Thoughts & Reflections

Tag: Tea

Tea at the Williamsburg Hotel

On a sunny winter day several months ago, I met up with my friend Queenie for tea in my neighborhood. The onslaught of new construction and gentrification continues in Williamsburg, so the views of glorious open skies have unfortunately given way to towers of glass, steel and brick. Not only are there residential buildings rising up from once desolate streets but plenty of hotels have sprung up as well.

And the Williamsburg Hotel is the first one to actually serve afternoon tea (or what they call “high tea” on their menu, though it’s not at all).

The hotel bar and lobby is beneath street level and one can enter via sweeping stairs descending from the street or through a slender door in the side of the building. The space is cavernous and feels airy when light pours through the two-story windows on a sunny day.

So, onto the food. I had been running around doing errands before meeting Queenie, who was already in the area attending a food fair of sorts. That meant one of us was hungry and the other not. We ended up ordering one “Brooklyn High Tea” to share, and an additional pot of tea for her.

The tea menu itself was a limited selection, sourced from a local tea shop called Tea Dealers. We both ordered the Wild Pear tisane from Korea and it turned out the supplier was actually sitting at the bar. He came over and there was a brief discussion on the teas, which was interesting and nice. The tea was pretty good, made with wild pears and it reminded me a lot of a soup my mother makes using apples or Asian pears.

As for the food itself, it was a varied selection of baked goods and one or two savories. We weren’t able to match everything on our plates to the descriptions on the menu but it was close enough. Alas that the savories all contained cheese, which I dislike very much. It was a little disappointing for me, because I really wanted more savories and there were far too many sweets for me to enjoy it all. Serving butter or clotted cream with the scone might have helped a bit too but in the end, we took nibbles off a lot of the pastries because it was just far too much for even two of us to enjoy. I left wanting savory foods and ended up with some delicious Indonesian food later that day to sate my appetite.

The space was really nice and if one is really into sweets, then this tea is probably good. I found out one of my other friends had visited recently (admittedly through a press engagement) and she enjoyed the food so perhaps it had improved since my own visit. In the meantime, I’ll continue to wish for Brooklyn to offer an afternoon tea as great as those found in Manhattan.

May 8, 2017
A Visit to Puerh Brooklyn

Coffeeshops are ubiquitous in New York so it’s always a nice surprise to come across a tea shop somewhere in the midst of the city. There is a little cafe that specializes in matcha in my neighborhood but what I’d much prefer is a place that offers a bit more variety.

I learned recently about a tea shop called Puerh that I think opened not too long ago. Browsing their website, I was not disappointed to find that they do indeed sell various types of the namesake tea. My family drinks pu-erh tea all the time, though not as much as when I was younger. My parents used to brew a pot for breakfast and it’s pretty much the standard when one sits down for dim sum in a Chinese restaurant.

I finally had a chance to visit it last weekend with a friend. Even though Puerh Brooklyn isn’t terribly far for me to walk to from home, it’s located on a street that I don’t frequent that often. All I really needed was an excuse to travel in that direction and with a friend visiting the neighborhood, I had my reason.

The shop isn’t very big but it’s filled with a lot of lovely teaware. Along one wall is a tea counter where one can browse the loose tea and tea cakes the shop sells. There is also a little takeaway area to order hot or iced teas as well as small bites such as cookies and chocolate.

There is another shop in the basement of the space that sells clothes, jewelry and some other sundries but the nice part about it the large airy space where it tea tastings and classes are held from time to time. The floor was covered with cushions and mats and there was definitely a stove and a pot set aside there. I’d love to revisit for a tea tasting if possible.

It’s hard for me to visit a tea store and not buy anything. I ordered an iced hibiscus tea (tasty) and then browse some of the pu-erh cakes available for purchase. In the end, I bought a small cake of pu-erh and chrysanthemums (another Chinese favorite). When I showed it to my mother, she advised me to keep it in a dark place for now and like wine, it will be better with age.

I can’t wait to break that tea cake open in the future and see how the flavors have improved.

June 13, 2016
Kakigori at Kokage

It’s now August and we’re in the midst of high summer, with consecutive days full of bright sun and warm temperatures. Staying indoors is the best plan and when one heads outside, the sun is only tolerable for so long before it’s time to rest in the shade and keep cool. And on a day like yesterday, nothing is more refreshing than a nice bowl of shaved ice.

My friend Jee reminded me of this when I saw her photos of a refreshing dessert at Kokage, one of the restaurants that’s part of Ippodo, a Japanese tea show in midtown near Grand Central Terminal. For the past week, Kokage had been hosting a special pop-up. They teamed up with Nakamuraken, a Kyoto sweets shop, to bring some special treats to New York, in particular Kakigori (shaved ice). I made a note to visit but I’d been busy and had forgotten about it. My friend Q asked if I wanted to go on Sunday, the last day of the pop-up and I happily tagged along.

