An Artful Addition Afternoon Tea at Xi Shi Lounge

Afternoon Tea is an art and should be an extraordinary experience one that you will cherish. Vancouver has some wonderful places for you to indulge in an Afternoon Tea experience. Each of the places is unique in what they offer along with the type of service and selection of sandwiches, pastries and desserts. I am on a journey around the city to find these extraordinary places.

Here is the twenty second of many places that I have visited recently. The Xi Shi Lounge is located in the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver.

Ron Smid

Ron Smid

I have experienced Afternoon Tea in this lounge previously, this time around the Shangri-La Hotel has done something quite different. They created an artful afternoon tea experience that mixes in Canadian photographic works by renowned master photographer Ron Smid in his celebrated collection Canada: The Light on Our Land.

Guests can view the collection in Xi Shi Lounge and enjoy familiar Canadian flavours with the Artist in Residence Afternoon Tea. Smid will be in the lounge on Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 to 4 p.m., through to April 15, 2014. to speak about the collection, share tales from his journeys across Canada’s wilderness, and answer questions about his unique and rare photography process.

A passionate photographic purist, Smid uses a vintage 1936 large-format wooden camera to capture the elusive light on analogue film, without the use of digital technology. Over the past two decades, he has travelled more than a quarter of a million miles to document the geographic diversity of Canada in all its beauty. From a fiery Pacific sunrise on Vancouver Island to a final twilight crescendo of surf through The Arc in Newfoundland, this exhibit showcases the finest collection of Canadian landscape images. Smid’s work is found in private and corporate collections around the world, and is sold exclusively through the Ron Smid Collection gallery located in the Upper Village in Whistler, B.C.

Italian Almond Tea

Italian Almond Tea

First off, I chose my tea of choice from their selection of teas, I chose the “Italian Almond Tea” and my friend Avelino had the “Single Estate Darjeeling tea”.

3-tiered tray

3-tiered tray

A 3 tiered tower inspired by classic Canadian cuisine from coast to coast, arrived featuring an array of delicious eats, Lobster Salad Sandwiches, Grilled Cheese, Smoked Salmon on poppy bagels, lovely orange scones, and sweets that included maple dusted donuts, baked blueberry yogurt, butter glazed pecan tarts and Nanaimo bars.

Sandwiches

Sandwiches

Scones

Scones

Sweets

Sweets

My thoughts – This is a terrific idea merging an renowned artist works as a backdrop to a beautiful Afternoon Tea service of delicious eats with a warm pot of tea while listening to a live pianist.

Style:  Artist in Residence Afternoon Tea

Attire: Smart Casual

Time: Afternoon Tea Service is offered 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily

Xi Shi Lounge in the Shangri-La Hotel 

1128 West Georgia Street, Vancouver

For Reservations, please call 604-689-1120

Reservations can be made for every day of the week, and cost $38.00 per person.

Stay tuned to the next part of Afternoon Tea in Vancouver.

By: Richard Wolak

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