English Rose Tearoom

Second Sunday Tea at 3 had to move to the third Saturday in February this year due to Valentine's Day falling on the second Sunday of the month, so we decided to change the day as well so we could visit The English Rose Tearoom in Pleasanton, which isn't open on Sundays. This tearoom features an inviting tea themed garden area, gift shop corner and loose leaf teas for sale.

Our beautifully set tables were waiting for us right by the sunny front window. There were six of us that day, so two of the tiny tables were pushed together for the group. The Tearoom encourages diners to experience as many teas as they want, but due to the small size of the tables, limits the selections to two pots on the table at a time. However, these can be swapped out at any time, even if they're not quite empty.

Housemade Lemon Curd, Jelly, and Clotted Cream Yummy!

The tea delicacies were tasty and so generous that some of us couldn't finish them, even though we sat there from 3:00 until 5:30, eating and tasting many different teas. The owner and staff are very accommodating, checking in frequently to ask if we needed our tea pots topped off or wished to change to a new pot. Informal and fun, this tearoom is ready for all comers, large groups or single guests just craving a cuppa. They even offer a tea sample with cookie just for stopping in their storefront.

Standard three tier tea tray full of deliciousness. (gift shop in background)

 The platters were arranged so that each person's selections were together

sweets and scones

fancy savories and fruit

Sammies galore including a pastry cup with goat cheese and honey

Chocolate Caramel Brownie Tea,
with sugar and cream

In addition to delicious beverages and tasty food, we were encouraged to stay after we finished the food and taste even more teas. The English Rose Tearoom has an extensive list of teas for customers to peruse for tasting. Angela most preferred the Creme Brulee, and of course J. K. loved the Chocolate Caramel Brownie. Both are flavored black teas. Other types sampled were Herbal Peppermint, Genmaicha, Partridge in a Pear Tea and Indian Chai just to name a few!

U Matcha–by the Republic of Tea

The Republic of Tea gave us each a very generous press kit (it included samples of several of their teas–Angela's Mom found her favorite Red Velvet tea via a sample) at the Fancy Food Show, then emailed to ask if there was anything else we'd like to try. We chose the U Matcha Charcoal, which is so tasty we built an entire lunch around it.

Angela cooked rice with U Matcha in the water and topped it with smoked salmon plus veggies. A simple salad of greens with U Matcha in the dressing was a perfect accompaniment. Just add 1-2 teaspoons of U Matcha to your regular vinaigrette dressing recipe and shake well.

Tea Time does not consider a meal complete without dessert (actually, we sometimes consider dessert a complete meal), so J.K. made marshmallows the night before. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to cut them in the morning, so she brought the whole pan.

The marshmallow syrup was as green as the salad dressing, but after 15 minutes in the mixer, the whipped product was only slightly tinted. Whip it!

 That changed, of course, after we dusted more matcha over the powdered sugar coating.

When making marshmallows, cooking spray is essential. J.K. sprayed her mixer bowl, whisk attachment and bowl scraper. Also the foil lining the baking pan, and the knife she used to cut the finished marshmallow. Any spray oil would work, this is just the brand we had on hand.  After we cut the marshmallow into blocks, we got to work on the truffles.

This recipe for rustic truffles is quite simple. Pick your favorite type of white chocolate chunks  (about one cup), and melt with a bit of heavy whipping cream (two tablespoons) in a double boiler over medium heat. Angela added a tablespoon of U Matcha to the melted chocolate, stirred until incorporated and  stuck it in the fridge to chill. Once the filling was cold we hand rolled balls quickly. If the filling gets too warm, simply chill again.

nudie matcha balls

 We rolled them in the matcha/powdered sugar and dusted them with cocoa. These soft truffles should be kept in the fridge and served cool. Otherwise they will begin to melt at room temperature. If you want to keep them around longer you can simply take a page from J. K.!

dusted and ready for eating

Later, J.K. was dipping dried fruit in tempered chocolate to take to an Oscars-watching party, so she dipped a few truffles, too.

Due to the powdered sugar and cocoa, the truffles weren't quite coated after dipping, so she dipped them a second time after the first coat set.

The perfect creamy filling!

Tea Time isn't sure if turning U Matcha into dessert still counts as a detox, but that's okay. We'll split the difference and just call it "healthy dessert."

