Mad Hatter's Tea Party @ The Sanderson Hotel, London

 ヾ(*￣￣￣￣▽￣￣￣￣*)ノこんばんわ♪ 

I absolutely adore afternoon teas.
I mean, there really isn't a better way to fill yourself up with (usually, depending on the venue) unlimited sweets and sandwiches and scones with a lovely cup of tea.
(Also with the exception of Sweets Paradise in Japan)

“Yes, that's it! said the Hatter with a sigh, it's always tea time.” 

I wanted to have afternoon tea a few days ago desperately and was obviously unable to get a booking in either Claridges or the Ritz.
(You need a prior reservation of 12 weeks at least （)´д`(）)

With the help of trusty Google, I found out that the Sanderson was offering something called 

"The Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea"

and after extensive Google-ing to find reviews of the place,

I ended up with very mixed feelings about the entire experience.

Not entirely sure what to make out of other's opinions,

I decided to try it out myself.

You know what they say about first impressions, and I have to admit my first impression upon stepping in the courtyard wasn't particularly impressive.

The entire place was empty void a few tables of seated guests located in the opposite side of the courtyard and a table at our side with 2 Korean girls.

I don't know how true this is but I really felt like they were segregating us based on race.

Like: 

"Asians, on one side please, you don't look British enough to have tea with the British."

And here's proof of just how empty the place was:

Anyways, I was starving since the night before as I had no dinner, and I couldn't wait to get seated.

And that was when I felt the distinct lack of professionalism in the waiters and waitresses that served us.

This clearly isn't the place to go if you're expecting high quality, exceptional service you typically get in the other hotels.

No one bothered to lay down our napkins for us and I got a fingerful of dust upon laying them on my plate. They must not have changed the plates for a really long time.

(゜ロ゜)ギョェ 

As for the menu, it was hidden in a classic story book and each table had a different book.

Presumably, for you to read while having tea maybe?

ヾ(。￣□￣)ﾂ

Ours was "A Woman Named Fancy".

I'm an avid reader of classical literature and yet I have to admit I've never come across this book before.

That was until I found out it was vintage fiction written sometime in 1951.

Silly me.

The price!! Look at the price!! Way too expensive for a place like this...

What's this!?

A spoonful of...

Sugar, right?

Oh, how smart I am~!!

(Shameless)

v(￣∇￣)ﾆﾔｯ 

I have to admit I really liked the idea of placing sugar cubes in a music box.

And to prove that it plays a tune every time you open it, 

here's a little video I took.

The cutleries, made by Luna & Curious were rather...

unusual for afternoon tea.

Well, it IS the Mad Hatter's Tea Party after all, so one should expect some degree of oddity going on around.

And if you look at both the plate and cup and saucer, it links together to form a complete picture of a trapeze act.

I'd also swear I'd never been so fascinated by teapots in my entire life...

The King of Hearts (I don't remember there being a King in Alice, do you?)

The Queen of Hearts

“Mad Hatter: Would you like a little more tea? 

Alice: Well, I haven't had any yet, so I can't very well take more. 

March Hare: Ah, you mean you can't very well take less. 

Mad Hatter: Yes. You can always take more than nothing.” 

The Strawberries and Cream Tea was sour at first but after adding a sugar cube, it tasted just like strawberry juice.

Strawberries and Cream Tea

The Apple Pie flavoured tea had a strong cinnamon taste to it and was generally, rather sour due to the apples.

Apple Pie Tea

Which reminds me of the part where the waitress accidentally spilled tea on her exposed cleavage, and did not bother to wipe the tea spout nor replace it with a new tea pot which was extremely unhygienic.

Not to mention rather disgusting.

 Secondly, while explaining the different types of cakes to us when it was served, she actually pulled a chair from the table next to us and sat down while explaining.

I mean,

who does that!?

Have you ever seen a waiter or waitress sit down next to you while doing their job?

It was certainly a first for me!!

Bad service aside,

TADAAAAAAAAAAA~!!

FINALLY Tea is served~!!

Ｕ＼(●~▽~●)Уイェーイ！

And the verdict for the food is...

思っていたよりウマイイイイイ~

ワクo(´∇｀*o)(o*´∇｀)oワク 

It was so much better than I had imagined.

Based on the negative reviews I read,

Complain #1: Sandwiches too dry

Reality: 

They were moist and the fillings were better than any I have tasted elsewhere. 

Complain #2: Bad scones

Reality:

They were the BEST scones out of all the afternoon tea places. They were light and moist, not heavy and dense, and the strawberry jam was to die for.

Really, one can never trust review sites too much. 

(Although I AM a frequent contributor to TripAdvisor)

Most reviewers are incredibly picky and negative about the slightest things.

Savoury Scones with Olive, Orange and Raisin Scones, 'Drink Me' Potion, Sandwiches and Quiches

Top to Bottom: Butter with Chives, Strawberry Jam, Butter

'Tick Tock' Victoria Sponge, Green Tea Mousse in Dark Chocolate Teacups, Melting Mango Cheesecake

My particular favourite was the Green Tea Mousse in Dark Chocolate Teacups.

Even though I hate both Green Tea and especially dislike Dark Chocolate.

They managed to make it quite sweet so it covered the bitterness.

Look at the pretty flower~!! ^_^

I want more NOW!! T^T

 "And the White Rabbit, what of him?"

Tick Tock Tick Tock: The White Rabbit's Clock

I didn't really get the idea of why they stuck carrot meringues onto the pea shoots because the pea shoots were starting to wilt and I wasn't really in the mood for raw sprouts and sweets.

I took a bite of the meringue and left it at that.

The mushroom marshmallows however, were quite delightful.

And then there was the 'Drink Me' potion that I was so looking forward to taste.

Sadly, just one sip of the potion was enough to make me put down the bottle.

It was so so so so so so so so so 

SOUR!!

It was even more sour than raw lemon.

I believe the potion Alice took to shrink herself to enter Wonderland wasn't particularly nice tasting either.

Is that the effect they wanted to re-create??

(_　_|||) 

After walloping down the entire tray leaving not even a crumb in sight,

we forgot that there was still the Jelly Wonderland located at the corner of the courtyard.

Feeling like a pregnant woman when I stood up, I forced myself to walk over just for the sake of at least taking a bite.

The pear jelly that was moulded into a shape of the rabbit was decapitated in front of my eyes by two little girls with the knife.

I was forced to settle for it's hind legs.

Jelly Wonderland. I really should have saved space for it...

Probably the biggest downside of the entire experience was the vast amounts of sugar in the cakes which gave me a sugar rush that resulted in a throbbing headache and nausea for the rest of the day. 

（ ´Д⊂ヽエーーン 

Would I come back again?

I'd LOVE to!!

But there's always the risk of that sugar rush too...

ﾌｩ(o´Å｀)=з