BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW
While the Mos Cafe is housed in the very modern building that is the Sydney Museum, the entire assemblage sits on the grounds of a rich history.
The museum is built upon the site where in 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip constructed the first Government House. The building would go on to serve 9 more governors until it was torn down in 1846. The re-creation of the facade of this house, that can be seen inside the museum, actually uses some of the materials that were unearthed from archeological excavations at the site.
While Governor Phillip’s original house is no longer visible, you can use your imagination and the help of steel studs set into the granite paved surface in front of the museum to see where it once stood. Additional white pavers show how the building grew and changed in the hands of the successive governors.
Speaking of imagination, before your High Tea, take a peak at the Edge of Trees Sculpture and try to imagine what the governor’s house would have looked like to the eyes of the Gadigal people who no doubt ogled the new settlers from the safety of Sydney’s trees.
MORE ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE
Look at the Museum of Sydney and it’s hard not to think about architecture. The building was designed by one of the city’s best-known architects, Richard Johnson of Denton Corker Marshall in 1995. So it’s fitting then that the Museum’s resident restaurant, Mos Cafe, has an architectural component to its latest offering: a three-tiered stack of savory and sweet treats that forms the centerpiece of its High Tea.
You and your guest can enjoy a relaxed and very civilised afternoon in the sun-flooded glass, marble and sandstone interior of Mos Cafe, nibbling on ribbon sandwiches with such ingredients as cucumbers with aioli & chives; smoked salmon, capers & cream cheese; or egg, mayonnaise and watercress. Then move on to a satisfying quiche Lorraine or a quiche comprised of field mushrooms and thyme. Of course, this is High Tea, so you’ll also find scones--either plain or date--which you can top with scrumptious house-made preserves & double cream.
If you’ve been able to resist their siren song up to this point, you can now dig in to the homemade sweets including mini tiramisu, homemade macaroons, petite creme brûlée cups, Belgian chocolate-dipped strawberries and more. (But this is the weekend, so if you feel like starting sweet and ending savory, you’re more than welcome to indulge! Throughout it all you’ll be able to sip on a included glass of n.v. Chandon (Yarra Valley) as well as your choice of 28 different loose leaf teas from T2.
Stop in the museum afterward and make it a day of tea and history. It’s a flavour-filled, relaxed afternoon--and even though it’s located in the CBD, it’s the perfect antidote to a long hard week of work!
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