Lanvin ♥ Sevva Afternoon Tea @ Sevva

Happy 2014 everyone! :D As one of my new year resolutions is writing more on this blog, I think it'd be great to start this year with a brand new blog entry. :) I know I have promised to write about my tea experience in the UK, but after having tea at Sevva a few days earlier, I really can't wait to share my juicy story about it! 

The story began in mid-December, when we Evil Girls planned to celebrate Christmas with one of the hottest tea sets in town - Lanvin ♥ Sevva Afternoon Tea. Mindful of Sevva's no-reservation policy for afternoon tea and Kong Girls' obsession with branded tea sets, we decided to arrive at Sevva 45 minutes before tea time (3:00pm) to queue for a table. 

To our astonishment, a long line was already formed by 2:05pm on the day! :0 We could not get a table and had to move to Cafe Causette for tea in the end. While the afternoon with EGs was as enjoyable as always, I had difficulty letting go of our failure. I guess I was just mad at myself for not arriving at Sevva early enough! :( 

At the end of the day, I resolved to revisit Sevva 2 weeks later for Lanvin afternoon tea. I told myself that I ought to make it, no matter what it might take! It sounded absolutely crazy, but even crazier were Hellish and his friend FK, who were willing to do that with me!!! :0 I wouldn't be surprised if we were caught and sent to Castle Peak Hospital, cos we were indeed nothing but insane!

So here you go, a chronicle of our epic *Lanvin afternoon tea adventure*: 

[14/12 night] Fixed the date and time of our operation: 28/12 1:45pm. No pain, no gain.  

[27/12 night] Studied reviews of Lanvin afternoon tea on Openrice and prepared myself psychologically for rude treatment by Sevva staff. I had been a victim myself before, but it just wouldn't hurt to be better prepared for the abuse that was bound to happen. 

[28/12 12:00pm] Called Sevva. Was told that queuing time for Lanvin afternoon tea formally began at 2:15pm (no wonder there were already so many people by 2:05pm last time). Decided that meeting at 1:45pm would be safe. 

[1:30pm] Arrived earlier than planned at Prince Building. There was already a neat queue for afternoon tea in the lift lobby! :0 Understood it was not the official queue but joined it anyway. We were like the 3rd party in the queue. 

[2:00pm] Lift lobby chock-full of people. Security guards of Prince Building and Sevva staff tried to arrange the queue to alleviate the congestion. 

[2:12pm] The girls queuing in front of us seemed to think it's time and entered the lift. Although we were certain that it was too early, we did not know what to do other than following them. :0

[2:13pm] Lift arrived at 25/F Sevva. A stone-faced hostess stood right outside the lift and blocked our way. With a watch in her hand, she mercilessly announced that it was not yet 2:15pm and we should go back to the lift lobby first. 

[2:14-2:15pm] Lift carried the bunch of aggrieved people back to lift lobby. I was calm, though. Conclusion: psychological preparation works. 

[2:15pm] Lift stopped at G/F. "Sevva" and "Door Close" buttons were pressed as soon as the lift door opened.

[2:16pm] Lift stopped unexpectedly at 2/F. Panic swept over everyone as queuing time had started. A guy entered the lift.

[A few seconds to 2:17pm] Lift stopped at 3/F. Panic intensified. A woman entered. 

[2:17pm] As the lift was racing towards 25/F, it became apparent that the guy and the woman were also heading for Sevva. They had jumped the queue by squeezing themselves into the lift from other floors! :0 Resentment filled the lift while the free riders tried to pretend that they didn't sense the murderous stares.

[2:18pm] Lift finally arrived at 25/F. Everyone made a beeline for the freshly formed queue just outside Sevva - yes, some people had already reached Sevva as we wasted time on our lift journey. We successfully got into the new queue before the free riders did. I felt relieved as I was certain that FK would kill them brutally if they joined the queue more quickly than we did.

[2:23pm] Table assignment begun by stone-faced hostess. We secured a table!

