Afternoon tea is the perfect time to catch up with friends. Since both Ms Liao and I live in Burnaby, we decided to try the afternoon tea offerings from November Dessert. Located a few doors away from Sugar Lab, November Dessert is a new dessert cafe in the Royal Oak area. They offer a half-size and a full-size afternoon tea set. Let’s take a look at what’s included!
Afternoon Teas at November Dessert
Each afternoon tea set comes with your tea of choice. If memory serves me correctly, they only had 3-4 choices for tea which I was a bit disappointed about. I’m used to having more tea options, with at least one that’s more traditional like Earl Grey. The tea came in a cute porcelain teapot with matching cup and saucer. I felt the teapot a bit too big for the purpose of afternoon tea. By the time I’m on my third cup of tea, the tea was at room temperature. Maybe a tea cosy would keep it warmer longer.
November Dessert Half vs Full Afternoon Tea Set
The half-size afternoon tea set was plated beautifully on a wooden platter. It has 6 items, not counting the condiments – an egg salad sandwich, two scones, a green tea and coconut dessert, a vanilla panna cotta, and a macaroon.
Of these 6 items, my favourites were the 2 desserts in glass containers. The tall glass container has three different layers. The top layer is a green tea mousse, the middle has a firmer texture with a hint of coconut, and the bottom layer is very firm like coconut jelly. In the tiny mason jar is vanilla panna cotta with strawberry jam. Both were really tasty and not too sweet which I preferred. My least favourite items were the 2 scones. I found them a bit too dense and not flaky enough.
The full-size afternoon tea set has 3 extra items: an open-faced egg “sandwich” made with sliced hard boiled egg, a quiche and a piece of blueberry cheesecake. I tried the quiche and blueberry cheesecake. Both were not bad but no wow factor for me.
Final Thoughts
November Dessert’s afternoon tea sets were worth trying. Personally, think the half afternoon tea set is better bang for the buck. While I thoroughly enjoyed some of the desserts, there is definitely room for improvements in some of their savory items. Given that they are close to home, I will likely come back with my girlfriends for a relaxing catch up over tea.
