zealong tea estate

the firsttimewe came here, we were turned down despite there were plenty of empty tables. the lady in the front counter was quite rude too so that put me off for a while from visiting. then, recently since we have some visitors from overseas - we decided to give this place a try again by booking a tour plus high tea package. the tour was informative with samples of brewed tea given to us. the tour guide was very friendly and service was great, which is the opposite of what we experienced from the front counter person last time. the high tea was beautifully arranged but taste-wise, it came second - i think the scenery saved everything. price is on the high side but it is worth experiencing once and always book as they can get very packed.

the good: sparkling tea was nice and refreshing for the weather. the food was also not bad - fried rice was surprisingly spicy

the bad: the service could have improved alot. we waited for a longtimefor our table despite having a booking and there being plenty of available tables. the waiter also didn’t bring us a menu for about 15 minutes and we had to ask for the menu. the high tea was a little expensive for $55 - there could have been a little more on the stack for that amount.

teatimestopover at this famous tea estate just outside hamilton.

like:
1. tea can be indoors or outdoors - we chose out as the weather was so nice. there were a surprising number of tables taken despite it being a weekday so i suppose you would need a booking if you were coming over a weekend.

2. you have two hours to enjoy a leisurely afternoon tea (altho no one chases you out if it’s not crowded) and they have a nice selection of oriental brews.

3. i liked the selection and combination of sweets and savouries. although it was about $50 a person including the tea which after brewing yields about 4 cups, you did not leaving feeling like you were still hungry. only thing missing was the scones. would have been nice to have an asian versions or spin on that to complete the experience.

4. after that, navigate the surrounding tea garden and it’s many sculptures which depict the process of harvesting and brewing tea and go to the stylish tea boutique where they retail their teas.

almost felt like i was in taiwan or china rather than in nz at this attraction but it does nicely showcase the diversity of nz and its migrant culture and the wonderful climate where a tea plantation can thrive.

extremely disappointed with the poor customer service from the manager & the person who "reserved" my table.

i requested to reserve a table for the saturday 31st aug at 11:45am for my family. however the confirmation text i received from the restaurant stated my reservation was for the 30th, so i made 3x phone calls and spoke to the person to corrected the booking to thetimei requested.

i drove from auckland on saturday 31st aug and was told by the manager that i didn't reserve a table and the reservation was at 10:30am. i even showed her my phone history as proof of the calls i made to book and correct bookingtimeetc but she still didn't believe me.

she offered for me to either wait another two hours or come back next time. 

what a lovely manager.

zealong tea house offer extensive quality of high tea, and other lunch options, had a great
timetimethere this weekend, they have got just about everything right, food quality, services, views, the team is well trained, they are absolutely on top of things, you can’t possibly pick anything on the restaurant part.

but the new retail shop is where i recommend you to avoid, nicely, newly fitted out out display-retail tea shop somehow had two arrogant, untrained young girls which knows nothing about customer services, your sudden appearance at the shop seemed to be disturbing to their “resting”, utterly rudeness and extremely inhospitable manner made you wander if you wrongly entered premises without invite, the asian girl was indescribably rude, it’s obvious that she hates her job for sure or the society... we were glad we went to the restaurant first, that turned out not a bad over after lunch.

what a beautiful spot to spend an afternoon! i thought the tour plus high tea was really great value at $60 per person. this includes a tour of the estate, a tea ceremony where you taste all of the teas and a delicious high tea. the high tea included tea infused sweet treats and a number of tasty savoury options. took my mother in law here for her birthday, everybody had a fantastictimeand the host was great.

a complete waste oftime- will never be back.  yes we arrived early but the retsaurant was only half or so full - and the manager said this would be not problem (we asked if it was ok and could have come back).  i noticed coming in that the chef was sitting down eating with some people - not a problem at all until....

from the minute we sat down our waiter was apologising for not coming to our table, not taking our order etc.  he spent the first half of our visit apologising and the second half making excuses.  we managed to get an entree (fairly good) after about 45 minutes but it was then almost impossible to get our table cleared despite empty tables all around us being cleared but staff who didn't even glance our way.