[2:28pm] Queue was cut. I reckoned that only half of the people who queued in the lift lobby were given a table in the end. :( 

[3:03pm] WE WERE SEATED AT LAST! But I was too exhausted, both mentally and physically, to feel happy...

It's the first time I got seated in the indoor lounge area. We saw groups of people being escorted to the adjacent dining area even after the queue for afternoon tea had long gone. Then we had an epiphany: Sevva reserves tables for their VIPs; only mortals like us have to battle for tables. Indeed, the supply of tables for VIPs was far greater than the demand - the dining area was only half-full even at the busiest time. I felt sorry, if not angry, for those who were turned away by Sevva after queuing for so long. 

There were 3 of us but there were only 2 sets of cutlery on the table. The waiter who brought us to the table was completely oblivious to that until we asked for one more set. Well, THIS IS SEVVA. 

As each Lanvin tea set was designed for 2 persons, we ordered 1 tea set and a mini burger platter to share. I had a pot of Petal Tea by Penelope Sach, and it turned out be the first thing that went right at Sevva that day. It was a beautiful blend of rose petals, lemongrass, and other organic herbs. It had a calming herbal scent, which was what I needed after the straining queuing process. 

I had seen pictures of the Lanvin tea set beforehand, but still I was struck by its lovely presentation when it arrived before my eyes. The eye-catching pop colours matched nicely to the charming illustrations by Lanvin's artistic director Alber Elbaz, which could be found all over the special placemat and afternoon tea menu.

1st tier (clockwise from right): snowflakes coconut chiffon sponge, vanilla & cocoa macaroon with French vanilla crème, strawberry & pistachio macaroon with chocolate crème

View of 1st tier from another angle. The Santa decoration was so adorable!

2nd tier (clockwise from top): signature minced chicken sandwich, petite finger rolls of French ham & brie cheese, foie gras mousse & onion marmalade on savoury waffle, truffle scrambled eggs on toasted Poilâne, baby potato stuffed with smoked salmon, eggs & crème fraîche, ratatouille on cucumber

3rd tier (clockwise from bottom): pineapple crème gâteau; raspberry, rose petal jam & crème anglaise éclair; chocolate coated éclair with candy sprinkles; banana & strawberry crème; ♥ candy lollipop; Mont Blanc coupe; flower power espresso cheesecake

A better view of the Mont Blanc coupe and flower power espresso cheesecake. See the pic below for a full view of the ♥ candy lollipop!

We were reluctant to admit it, but... well, the food was, ahem, really good. I could not name a top pick because I had several favourites! The pineapple crème gâteau was light as a dream, the chicken sandwich juicy, the foie gras mousse lush and savoury. Even the espresso cheesecake, which is sloppily made in most restaurants, was prepared with care. Unlike those heavy cheesecakes that can become really icky in your mouth, it was so soft and creamy that it made me see cheesecakes in a new light. The only weakness, if I must name one, was that the macaron shells were too hard. But we were completely distracted from the problem because the macarons were generously loaded with luscious chocolate/vanilla crème... who cared about the shells? :9

A pretty gift card was given to guests per order of tea set. It could be exchanged for one special gift at the nearby Lanvin store. The guys were not interested in the gift at all so we did not have the problem of gift allocation. But what if 2 girls have the tea set together and both want the gift? Wouldn't that make the tea experience end on a sour note?

But my worry was unwarranted. Cos the gift was just an ugly Hello Kitty Lanvin mirror that I doubt anyone would be interested in. I definitely like the paper bag with Alber Elbaz's cute sketches more lor...

If gifts are supposed to make guests happy and promote a brand's image, Lanvin has failed utterly in this respect. I'd rather they offered no gift rather than giving people such a hea gift. Perhaps the other gift option, a Lanvin USB storage drive, was more attractive... it probably was because it was no longer available by the time we got to the shop. 