Chinese Banquet with the 2016 San Francisco Writers Conference

Once again, SFWC Board Member Harvey Pawl treated the speakers and volunteers to a banquet dinner at Great Eastern on Jackson Street in San Francisco's Chinatown. Great Eastern is one of Tea Time's lunch favorites, but whichever meal you choose there will be outstanding.

We began with a barbecue pork appetizer, which was quickly followed by egg drop soup.

No. 80.
Honey Glazed Barbecued Pork

No. 43. Mixed Vegetables and Bean Curd
with Egg Drop Soup.

There was a large bowl of fluffy rice to accompany our meal.

 A plate of fried sweet potato

 preceded the Peking Duck.

No. 109. Peking Duck with steamed bun

Spring onions and sweet bean sauce to
go with the Peking Duck  

 There  was beef with pea pods and mushrooms.

Sauteed filets of beef, snap peas, mixed mushrooms with barbecue sauce

Followed by Honey Walnuts with Shrimp.

Honey glazed walnut and sautéed prawns with mayonnaise

And just in time for the non-carnivores in our group, vegetarian chow fun. 

No. 203 is chow mein with mixed vegetables, but
it's easy enough to switch the noodles.

 There were spare ribs.

No. 118. Peking Spareribs.

 And sesame chicken.

No. 115. Sesame Chicken.

 The final dish was fish with asparagus.

Sauteed filet of flounder with lily bulbs & asparagus.

 Accompanied by pea sprouts with whole sautéed garlic cloves.

Sautéed snow pea sprouts with garlic sauce.

 And, of course, fortune cookies and orange slices.

  

This was, as usual, an amazing meal. The conference itself is a great opportunity for aspiring writers, but the banquet alone is worth the effort of volunteering.

Bob's Red Mill

Bob Moore was at the Fancy Food Show again this year, posing for photos and chatting with attendees while signing his new, Breakfasts cookbook. Tea Time really enjoys Bob's products! There is such a huge variety and they're all top quality.

Angela got to see the Big Red Mill while visiting a friend in Oregon over Christmas. She saw their entire line of products as well as a few stone mills used for grinding. Of course she picked up some breakfast cereal for J.K. while getting a few hard to find grains (kamut?) and crockpot meal builders like their Whole Grains and Beans Soup Mix (she made the mistake of overcooking the beans, they were so fresh-no need to soak).

Bob's is your place to grab gluten-free mixes and pantry staples. We tried the brownies and they were delicious. If you can't find Bob's in a store near you, or they aren't selling the product you need, just check out the online store. You'll find it there!

The Fancy Food Show is great place to spot new trends or simply enjoy the news from old favorites. Everyone walking past the Bob's booth would stop and say, "Is that Bob? Oh! Let's get in line!" The line grew quite long while we waited the short time for J.K. to get her photo and recipe book. Bob is a popular guy.

Tu Lan and Raise The Macallan With Beth

The Macallan, one of our favorite scotch whiskys,  invited us to a tasting of several of their vintages at Bespoke in the Westfield Centre. We wanted to be able to appreciate the whisky without getting too much of a buzz, so we stopped at Tu Lan on 6th Street for dinner before the tasting event.

Tu Lan seems more "American" than Chinatown Vietnamese restaurants. The beef in the Lemon Beef Salad was cooked, not raw, although the menu warns that the dish contains raw beef. Maybe it just had to do with who was in the kitchen that night. We were a bit disappointed but the salad was tasty and we finished it with no complaints.

 To balance our meal, we had Sauteed Mixed Vegetables with Mushroom.

All entrees are served with a generous bowl of steamed rice.

Thus fortified, we headed off to the Macallan event. There was a long line, but we were entertained by images flashing on the outside screens.

When there isn't an event at Bespoke, the screens are different.

 If you move around in the circles in front of the screens, as this young man is doing, the image changes along with the movement.

The restrooms are very interesting. This is the entrance, with the Ladies' on the right and the Gents' on the left, after you get inside.

There was a very intriguing presentation by Kieron Elliott, who is quite entertaining and has a charming Scottish accent. The tastings are all small, and well spaced, so it was easy to concentrate on  each one. The vintages we tasted were all excellent, but the highlight of the evening was the final pour, a taste of their Rare Cask, which has a definite chocolate flavor. The only thing preventing me from buying a bottle is the $300 price tag!

Corn, Barley and Wheat

There was a large video display as well,
to underscore the presentation

Sláinte!