This WOAP event would have to be one of the most highly sought after events, and after missing out on tickets last year there was no way that there was going to be a repeat of that. At least, not if I could help it.

Our group was all on board and ready at the mouse with minutes to spare on game-day.  We had decided to go for the earlier session (5.45pm – 8.30pm) over the later (8.45pm – 10.30pm) session just because we all knew we’d struggle with dinner so late. I also had my netball semi-final the next day, so I wanted to ensure a full night’s sleep.

With our cursors over the ‘Purchase Now’ we hovered, waiting for the clock to strike noon. As quick as lightning (or so we thought) we clicked and crossed our fingers, all of them. Success! Wahoo! Of our group, I was the only one who managed to secure us tickets. But wait, oh no! My confirmed purchase revealed an earlier error… we were late session bound!

The date rolled around quickly and all of a sudden it was time. Pre-event snacking was a must but kept to a minimum. We arrived at Dragons (Tory Street) promptly on time and joined the masses queueing outside. We were soon shown to our table and settled in; excited for what was to come.

Time went so fast, it is hard to believe the quickly the event was over. We were brought our first course not long after we were seated, in which time we had already been gifted our first can of beer, as well as some tea. That set the pace for the rest of the night; we had food and drink coming out our ears. There was an endless supply of beer for those who wanted it, which was astonishing because I struggled to even make it through my designated amount.

The place was packed (unsurprisingly!) and it was crazy to think that most of these people had purchased tickets with the same anticipation we had. We decided as a group that the later session was in fact better; we didn’t have quite the same time pressure and I’m pretty sure we got to finish off all the excess beer.

We were treated to four courses; a ‘crispy’ course, a ‘steamed’ course, the chef’s special and of course, dessert. It was a lot of fried food and more seafood than I had anticipated. I got full quite quickly, not from the pre-snacks necessarily,  rather just from the beer and the style of eating.

It was money well spent, and if you went hard on the beer, extremely good value for money. I don’t think that Yum Cha is my favourite type of food/dining style, but the night’s experience was fantastic.