Hopetoun for Greatness

Please excuse my shakey-slightly-out-of-focus-salivation-shot. But I almost died when I walked past the display at Hopetoun Tea Rooms.

If you're looking for deliciously decadent desserts washed down with a pot of hot flavoursome tea; this is your kind of place. If you love impersonating the Toorak side of Melbourne with pinky protruding from your teacup; look no further.

It seems like half of Melbourne stops out the front of this tearoom to take a pic of the vibrant display; and the other half is waiting in line just to get in. Timing is certainly key; if you wait that extra ten minutes you might find yourself 20 meters away down stream drowning in your own saliva. 

My sister & I beat the lunch rush and settled in for lunch at this gem of a place. We shared a burger (which for a place we specifically went to gorge on cakes was bloody delicious; brioche bun, wagyu beef, curly fries...très gourmet) to line our stomachs with something savoury first. Being the tea devour-ers we are, we each took a pot of earl grey; Marquise Grey & Mademoiselle Grey (lavender & rose petal). At this point I feel it's important to shout out "Serendipitea" (http://www.serendipitea.com.au/) for their amazing loose leaf tea with real lavender & rose petals; the flavour is so naturally beautiful it's hard to comprehend how other tea shops can sell anything but this pot of relaxation. 

And for the all important cake choice; I demolished a piece of apple & blueberry crumble and the sister a raspberry tart, both in expert timing. Will definitely head back to try another.

I'd wager that only about 10% of the customers at my time of dining were actually the posh upper class we middle class expect to see at such an establishment, and the other 90% were doing their best to impersonate them with heads thrown back in high pitched yet controlled rich cackles. 

Worth mentioning is the disapproval of phones inside the tearooms; leave your selfie sticks out the front (;