Food: Mad Hatters High-tea @ WaterBar

When my friends and I stumbled across the Mad Hatters themed high tea at Water Bar @ Blue Sydney on Groupon (a subscription site for discounted activities, restaurant deals or travel), we all agreed that we wanted to try this place as we loved Alice in Wonderland. The different thing from this high tea as compared to the usual high tea is that it was an after dark event. I hear some people say WHAT? That's right, usually when we hear high tea; it's associated with afternoon time (between 12pm-3pm) but why was this one after 5pm only? Well it finally made sense when we saw that one of the servings for the deal was a teapot cocktail.

So last Monday, my friends & I finally had the time to visit this place. The four of us entered the Water Bar @ Blue Sydney with empty stomachs in much anticipation for some delicious delicacies. Immediately from the outskirts of the building, we saw this industrial like warehouse space by the harbour of Sydney. Although the place gives a rustic vibe, a modern twist of luxury is displayed indoors with crystal curtains surrounding the main floor of the bar, along with the sultry dimmed lights with additive candlelit on each table, it harvests quite a romantic allure. Though my favourite design of this place is their creative elevators that exposed colourful beams of light to create an artistic yet playful atmosphere.

Crystal curtains surrounding the main floor area of the Water bar

Industrial & rustic designs paired with sultry dimmed lights

Creative elevator! I really wanted to ride it just for fun but thankfully I was able to contained myself! :P

Queen of Hearts Berrylicious cocktail with gold-rimmed sugar coatings

First up we were served these cute little teapot cocktails with blueberries inside the cups. The friendly waitress told us it was named Queen of Hearts Berrylicious cocktail. At first sip we were hit with a delight punch of alcohol alongside a hinted berry and candy sweetness. For lovers of alcohol, this drink would be great for those who prefers a stronger taste of alcohol yet is still a considerably sweeter alternative to straight shots. Maybe I've been on my alcohol detox for too long that I've just lost interest in drinking altogether, but my good friend Vanny from Nessyeater (click to see her review on this experience) seemed to have enjoyed it.

Twin towers of our food arrives. Each tower has double servings for 2 people to share between.

When the twin towers arrived, the hunger got the better of Miss BT & Almighty Princess SS (nicknames as requested by the dear friend =_="). Without much further ado, they started to gobbled their first savory appetisers whilst Nessyeater & I slowly captured these delicacies in essence of their presentation even though our drools of hunger were screaming for a bite or two. 

Front & Back: Prawn sausage with guacamole and spiced mango chutney
Side Left & Right: Mushroom duxelle éclairs with balsamic glaze

First platter, the prawn sausage with guacamole & spiced mango chutney: I think the sauces won me over more so than the sausage itself. The sweet delight of the mango chutney with the creamy guacamole really accentuated the flavour of the prawn sausage. This one was a big hit at our table! Along with the Mushroom duxelle éclairs with balsamic glaze. I really really liked it! The creamy mushroom filling really complemented the sweet yet savory take on this unusual combo! I loved it, but here it seemed like Almighty Princess SS didn't approve of it as much as I did.

Front:
Pumpkin and leek arranchini
Thyme and mushroom croquets with barbeque aioli 
Back: 
White chocolate poker chips with onion compote and candied oranges

Second platter consisted of the Pumpkin and leek arranchini, honestly this was pretty bland for my liking. Not only could I not taste any pumkin, the leek overtook the taste of this dish along with over powering flour taste in the batter. Then the Thyme and mushroom croquets with barbeque aioli, by far one of the most agreed upon favourite. Really loved the creaminess of mushroom and the crispness of the outside batter. Lightly coated in the barbeque aioli, what more can anyone ask for? Again anything with good sauce wins my heart, so its a no brainer that I'd love this one!

Close up: White chocolate poker chips with onion compote and candied oranges

On the same platter, the White chocolate poker chips with onion compote and candied oranges was hands down the most visually appealing one of all. Really have to compliment the creator of this one as the detailing and accuracy of the edible item is beyond belief! Actually as good as it looks, Nessyeater and Miss BT both agreed that it tasted quite odd, whilst Almighty princess SS and I thought it was not bad to eat, just it wasn't that great to want it again.

Dessert plater: Jelly centred macarons

Save the best to last they say, well this was really not the case for the Caramelised foie gras flower pot, topped with glazed onion and micro herbs. Not only did it not taste good, the mixture of the flavours was so weird and tasted so bad for that Nessyeater and Miss BT couldn't even swallow it! We all pretty much had to gulp the next Chocolate shell with popping candy to wash away that horrible aftertaste. Luckily this one was better fun to eat. As always with popping candies, we were like little kids trying to listen to each others candy popping in their mouths. After that, we got to try the Jelly centered macaron in pistachio and chocolate! I really enjoyed the texture of these macarons as it felt like a turkish delight chocolate, soft on the inside and more dense on the outside. The star of the night for me was the Tiramisu Cone. Saved to the last, I devoured this delight down to its very last bit. Once it was gone, I felt like I was a baby sucking on my dummy when the dummy fell out of my mouth. That depressing realisation!

In summary, I quite enjoyed this after dark high tea experience. Although there were some dishes I wouldn't ever want to eat again, but the majority where I'd love to eat again and again will win me back to go! So my long review ends here. Don't forget to leave a comment below on which item you'd most likely want to try? So with that said, would you want to try this place after reading my review? Have anyone else bought this voucher to try? Have your purchased from Groupon or any other discounted event sites before and what are your experiences? I'd love to hear from you guys!


So until next time, eat lots everyone!
xoxo
L is Lily