A delightful afternoon tea with a French twist at Provence

I had planned to take my mother to Le Grande Thé at Provence for Mother's Day after I read about it in Tara Lee's article. Unfortunately, due to a number of complications, we weren't able to find a time to go together. We had put it off for some time and forgotten about it until I reminded her.

We finally went on Saturday and enjoyed it a lot. My mother loves these kinds of things. It is $20 per person, and having grown up with very little during the Internment days, she's still not used to splurging. Even though I know she really wanted to go.

You have to make a reservation because they make everything from scratch.

When the two-tiered tray first arrived, it didn't look like a lot. But actually, it was parfait. There were two of each of the four savoury hors d'ouevre-sized selections (I really liked the olive and cream cheese opened faced sandwich), and four of almost all of the sweets, including two types of scones, biscotti, lemon tarts (with a touch of lavender that gave it a little twist), and chocolate macaroons. In fact, we were full after tasting some of the sweets, and had to take about six of them home.

Chalk it up to the French fine art of serving just the right portions, as described in Angela Murrills' interview with the author of French Women Don't Get Fat. Unlike North American portions, which always leave me feeling bloated, heavy, or unable to finish what I'm served, French portions always leave me feeling comfortable and balanced. (When I was taken out to West one day, I was pleasantly suprised by how perfectly the serving filled me without overdoing it.)

My mother also noted that even though the tea bags steeped for a long time in the hot water in the tea pots, the tea didn't turn dark and strong like other teas do.

It's a nice treat to take someone special, or perhaps a visitor from out of town.

My mother was surprised to hear Mexican music playing in the background, but ah, c'est la vie! Or Vancouver, after all.