THE VERDICT 

Ambience: A-

Service: U (U= unclassified. Does what they are doing, e.g. making their customers stand for more than an hour and being totally indifferent, rejecting potential customers when tables are actually available, etc., really qualify as SERVICE!?? In fact, there can only be one reason for Sevva not to take reservation for afternoon tea: to create in the lift lobby a super long queue, which visualizes their popularity and serves as their very best living advertisement! As I have remarked elsewhere, when a restaurant uses its customers as a publicity means, it's the customers who are actually providing SERVICE! How very shameless of Sevva to have charged 10% of our bill for service... I should have dialled 999 to report a case of robbery...)

Food: A- (food was fantastic, but still it's hard to justify the hefty price tag!)

Overall remarks: I have come up with the perfect slogan for Sevva: "Heavenly Food in Hell".  Being the antithesis of customer-centred business, they expect you to follow their rules if you want to play their game. Not happy? They can't care less. If you are really, really interested in giving Sevva a try, you may wish to read this post at least 5 times to enhance your mental toughness beforehand... but I will not be responsible for your post-traumatic stress symptoms after the visit. 

Special thanks to Hellish and FK: this tea adventure would not be possible without you!
FK: It's so nice of you to think about me when you read about the Lanvin afternoon tea! You are wonderful :)
Hellish: You are the most wonderful, of course! :P

INFO

Sevva (website)
25/F, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong
Afternoon tea: 2:30 - 6:00pm (Mon - Fri), 3:00-6:00pm (Sat)
* Lanvin ♥ Sevva Afternoon Tea was priced at $680 for 2 persons and available in December 2013 only. 

We ♥ Vegetables @ SEVVA

December. My favourite month of the year! With winter solstice, Christmas, New Year Eve and my b-day all lumped together in December, it is always the month of gatherings, dinners, and shopping. But I've got to admit that I have been in this love-hate relationship with December in recent years... the grand feasts, party-planning and last-minute shopping take a toll on my health, whether physically or psychologically. :( The December of 2012 was the most fruitful yet busiest month in my life. The result of overeating, stress (from work and hectic social life) and inadequate sleep is that my aging stomach has not been feeling well since mid-December. :(

But being a tea lover and a reckless Sagittarius means that I am not giving up afternoon tea, no way! I am going to eat in a healthier way though. That's why SEVVA came to my mind when I was planning for my first afternoon tea in 2013 - it's the only place that serves vegetarian afternoon tea set in HK. ;)

Aware of its no-reservation policy for afternoon tea, Hellish and I arrived at SEVVA before teatime. It was 2:44pm, and a waitress greeted us at the entrance. Then the most ridiculous thing happened. The waitress said that they would only allow customers to start queuing for afternoon tea at 2:45pm - ah, so that's why many ladies were waiting on the ground floor just now. She went on to tell us to go down by the lift and get back to the restaurant at 2:45pm. I really could not believe my ears. This is, as of today, the dumbest thing I have ever heard in my life! There was another girl who arrived at the same time as we did, and she was equally appalled by this stupid suggestion. I protested to the waitress that there was just a minute to go, and a minute could have easily passed by the end of our conversation. Still, the waitress rigidly insisted that we should all leave. She added that we would not be granted the first place in the queue even if we stayed. Oh come on, who cared about being the first?? The restaurant was so big that I didn't worry about not getting a table at all. The point was, it was plain foolish to go down 25 floors and immediately go up again!! 

I told the waitress that we were not going down. She repeated that we would not be given priority for queuing (obviously she didn't hear me...) and said nothing more. While I could totally understand the need of maintaining a strict control of the queuing time, it was absurd, if not rude, to tell the customers to spend a minute in the lift! Couldn't she say something more sensible like, "I'm sorry that there's still a minute before you can start queuing. Why don't you take a look at our sweets and cakes in the corner and start queuing at 2:45pm sharp?" After all, the beautiful patisserie corner in Marie Antoinette style can easily distract any female customer for a minute or two! And it was indeed how I spent that stupid 1 minute.  

In the end, a group of ladies burst from the lift at almost 2:46pm. They were promptly escorted by the waitress to the queuing point. We joined the queue and were ranked 6th or 7th. We got seated immediately when the clock struck 3. I told you it wasn't necessary to be the first, didn't I?

