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.