Tuesday, October 25, 2011

afternoon tea: WOOBAR at W HOTEL


WOO BAR
at W HOTEL
No. 10, Zhongxiao East Road Sec. 5
(02) 7703-8887

MRT: Taipei City Hall

website: wtaipei.com

hours: 3-5 PM daily for afternoon tea

$$$

Kid friendliness: fancy lounge area for posh kids

Visit reviewed: 8/16/2011


When Food je t'aime wanted to meet for afternoon tea at the W Hotel, it was the perfect opportunity for me to check it out too. Since the W Hotel had opened in February 2011, I had seen many a friends' Facebook check in there and at the Woo Bar, so I was curious. And I had been to the stylish and modern Yen, the Chinese restaurant at the W. So I expected no less from the Woo Bar.

from wtaipei.com

Full of oversized cherry red plush lounge chairs and a view of the pool, Woo Bar is definitely a prime place to people watch. The menu is presented on bright neon colored cards and I wondered if there would be a day where I would order the million dollar burger for NT$2200 with waygu beef, seared foie gras and tallegio cheese. Not today.

Instead, we oohed and aahed when the angular afternoon tea set for two (NT$1400) was brought to the table. With a black and white theme, it was definitely one of the most modern and pretty presentations for afternoon tea I'd ever seen. Not just simple tea sandwiches here- instead there were lobster cream eggs and black and white gummy bears. Kind of random, but



After sampling the various layers, I preferred the set's sweets over the savory. Our favorite surprise was were the white chocolate bon bons with pop rocks hidden in the center. I also liked the mini lemon meringue tarts and black and white sesame macarons.



But there were a few misses for me- too much cream on stale-ish toast Caviar Crisps and soft apple chips.


And I thought these were dense cupcakes, when on the website I found out later they were Valrhona Guanaja Brownies.


Eye candy for sure, but with so many options for afternoon tea to explore in Taipei, I was hoping to be wooed by more than presentation.

12 comments:

Johnny said...

That looks interesting!! I didn't know woobar had afternoon tea~Gotta try it sometime

Susan House said...

I was not that hungry before I read your post and see all the delicious things you have posted, but now... Have no patience to go in the first confectionery!

FaFoFi said...

Good lord. This makes me wish I was back in Taipei. Lovely pictures and great review!

food je t'aime said...

I always enjoy our afternoon teatimes :) and those sesame macarons were super tasty!

joanh said...

johnny: let me know what you think if you try it!

susan house: thank you!

memosne: haha! thanks!!

food je t'aime: me too! until the next time!

min said...

the white and black sesame macarons look very yummy! I didn't know they have afternoon tea set! thanks for sharing :)

joanh said...

mindy meow: thanks for reading and commenting!

Pandalicious said...

i wish they had afternoon tea here at the W in westwood!! that looks amazing!! so pretty.

Miss W said...

Hello,

This is Miss W! I love your blog.

Would it be possible if I can post your blog to our official W Taipei facebook??

Miss W

joanh said...

Pandalicious: yeah it seems afternoon tea is a much bigger thing in Asia than in LA

Miss W: Sure! Thanks for reading!

Tiffany said...

how was/is the wait on weekends!? :)

joanh said...

Tiffany- i've never been there on the weekend, but it's not crowded on the weekdays. You could always make a reservation

:)