MO Bar x Ladurée Afternoon Tea
Rating: ❤❤❤
It was almost Christmas when I was delighted to learn of the collaboration between MO Bar and Laduree for afternoon tea! I came here on a rainy Sunday afternoon with 3 girlfriends for an afternoon of indulgence. I had tried to call ahead to make a reservation but was told that all reservations were booked until the first week of January! Fortunately, they do allow walk-ins and they advised me to line up earlier as they start to accommodate walk-ins at 2:30pm on the weekends. We got here around 2pm and there was already 10+ people ahead of us. The line started to move promptly at 2:30pm and we were seated in the first round with the condition that we return our table at 4:15pm. Okay that's fine with us!
As we walked in, we passed by the stunning macaroon Christmas tree put up by Laduree and the hotel. It was silvery white as the macaroons were covered with a platinum layer. When I tell my other friends about this tree, they all asked if we can eat off it. I wish!
Smoked Salmon Roll with Crab, Carrots, & Celery (2/5) - the roll was underwhelming as it tasted rather dry and plain. I could barely taste the salmon, let alone the crab, carrots or celery. The whole thing just tasted empty.
• Chocolate & Peanut Tart with Mandarin (3/5) - the tart was really heavy and sweet with thick chocolate and peanut filling inside. The macadamia nut on top was delish though.
• Baba Rhum Agricole (2/5) - Initially I thought it was a normal profiterole but it had been soaked in cane juice rum. The taste of rum wasn't strong or anything but the texture was unpleasant as it was like eating wet bread. It was the prettiest one of all but sadly I did not like it.
• Pistachio & Raspberry Eclair (3/5) - the white chocolate piece on top was almond-flavored. The sweetness of the chocolate was offset by the raspberries. The pistachio cream wasn't strong enough and I didn't feel the flavors working together.
• Laduree Rose Macaroon (4/5) - the classic rose macaroon at Laduree was just as I remembered! The macaroons were chewy and very sweet. I could almost smell and taste the rose petal in this.
• Laduree Chocolate Platinum Macaroon (3/5) - a limited edition flavor! The macaroon shells were filled with a citrus-flavored filling which was supposed to offset the chocolate ganache in the middle. The chocolate filling was still too sweet though which made it hard to finish it all. The platinum layer was pretty to look at. After having the macaroons at Pierre Herme, this was underwhelming and unimpressive.
• Apple & Basil Cocktail (2/5) - the green color looked exotic but only tasted like sweet water. The straw was also unable to suck up the apple bits.
• Creme Caramel with Rum Raisin (4/5) - love the jar that this dessert came in! The pudding was smooth and sweet while the rum raisin was light enough to enhance it.
• Lemon Cup Cake (2/5) - the cake was tough and solid while the frosting was hard.
• Blanc Manger Exotic Fruits (4/5) - love the mango bits and the pudding. The sourness of the fruit and the sweetness of the pudding worked well together.
• Strawberry Mousse (3/5) - a bit ordinary as the strawberry mousse wasn't as rich or flavorful to make an impression.
• Berries Tart (4/5) - the crust of the tart was very buttery and crunchy!
• Chestnut Mousse (4/5) - the chestnut flavor was strong while the cake was light and smooth due to the mousse.
• Marshmallow (4/5) - simply fun to eat because I've never seen a big and square marshmallow!
• Double Chocolate Brownie (4/5) - rich, soft, and satisfying!
MO Bar
G/F, Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 15 Queen's Road, Central
2132 0077
Follow me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/supertastermel
It was almost Christmas when I was delighted to learn of the collaboration between MO Bar and Laduree for afternoon tea! I came here on a rainy Sunday afternoon with 3 girlfriends for an afternoon of indulgence. I had tried to call ahead to make a reservation but was told that all reservations were booked until the first week of January! Fortunately, they do allow walk-ins and they advised me to line up earlier as they start to accommodate walk-ins at 2:30pm on the weekends. We got here around 2pm and there was already 10+ people ahead of us. The line started to move promptly at 2:30pm and we were seated in the first round with the condition that we return our table at 4:15pm. Okay that's fine with us!
As we walked in, we passed by the stunning macaroon Christmas tree put up by Laduree and the hotel. It was silvery white as the macaroons were covered with a platinum layer. When I tell my other friends about this tree, they all asked if we can eat off it. I wish!
