Tag: A Word

Tea At The Park

by Kiran Jayasinghe

Simran, Svara, and I had been asking our parents to take us to a tea room as part of Simran’s and my birthday present (from our parents, at least). After making a reservation a few weeks ago, we, as a family, went out to the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort  to have “High Tea at the Park” .  Reservations are needed to have tea at the Park Hyatt, and Mom said that the reservations get booked up very early. When we pulled up to the lobby I was definitely not expecting for the staff to open the car doors for us, or for them to open the hotel doors for us, but they did! I felt so special. We also had no idea where the tea room was in the resort, so we asked the ladies at the front desk. Turns out the high tea room was less than ten feet away! The tea room had four to five tables set up. We were seated at a table set up just for us (the benefits of making a reservation). At the time of the reservation, Mom  reserved the “Traditional Tea”.  There’s also a tea called “Royal Tea”, which is the same the “Traditional Tea” except that they also serve champain. The tea was served, and it came with an assortment of finger foods such as cucumber sandwiches, egg with caviar, smoked salmon with caviar, and more. It also came with scones and desserts.  There were a number of teas to choose from, but we chose a Chocolate and Orange peel tea that was recomended by the server and a more traditional English Breakfast tea. The server poured our tea for us. Each of us had our own small pot of tea and a strainer. Everything was absolutely delicious. My personal favorite was the cucumber sandwhiches. I had one of everything, just like Simran and Svara and my mom and dad. We all agreed the desserts were a little sweet, maybe too sweet, but it was dessert all the same, so I ate all of it. I also had several cups of tea of both the Chocolate with Orange Peel and the English Breakfast, with milk and sugar, of course.  My dad liked the Chocolate with Orange peel tea which remninded him of a Christmas tea, and I agree with him. When we were finished, the server, who was very kind, decided to give us a few extra scones and desserts to take home (yay, more!).

Overall, the food was great, the tea was a-MAZ-ing, and the service was also over the top. Our server said that the Tea at the Park is known as one of the best in San Diego, and after trying it out, I pretty sure that’s true.  We all enjoyed our experience at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Tea Room and I’m sure we’ll go again!

Oman/ Anthony Bourdain – Parts Unknown

By Kiran, Simran, and Svara Jayasinghe

In December of last year, we had watched an episode of ‘Anthony Bourdain — Parts Unknown’ and it took us to the country of Oman. Oman is located in the Middle East, in the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. It’s surrounded by the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.

Oman is a country that is partly well-developed, and partly not. In the 1970’s, Oman was a very under-developed country. It only had six miles of paved road! Then, Sultan Qaboos, rose to power. He managed to transform the country into a more modern place, while still keeping it’s traditions at heart. The Sultan earned the respect and admiration of his people.

The country sports the largest sand dune in the world. Clean sand draws several groups of Omani people to wander the dunes. On the show, Bourdain spent one night and day with people who roam the desert. They traveled on camels and set up tents in the night, played music, and overall just enjoyed their time. Oman also has beautiful beaches and shoreline, and many people have boats. Most people spend some time each day at the ocean.

As usual, had Bourdain showcased the food of the country. Oman’s food is a mix of their own and Indian food. They eat shuwa, which is pit-roasted goat. Shuwa is prepared by taking the meat of a goat, wrapping it in palm or banana leaves, burying it in the ground over hot coals, then taking it out again two days later. Shuwa is a special dish. There is also pakora, which is Indian fritters, and chapati, which is Indian fresh baked bread.

Oman is a modern, but traditional country. Bourdain himself said that Oman “defys expectations”. With beautiful scenery, shores, sand dunes, and the culture, it would be an interesting place to visit.