yet, that, or it was an acquired taste.
The rest of the sweets were A-OK. The lemon tart was something I could compare with as I had tried hundreds of them before. The other two, I’m not too sure. One was a cracker with Nutella on it, and the other was either two layers of cracker or flatbread with Nutella and mozzarella between them. I will have to consult my sister and friends about this. Blame it on the long-haired Italian eye candy, very distracting. Lol!
I had the scone! Yep, one lonely scone for each of us. It was fluffy and delicious with the cream and jam, so I wouldn’t complain really.
I wanted to order my favourites, Silver Needle and Buddha’s Tears, but decided otherwise. Instead, I chose something I haven’t tried before. Osmanthus tea. It was a powerful tea with a light sweet taste from the blooming red flowers.
It was a fun day with loads of giggles and laughter. A perfect way to spend an afternoon with a company of friends.
There are times though that I prefer the company of myself, just because. One of these instances is my going back to NGV to see the Italian Masterpieces exhibition by myself. I don’t know… There’s something personal about looking at paintings and sculptures. It makes me more introspective. It’s the feeling of nostalgia, I guess.
I’ll update this post after I have been to the exhibition.
💋
Price: 55 AUD; 26 AUD for the exhibition ticket
Place: Tea Room, NGV
Date: May 2014
Bookings are essential. Tea Room closed on Tuesdays.
My Teascapades... 