The Parlour @ Hullett House

I tried my best to carry a "no expectation" attitude walking into The Parlour of Hullett House at 1881 Heritage for afternoon tea because I don't want to be influenced by the negative comments I have been hearing from fellow foodies. My principle is to try it myself, judge it and justify it for myself. Oh man, how truly disappointing was the experience! Before I go on with my review (which is not going to be pretty), let's start with something fun! Let's play the game I named "Count the Newlyweds!" I took this picture outside The Parlour overlooking the main courtyard of 1881 Heritage, can you locate the number of newlyweds in the picture? Zoom in and you will find quite many! lol ... I spotted 6 I think ...



The restaurant was located at the main level of the Hullett House overlooking the whole courtyard with a few tables on the terrace. Sorry for the blur image thanks to the staff who blocked me from taking the picture because for some reason "No Picture Taking is allowed" ... huh?? I requested for an explanation repeated but all I got as an reply was "Sorry, no picture taking is allowed" while the lady at the far table was holding up her iPhone taking a few snaps??? (Or maybe the staff assumed the lady at the back was trying to get a better reception by holding her iPhone above her head??) Not much of a good first impression!



I think I can safety assume that its seasonal Festive Afternoon Tea set is one of the most expensive in town at HKD388 per person or HKD588 for two! I would be fine with the price if the servings / items were good but man, I was quite speechless in way too many perspectives! The tea set menu looked quite nice, the paper used for the menu was thick and expensive. I bet HKD30 worth of what I paid went into this menu! I should have taken the menu home just for the sake of it! Also the picture on the menu truly illustrated the meaning of the following disclaimer on food menu: "photos shown on menu are for reference only."



So what did we get for an Afternoon Tea Set for Two?? Yes, for 2 full grown adults who were willing to pay HKD588. Well, first came the plate of canapé. Where should I start? O yes, ONE mini burger and ONE finger sandwich with cucumbers for 2 to share. That took some skills to cut in half you know! And that finger of mine ... Oh I mean the finger sandwich with cucumber was easier to share and cut because the bread was semi-tough! The name Leek, Almond and Black Truffles Quiche sounded very attractive but the actual thing was very ordinary and cold! The smoked salmon blinis with Aquitaine Caviar tasted very smoked salmon, and it should!



Alright, next came the tower of pastries and scones. That was it? I was expecting more items to be very honestly! 4 Scones, 1 mince pie, 1 macron, 1 gingerbread cupcake, 1 black forest cake and 1 white chocolate lychee cake and ... 2 huge containers of cream and jam place on the top rack. I almost mistaken the cream and jam as some extra sweets!

Let me say it once again, aside from the coffee/tea, that was ALL the items with my Afternoon Tea Set for Two priced at HKD588 + 10% Service Charge. ONE black currant Macaron to share? ONE rock hard minced pie to share? ONE Gingerbread cupcake to share? ONE mini burger to share? Please give me ONE reason not to be unhappy or disappointed!

I could not help myself but to ask the staff what would we get if we ordered the tea set for one? Apparently for the Afternoon Tea Set for ONE, you get one canapé of each kind, 2 scones and 3 of the pastries only instead of the ever-so-generous 5 items placed before us.



The scones were starchy and a strong yeast smell once you cut it in half.



The color of the black currant looked kind of fake but it was the better item compared with the rest.



Quails Egg and Marmite Toast tasted yolk-y and that was it. Good that there were two of this toast because I really don't know how to cut this in half!



What about the rest of the precious items? Well, they were not surprising at all, the mince pie was rock solid, same as the mini gingerbread cupcake and the black forest cake was a bit too sweet.

All our stomachs and taste buds were not very satisfied (and I was pretty disappointed with my experience at The Parlour), we decided to head over to Ocean Terminal to get ourselves some New York Fries (new flavor - mushroom melt!).



Seriously, the Aqua Group which runs all the restaurants at the Hullett House, should put their act together! Maybe afterall I had too much expectation from this place or from the Aqua group? I don't know anything anymore, please share you views. I am now very hesitate in trying the other restaurants at the Hullett House. I just feel sad or maybe unfortunate that for such a prime location, my experience could have been a wonderful one!

I think after this visit, I just helped them recover their renovation cost, perhaps I contributed my share to the door knob??

Likes:

• Location / View

Dislikes:

• Please read my review above ...

Avg Spending: HKD 200 - 300 per person

The Parlour
2A Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3988 0101
http://www.hulletthouse.com/


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