after an excessive (45 mins or so - after the entrees were finally cleared after sitting unclear for 20 mins or so) wait for our mains the waiter noticed that we were still waiting.  he first said that our food was being plated and that they will be 5 mins, then when they didn't arrive that he had just called them away - and when i got up to go and see where the heck they were he said that they had been delayed because a film crew had been in.  perhaps focus on paying customers rather than 'fame'! 

clearly there is no floor captain - the manager seems to have no overview and no other wait staff seemed to be interested in our table.  there were at least 15 other people served their mains who had arrived after us, while we were waiting.  the waiter the took the blame by saying he hadn't called away the mains - but come on, the kitchen needs to take responsbility as well given that they hold the dockets.

no one here seems to know how to run the order logistics of a kitchen and the service delivery side of the restaurant - a pleasant and apologetic waiter is not enough.  we cancelled our mains and they gave us two plastic tea mugs and some teas as way of apology - but this was not proactively offered.  a good chef should be running his kitchen first and foremost before dealing with a film crew or sitting down having lunch in his uniform (clearly on duty) with others.  not a problem if the kitchen keeps going but in this case it failed badly.  we don't blame our waiter - the issue rests with the manager, the chef and the clear lack of a floor captain with an overview.  other wait staff could also have a look at what's going on other tables occasionally.  the focus of this place is not about being a restaurant, but rather a high turnover high tea destination.  on a positive note, wait staff helped out with our umbrella which kept moving and re-filled our tea pot.

i was so surprised that i could find a chinese tea farm in new zealand!
zealong tea farm is specialize in planting oolong tea.
i was told the owner is a taiwanese.

booking is essential especially you would like to enjoy the outdoor garden overlooking the farm and lake.

they served afternoon tea set, lunch set and a la carte meals. we tried the penang laksa and steak. honestly penang laksa doesn't look and taste like what they have. we called it curry noodle in malaysia. the curry noodle was full of veggie, a few prawns and with little bit noodle served in curry soup. the soup base was good but with veggie in it make the coconut based curry soup became diluted. the portion was very small. couldn't even fill the tummy of a small eater.
the steak was very good but the portion was very small too.

we are served with teas (we had the choice of green tea, pure oolong, aromatic oolong and black tea). i preferred the pure oolong cause the aromatic oolong was a bit bitter.

how to brew a cup of nice chinese tea? the temperature of hot water and infusingtimeare equally important to make your cup of tea taste smooth and right taste (not too tasteless nor too bitter). ask the waitresses for help. they are happy to tell you.

oh yes, the prices of each and single mains are not cheap.

during our visit, due to some other function held in their premise, we waited quite long for our food to be served.
as a courtesy apologize, the manager sent us a plate of complimentary desserts all made of tea. the desserts were not up to my expectation as a restaurant running afternoon tea as their main business, they should do better.

just before i left, i grabbed some of the teas selling in their tea shop.

heard about this place for a longtimeand finally got a try. nice presentation of the food and also nice tea tour. the best thing is the woo long tea. u can try different tea here and purchase them in their store, a nice gift for family and friends.

awesome place for lunch. have been a number of times and the food is really divine. i love the signature high tea but still get food envy!

down side is nothing for little ones to eat - even a bowl of chips (as like comes with the steak) would be great. service overall is great apart from the lasttimewhere it took forever to get service - not impressed that other people after us (2 groups) in our immediate sitting area of 4 tables got service before us every though our menu's where sitting on the table - a clear indication that we are waiting.

will be back again soon for a high tea yummo.

i have just had their signature high tea. we had their vegan version and the three tier cake stand had a huge selection of goodies . the tables around me were non vegan and they looked just as impressive. i liked the way we each brewed our tea (which they grow just outside) in china cups, with many rebrewings. the tea house has a very nice ambiance to it, so a goodtimewas had by all. even though it was busy it wasn't too noisy.