Anyway... we got seated outdoor, as we preferred. The weather was a bit chilly, but it would be a shame not to enjoy winter sunshine on the spacious terrace. I loved their huge outdoor sofas which could accommodate at least 4 persons each. And we had 2 of these sofas to ourselves!

View of Central from the terrace

We were glad to see that the waiters who served us were polite and generally responsive. We just hoped our vegetarian tea set could have come a bit earlier because it was not easy to stay patient in the cold wind. :P

Top tier (clockwise from top): SEVVA vegetable spring roll, golden crumpet with chive cream cheese & cucumber, mini burger with ratatouille 

Middle tier (clockwise from top): mini asparagus roll; deluxe vegetarian club sandwich; SEVVA poori - Indian nachos... our way; tri-coloured tomatoes, avocado, chopped egg white on toasted soylin bread, wild mushroom ragoût  on crispy rice cracker 

View of middle tier from another side

Bottom tier (clockwise from top): double chocolate-dipped strawberry, the original caramel crunch cake, SEVVA pineapple carrot cake, cigar wafer cookies, chocolate fudge cake with marmalade, mini Mont Blanc 

If you are biased against vegetarian food like most of my guy friends and have the impression that it is bland, boring and not filling, SEVVA's vegetarian tea set will make you painfully ashamed of your ignorance. ;) This gorgeous tea set looks anything but boring right? The carrot cake (just because I don't like carrot cake) and soggy asparagus roll aside, the tea set was nicely executed. The pastries on the bottom tier are actually the same as those in the non-vegetarian signature tea set. Whether it was SEVVA's famous feather-light crunch cake , the dense orange-scented chocolate cake, or the chocolate-dipped strawberry that could never go wrong... everything was pure bliss. 

The top 2 tiers were the stage for vegetarian savouries. Since veggies have less intense flavours than meat in general, vegetarian chefs tend to use lots of cheese, spices, and herbs to enhance the flavours of their dishes. The result is that, vegetarian dishes are flavourful, sometimes even more so their meaty counterparts. Try their crumpet with oh-so-yummy chive cream cheese, or crispy rice cracker with piquant stewed mushrooms, and you will see what I mean. :) Of course, I enjoyed the toast with tomatoes and avocado cos I love gooey fatty avocado. Who needs meat when veggies taste so good?? If I could have great vegetarian food like these every day, I wouldn't mind being a convert... for a week. :P

So far, so good. This is one of HK's best afternoon tea set - if we do not take its price into account. What is your guess for the price tag? $450? Not even close. $500? Nah. The answer is: a whooping $580, plus 10% service charge!! :0 I was a bit mad that at this hefty price, we were only entitled to choices of everyday tea and coffee... I would love to try the organic teas from Penelope Sach, but they cost extra. :( I really didn't want to dole out more money from my bleeding wallet, so I reluctantly settled for an Earl Grey...  

THE VERDICT 

Ambience: A- (Love the terrace! Despite having opened for several years, SEVVA's niche as one of the hippest place in town remains unchallenged.) 

Service: C- (To be fair, the waiting staff weren't bad as a whole, but the waitress at the entrance was just hopeless. First impression is important!!)

Food: B (Wonderful food that deserves an A-. But value for money? NO!)

Overall remarks: Ok, now it seems that I am in another love-hate relationship... SEVVA is a charming place for tea, but when I pay over $600 for a tea set I would certainly ask for A LOT MORE. At this price, I would expect all food items to come in pairs (or else show me some black truffles :P), gourmet tea instead of Twinings, and most importantly, reasonable service. SEVVA should really organize customer service training for the staff; if this is too expensive, just replace the waitress at the entrance with someone else! 

INFO

SEVVA (website)
25/F, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong
Afternoon tea: 2:30 - 6:00pm (Mon - Fri), 3:00-6:00pm (Sat)
* Signature Tea Set and vegetarian variation available at $580 for 2 persons