Tea @ Aria Bistro

We organized an event at Aria Bistro a couple of weeks ago. I didn't realize that they are actually closed in the afternoon on a Saturday, so we were able to have the place for our event. The place is tiny so the maximum capacity is 30 persons.
The food presentation was wonderful. Look at the pretty garden salad for the caesar salad.
You get to mix your own Caesar salad with the sauce and cheeses. Freshly grated and tossed.

The set up for our event. I liked the way they set it up. Just a pity it was a hot afternoon, so no one really wanted to be outside.
Egg and cucmber sandwich. Pretty normal though I think it could be better.

The spread of food we got. It was a bit of a disappointment as there was no refill! We catered for 30 persons and this was what we got. We did a count and there were less than 30 pieces for each of the sandwiches. That was totally unexpected. I felt bad for their coordinator as at least 4 persons spoke to her about it. That was a bit wrong too as usually communications should be done between the I/C from both sides. Otherwise it would be a case of too many I/C and no one really knows whose instruction is the most up to date or accurate.

They used a fancy name for this dish - croque monsieur - which is basically ham and cheese sandwich. It was not fantastic as I had better croque monsieur from other places.

The sofa area outside. It was actually cheaper to order beer :p
The bar counter area. Service was pretty ok. Not too bad.
The rest of the food - anchovy olives tomatoes canapes, cheesey mushrooms, marble cheese cake, profiteroles, lemon meringue tarts. I like the cheesecake which was really yummy. The meringue tart was good too.

After our feedback, they did try to rectify it by serving additional snack food like fried chicken wings, sausages and 2 pizzas from Al Dente. Can you imagine being charged $30++ each for the initial spread which didn't come with any refill at all? At least it was a free flow of juices (orange and fruit punch), soft drinks, tea and coffee. But even the high tea menu for events held at hotels come with refills and could be cheaper too.