There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter.
I definitely have a weak spot for pretty and nicely presented things, especially food :P I've seen this Mad Hatters High Tea all over Instagram and Facebook, and when the opportunity/ idea to go to high tea for my birthday came up I knew exactly where I wanted to go. The Mad Hatters High Tea is offered at The Westin Sydney (Martin Place). They also offer other high tea sets which can be found on their website.
You need to book at least a couple of days in advance in order for them to prepare and reserve a seat for you. I booked this high tea to celebrate my 20th birthday :) I decided to celebrate my birthday in style :P My friend and I arrived at The Westin at 3pm and we got a little bit lost inside the lobby at first but we finally found the lounge and bar where the high tea was to be served (straight from the entrance). At first our reserved seats was at the open space under the glass roof however it was quite hot that day and we felt that we were sitting in a sauna... luckily after asking the staff if we could move we were able to sit at the sofa bar area. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful :)
The Mad Hatters High Tea comes with unlimited tea or coffee, this was the first thing that was introduced to us (there is a wide selection of tea to choose from). Shortly after we were served our tea the head waiter came to introduce herself to us, she definitely took care of us throughout the afternoon- big thumbs to her for the great service!
Soon enough the high tea set came up and boy did it look good! For picture sake it looked perfect :) On the top layer was the dessert and bottom layer was the savoury food. There was 2 of each item for my friend and I to try.
Now to the food.....
You need to book at least a couple of days in advance in order for them to prepare and reserve a seat for you. I booked this high tea to celebrate my 20th birthday :) I decided to celebrate my birthday in style :P My friend and I arrived at The Westin at 3pm and we got a little bit lost inside the lobby at first but we finally found the lounge and bar where the high tea was to be served (straight from the entrance). At first our reserved seats was at the open space under the glass roof however it was quite hot that day and we felt that we were sitting in a sauna... luckily after asking the staff if we could move we were able to sit at the sofa bar area. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful :)
The Mad Hatters High Tea comes with unlimited tea or coffee, this was the first thing that was introduced to us (there is a wide selection of tea to choose from). Shortly after we were served our tea the head waiter came to introduce herself to us, she definitely took care of us throughout the afternoon- big thumbs to her for the great service!
Soon enough the high tea set came up and boy did it look good! For picture sake it looked perfect :) On the top layer was the dessert and bottom layer was the savoury food. There was 2 of each item for my friend and I to try.
Now to the food.....
Roasted beef and fresh asparagus roulade on mini laugen
Each piece of food was meant to represent a character from Alice in Wonderland which the waiter explained to us but my memory fails me once again and I have no recollection of what the waiter said :P (sorry!)
The 'Roasted beef and fresh asparagus roulade on mini laugen' was a very refreshing cold dish, the crunch of the asparagus complimented very well with the chewy laugen (bread roll) and the soft roasted beef. I'm not the biggest fan of asparagus but I really enjoyed this dish because of how fresh it was, so it was definitely a nice cleanse to the palette.
The 'Roasted beef and fresh asparagus roulade on mini laugen' was a very refreshing cold dish, the crunch of the asparagus complimented very well with the chewy laugen (bread roll) and the soft roasted beef. I'm not the biggest fan of asparagus but I really enjoyed this dish because of how fresh it was, so it was definitely a nice cleanse to the palette.
Alaskan crabmeat salad on double bread
The 'Alaskan crabmeat salad on double bread' was basically bread wrapped in cucumber with Alaskan crabmeat on top. Similar to the dish mentioned above, it was too a very refreshing dish. The crabmeat was a little bit stingy and if you ate most of that in the first bite the second bit would just be bread which was tasteless. The crabmeat had a tangy and creamy taste/ texture to it which mixed well with the crunchy cucumber and tomato.
Cherry, bocconcini and tomato on a fresh green salad boat
This was probably my least favourite dish in the high tea set, not because it was salad :P but because of the salad dressing. The salad dressing had a very strange citrus taste and it did not mix well with the vegetables. There was also a very weird piece of soft white food that my friend and I could not figure out what it was- egg? cheese? no idea.. There was also some crunchy chips on top of the salad which was covered in oil, personally I do not like tasting the oil in my food so this really ruined the dish all together.
Queen of Hearts | Layers of raspberry buttercream, chocolate ganache and raspberry jelly
I definitely enjoyed the dessert layer over the savoury layer because not only was the dessert more unique and spectacular, the flavour was much better and each individual dessert had its unique qualities.
The 'Queen of Hearts' cake had three layers- raspberry buttercream, chocolate ganache and raspberry jelly. The raspberry jelly on top gave the cake a sour taste but it was perfectly balanced with the chocolate ganache and buttercream. As soon as you put the cake in your mouth each layer just slowly melts in your mouth and the mixture of flavours combines the sour raspberry jelly and chocolate ganache to create a balanced and smooth texturing in your mouth.
The 'Queen of Hearts' cake had three layers- raspberry buttercream, chocolate ganache and raspberry jelly. The raspberry jelly on top gave the cake a sour taste but it was perfectly balanced with the chocolate ganache and buttercream. As soon as you put the cake in your mouth each layer just slowly melts in your mouth and the mixture of flavours combines the sour raspberry jelly and chocolate ganache to create a balanced and smooth texturing in your mouth.
Purple macaroon with a blueberry cream filling
This macaron was very thick and had a generous amount of blueberry filling inside. The shell of the macaron had a nice crunch and chewiness to it (the perfect macaron? :P) and when you get to the filling you get a generous amount of blueberry filling mixing with the crunchy shell. The macaron was not overly sweet like some macarons that I have eaten. The clock picture was also edible! (I think it was just icing) There was also an icing piece at the top of the macaron, which I presume represents the stopper on a stop-watch, it was basically just a sugar cube :P
Dark chocolate mud cake encased in chocolate icing
My friend and i definitely saved the best for last- The Mad Hatters Hat! This was dark chocolate mud cake encased in chocolate green icing. The chocolate cake was moist and was not too sweet because the icing encasing it was already quite sweet so there was a perfect balance between the two different flavours and textures. The only bad thing about this cake was the green icing stains your teeth, tongue and lips :P So make sure to drink a lot of water or tea to wash it away!
Scones with homemade strawberry jam, raspberry chocolate jam and clotted cream
When we thought we were done with eating the waiter brought out some scone, which were accompanied by strawberry jam, raspberry chocolate jam and clotted cream. I only ate one piece because I was way too full! The scones were a little bit dry and hard, however the strawberry jam and clotted cream were nice and creamy so it helped soften the scones.
Lemongrass and ginger tea
Left: Chai tea | Right: Blackcurrant and hibiscus tea
Overall, I am very happy with my first fancy high tea experience :P The food was very filling and was made to a very high quality. Also if you sign up for membership, which is free, you get 15% off your bill (YAY!) So originally the bill was $90 and it ended up being around $76.50. At first they charged us extra for the tea but when we asked about this they realised they made a mistake and were very polite and professional about it.
I highly recommend this place for a good high tea experience and I think the price of it was very reasonable- I will definitely be back to try the other high tea sets :)
Happy eating x
I highly recommend this place for a good high tea experience and I think the price of it was very reasonable- I will definitely be back to try the other high tea sets :)
Happy eating x