Silver
Moon
Date of Visit: 12th
August 2013
Ambience
This is essentially a dessert and
tea house so it was small and was furnished with wooden benches and tables of
various sizes. I noticed a few things
when I walked through the door: it was completely empty for starters, the first
table had a mah jong (MJ) tile set on a cloth (presumably for customers to play
on), the unusual music playing (instrumentals of traditional Chinese instruments)
and the fact that there were plug sockets at every table (some with desktop
fans plugged in).
It felt strangely abnormal but in
other areas, weirdly authentic but I couldn’t help but wonder whether people
would sit in this place to play MJ for several hours – what would the other
customers think? Would they be amused/fascinated or annoyed by the noise?
Speaking of noise, they seem to
pride themselves in live instrument playing (ee woo being one of them) and
there is even pricing on the back of the menu if one wished to choose a song or
play themselves. Again rather abnormal
but I’m sure it’s to some people’s taste… possibly the older generation who may
appreciate that genre of music.
Food
The menus were handed out to us
and the first thought was “what is the agenda of this meeting?” The menus were
presented in blue folders which reminded us of a business proposal. Since we
planned to have dessert here, I failed to notice that apparently they served
tea costing £80 a pot! Perhaps you pay for the authenticity of the tea
brewing/pouring process? Who knows.
Anyway, the desserts were better
than ones we’ve tasted in other cafes dotted around China Town and they were
presented in pretty glasses which helped with the presentation but one thing
ruined the desserts – we found medium sized ice cubes/pieces in the desserts
(very unusual indeed as we had to scoop them out before we could enjoy the
actual dessert). I’d understand if it was shaved or crushed ice but only in
certain desserts.
We all ordered something
different: Pomello and mango sago, mango sago with ice cream float, mango and
glutinous ball sago and lychee sago. All
were fine but after the impressive martini like glasses, one was disappointed with
a stubby short glass (see photo).
One thing I would say is that the
ice did make the coconut flavour taste watered down so if we do ever go back again,
we must remember to ask them not to put ice in the desserts.
Service
Considering we were the only
customers, we had no issue with the service but the staff did try to communicate
to us in Mandarin – luckily we could just point to pictures in the menu :)
Summary
Unique little place which fills a
gap in the market but given how quiet the place is, I wonder whether there is
the audience for it. Admittedly it early
in the week so perhaps they do get busier towards the weekend.
Personally, I would rather play
MJ in the comfort of a house but I guess it’s a great idea for those who don’t
have houses convenient for such noise and they have waiters at their
service.
Desserts were decent but I cannot
comment on the huge variety of teas on offer, nor can I comment on the snacks
that were available but I think it’s worth a try.
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