Video
Read full review
2011-10-25
63 views
My friend and I are both free in the afternoon for a catch up, so we decided to go to Hooray at WTC for a get together and try their afternoon tea set.As everyone in the restaurant were sitting al fresco, my friend and I were happy to join them too. The restaurant has a large outside seating area but I cannot understand why the staff wanted all the customers to be densely populated in one area. We asked to be seated somewhere else and guess what? The next patrons they showed sat right next to
As everyone in the restaurant were sitting al fresco, my friend and I were happy to join them too. The restaurant has a large outside seating area but I cannot understand why the staff wanted all the customers to be densely populated in one area. We asked to be seated somewhere else and guess what? The next patrons they showed sat right next to us. I can only guess the staff are too lazy to walk back and forth and serve customers, which is their job if I am not wrong? The new table actually asked to be moved somewhere else, so I am not the only sensitive one. The upbeat music blasting from their outside bar counter did not help to compliment, totally not apt for a relaxing afternoon.
Our coffees arrived 10 minutes before the food, by the time the afternoon tea sets came, we have almost finished our coffees. The coffees were good with deep complex flavours. Depite staff walking up and down seemingly checking on tables, no one has actually asked us for seconds. We had to wave and get somebody's attention to order our second round of coffees. Not only that, we were charged full price for our second coffees.
The tea set came in 3 layers, one of them is occupied by just "smears". It has to be said that this is not a typical afternoon tea set with top layer of sweet items, middle layer of scones and bottom layer of savories. The top 2 layers have been merged into one middle layer. I am very sceptical of restaurants trying to re-invent the wheel, there is definitely an etiquette to eating afternoon tea.
Both the bread for the pate canapes and the smoked salmon & asparagus canapes are not fresh. These are not stale bread toasted today, these are toasted bread from weeks ago. They are soggy and dead. Normally, you cannot go wrong with serving foie gras and pate but wrong - the pate served here is topped with a golden sultana and a piece of nut. I guess the nut is a texture thing and the sultanna is to sweeten the deal but for something as rich as a pate, you need some tart fruit compote to cut through the richness.
The scone is also very stale to the Nth degree with the bottom almost solid, you can take it home and use it as a billard ball. The low quality jam and the whipped cream does nothing to help with the situation either. Scones should be served with clotted cream, full stop. The white chocolate dipped strawberry were seeping water onto the rack as it is defrosting from the fridge chill. The conetto with the creme patissiere is ok but very light, again, pastry is not fresh. Creme brulee is just a typical classic done poor. It is very horrifying to think that they have a cake shop called "Carousel" in the same building, maybe they have transferred all the leftovers from there to here for customers' enjoyment?
All in all, we will not come back simply because this restaurant is all style and no substance. We were automatically given the bill after an hour when the restaurant was only 25% full, we left soon after we paid wondering whether we have done anything wrong or some maniac is actually running it. The only wrong thing we have done was to come here.
Post
