The Art of Afternoon Tea launches at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s Notch8
Bangkok-born Vancouver chef Danai Hongwanishkul draws inspiration from artists like Yayoi Kusama and Andy Warhol for new menu
The Art of Afternoon Tea, Notch8.
GREAT ART INSPIRES more great art. Consider The Art of Afternoon Tea, launching today (May 25) at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s Notch8 Restaurant & Bar and running straight through the summer.
Executive chef Danai Hongwanishkul—who was born in Bangkok, raised in Toronto, and moved to Vancouver in 2021—has looked to icons like the one and only Andy Warhol and contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who’s known for her use of big polka dots, for the new daytime, tiered-plate service.
On the menu are items like Lips chocolate truffle, a nod to Salvador Dalí, and Blank Canvas, a white chocolate cheesecake with mango and raspberry “paints”, à la Jackson Pollock.
Hongwanishkul, whose first work experience in B.C. was at Mission Hill Family Estates Winery in the Okanagan, was exposed to the world of pop and contemporary art while working at the Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club in Bermuda, which has an extensive, rotating modern art collection. He doesn’t claim to be an expert in visual art, but he does have a few favourite artists, including those aforementioned visionaries. “During the creation of this afternoon tea concept, I drew inspiration from some of their most famous pieces,” Hongwanishkul tells Stir.
One of the menu’s savoury items is a pumpkin that has been slow-poached in mirin, glazed in miso, and served on a disc of puff pastry.
“The flavours are inspired by Kusama’s Japanese heritage, and I wanted to pay homage to the use of dots in her artwork by finishing the pumpkin with some balsamic pearls,” Hongwanishkul says.
The menu’s Tomato “Soup” Tartlet and Camouflage Ravioli Fritto were both inspired by Warhol.
“Drawing inspiration from Warhol’s 1962 Campbell’s Soup Cans, I first used agar to set the soup before inserting it into a tartlet shell for a simple bite,” Hongwanishkul says. “The Ravioli Fritto is all about aesthetics and takes inspiration from Warhol’s 1987 Camouflage Series. I combine different-coloured pasta doughs to resemble camouflage, stuff it with mushroom duxelles, and top with crumbled Parmesan.”
Danai Hongwanishkul.
The tea experience—which takes places in a private nook within Notch8 and runs Wednesdays to Sundays with seatings at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm—features everything from full decked-out avant-garde décor to specially crafted cocktails in artistic glassware along with a selection of wine and loose-leaf teas.
Other dishes on the Art of Afternoon Tea menu include Everything Burger, a meatball slider with aged cheddar and red-onion jam; The Flower, a smoked ham-hock terrine with apricot and edible flowers; and Opera Rock, a cake of Joconde sponge, dark chocolate, hazelnut cream, and graffiti glaze. Every tea menu at the iconic property comes with sultana scone and classic buttermilk scone with Chantilly cream and strawberry preserves.
The Art of Afternoon Tea, Notch8.
Hongwanishkul pursued culinary arts as a profession because food has always been a big part of his life, going as far back to his days as a kid when he had to get allergy shots every Saturday and his mom would treat him to lunch afterward.
“At first it was McDonalds, but later, as I got older, it was Vietnamese food, Indian, Caribbean, and dim sum,” Hongwanishkul says. “My dad, who is Burmese, used to make a hybrid Burmese/Indian curry every Sunday morning for lunch, and my job as a kid before my mom came home from work each day was to make rice.”
Whether it’s designing and executing a special tea menu or seasonal Notch8 dinner menus, a key part of what Hongwanishkul loves about his work is that it allows him to taste and experience the globe.
“I watched a lot of Iron Chef Japan when I was a teen and used to visit my grandparents on my dad’s side in Paris in the summers, which opened up my world to French cuisine,” he adds. “I love that cooking allows me to travel the world. I love getting to meet and work with different people. It is important to me that the dishes I create need to represent the place I am currently living or where I have been. There are so many people from different parts of the world that live here; even 90 percent of the people I work with directly are not from Vancouver.
“Playing on Japan’s sandwich culture, the Shrimp Toast Sando has a mix of Japanese, Cantonese and French influence,” he says. “Our Vegan Cauliflower Steak has a Southern U.S. and Persian influence, and the Spring Vegetable Tagliatelle combines the Chinese influence of XO sauce with a traditional Italian pasta dish. I am surrounded by all this inspiration and want to honour that while still creating approachable food.
The Art of Afternoon Tea, Notch8.
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