The afternoon tea set was $308 per person (plus 10%) with savories, scones, pastries plus a dessert buffet. Our tea set also came with Jing Tea or coffee. We all chose tea and I ended up choosing the Jasmine Pearls. My tea was sweet yet slightly bitter which was great for eating both savories and sweets. I love the service though as my tea pot must have been refilled 4-5 times automatically by our waitress during the course of our meal. Bonus points for service!
Raisin and Plain Scones (4/5) - we were advised to eat the scones first as they were still warm. The scones were really good as they were soft and crumbly. They were almost too crumbly though as the scone broke into pieces as I was putting on the clotted cream and jam. The strawberry and marmalade jams were rather ordinary while the clotted cream was the better choice for me as it was fluffy and rich.
Savories:
Beetroot Foie Gras Macaroon (3/5) - a very interesting combination I must say. I wasn't sure it worked though as there were too many different flavors. First you get hit with the richness of the foie gras cream, then the sourness and sweetness of the macaroon. It just didn't gel together in a way that was pleasant.
Air-baguette Wrapped with Bayonne Ham & Camembert Mousse (3/5) - the baguette was light and crunchy while the ham was flavorful and salty. Just wasn't able to taste any of the cheese though.
Duck Rillettes with Mushroom & Mandarin (2/5) - this was like a baked bun with a filling inside. The duck rillette filling was really dry and bland though. Thumbs down for this one.
Quiche Lorraine with Smoked Bacon and Gruyere Cheese (4/5) - we all thought this was probably the best of the savories. The quiche lorraine was buttery and crumbly while the filling of bacon and cheese was rich and flavorful. I love the colorful spring-like flower petals on the quiche as it was so pretty to look at!
Pastries:
• Baba Rhum Agricole (2/5) - Initially I thought it was a normal profiterole but it had been soaked in cane juice rum. The taste of rum wasn't strong or anything but the texture was unpleasant as it was like eating wet bread. It was the prettiest one of all but sadly I did not like it.
• Pistachio & Raspberry Eclair (3/5) - the white chocolate piece on top was almond-flavored. The sweetness of the chocolate was offset by the raspberries. The pistachio cream wasn't strong enough and I didn't feel the flavors working together.
• Laduree Rose Macaroon (4/5) - the classic rose macaroon at Laduree was just as I remembered! The macaroons were chewy and very sweet. I could almost smell and taste the rose petal in this.
• Laduree Chocolate Platinum Macaroon (3/5) - a limited edition flavor! The macaroon shells were filled with a citrus-flavored filling which was supposed to offset the chocolate ganache in the middle. The chocolate filling was still too sweet though which made it hard to finish it all. The platinum layer was pretty to look at. After having the macaroons at Pierre Herme, this was underwhelming and unimpressive.
Dessert Buffet: there were too many to list them all! We tried some before and after our afternoon tea set.
• Creme Caramel with Rum Raisin (4/5) - love the jar that this dessert came in! The pudding was smooth and sweet while the rum raisin was light enough to enhance it.
• Lemon Cup Cake (2/5) - the cake was tough and solid while the frosting was hard.
• Blanc Manger Exotic Fruits (4/5) - love the mango bits and the pudding. The sourness of the fruit and the sweetness of the pudding worked well together.
• Tiramisu (5/5) - very light and fluffy! It was more cake-like than a tiramisu but still scrumptious to eat.
• Berries Tart (4/5) - the crust of the tart was very buttery and crunchy!
• Chestnut Mousse (4/5) - the chestnut flavor was strong while the cake was light and smooth due to the mousse.
• Chocolate Tart (4/5) - I thought this was more delicious than the tart in the afternoon tea as the dark chocolate used was so much more flavorful.
• Double Chocolate Brownie (4/5) - rich, soft, and satisfying!
Verdict - I was really looking forward to the afternoon tea at MO Bar but the savories and pastries that came with the afternoon tea set were in general unimpressive. The dessert buffet fared a bit better, but while the concept was alluring at first, we were simply too full after the tea set to fully take advantage it especially with the time limit on our table. I was only taking tiny bites of my desserts at the end. My friends could not even finish their dessert in the tea set and as the price was more expensive than others like Robuchon, I'm not sure this was worth it. To me, quality > quantity. Instead of offering more, they should work on making it better.
MO Bar
G/F, Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 15 Queen's Road, Central
2132 0077
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