We arrived late afternoon and noted they had already run out of some of the specials; that was fine as we really just wanted the shaved ice. There were two flavors available to order: the Shiratama Uji Kintoki and Rhubarb. The former is the more traditional flavor, with matcha, red beans, mochi and condensed milk; the latter was created specifically for this week. Most of the other customers I saw ordered the traditional and that was what we both wanted as well. It arrived with a cup of hot hojicha on the side. The one thing that was a little different about our orders was that they ran out of condensed milk so we were served a matcha syrup to pour on the shaved ice instead; I didn’t mind at all since I’m not too big a fan of condensed milk. So we ended up just being a bit more over-caffeinated which wasn’t terrible. The shaved ice was absolutely delicious and was the perfect way to cool down after walking around all afternoon in the sun.

Since the shaved ice was mostly water, it did not fill our stomachs. The advantage of that was that we ended up ordering the rhubarb shaved ice as well, splitting it between ourselves. It was light and fruity, flavored with lemon and served with a dollop of rhubarb jam. The flavor of the rhubarb ice was much more subtle than the matcha one; of the two, I definitely preferred the not too bitter but flavorful matcha over the rhubarb.

August 3, 2015
The Dessert Kitchen

I met up with my friend M for dinner on Friday and noticed there was a new dessert place that opened next door to the Indian restaurant we were visiting that night. Simply named, The Dessert Kitchen serves a variety of desserts, most of which have an Asian twist. To me, it’s like a cross between the Asian-style dessert places in the city (e.g. Chikalicious or Spot Dessert Bar) and those I find in Hong Kong or Chinatown that serve Chinese dessert soups.

After our unsatisfying Indian meal, we headed next door. The staff were offering samples of waffles to passersby, who mostly seemed to be local residents. There were balloons outside that heralded the restaurant’s grand opening; it had only been opened for about a week. When we arrived, it was still pretty early in the evening so there were no seated customers except for us.

The menu comprised of a lot of sundaes, parfaits, waffles as well a section of interesting Asian style desserts (green tea kanten jelly noodles anyone?) and Taiwanese shaved ice. I ended up ordering a strawberry sundae (I forgot what the fancy name for this was from the menu) and a hot fruit tea.

I love strawberry-based desserts and we’re at the start of the peak season for the berries so I thought this was a good item to try; other people had ordered strawberry desserts as well for takeout and I heard one of the staff members say that it’s been a pretty popular option so far. The strawberry ice cream was made in-house and tasted delicious. I’m unsure of the rest of the ingredients in it but there were some tapioca balls, lychee jelly and I think condensed milk. Overall, I liked it but want to try other things the next I visit. There were a lot more eat-in customers later on so it was nice to see what some of the other menu items look like. One couple who arrived just after us ended up ordering some of the ice cream cones which looked as fanciful as pictured on the menu; it’s definitely something I would consider choosing next time. The freshly made waffles smelled tasty too but I wasn’t really in the mood for waffles that night.

My fruit tea arrived in a very large glass teapot-cum-mug. Bonus points for the pretty presentation and how it matches my sundae. I thought it would be a fruit-based tea with leaves but it’s all fruit pieces which is nice too. As for the taste, it was mostly of a berry flavor though I thought I saw pieces of papaya in there as well. Not really sure what else was in there but it was good.

The best thing I liked about Dessert Kitchen so far is the lack of crowds since it’s still new and under the radar (for now). So many of the other dessert-only restaurants in the city are always packed and I don’t really frequent them anymore because there are rarely empty seats since people tend to linger. At least there is a to-go option here so that’s definitely a plus.

June 1, 2015
Tea Break at Chalait

I finally had an excuse to visit Chalait, a cafe that opened not too long ago that specializes in matcha-based drinks — my friend Queenie is working there and what better excuse to drop in, say hello and take a tea break. After dim sum earlier in the day followed by some window shopping, it was the perfect time to give my feet a rest. Thankfully, Chalait wasn’t too crowded when I arrived and after placing my order, I grabbed a seat at the counter so I could chat a little bit with Queenie.

I definitely wanted a drink and I ended up ordering a snack of Nutella toast as well. Instead of a simple matcha iced tea, I chose the special, a matcha spritzer made with cucumber and mint. It was the perfect drink, light and refreshing. The toast was simply two pieces of baguette slathered with Nutella and topped with pistachios and sea salt. Simple and very sweet; the Nutella was warm and very gooey, with my fingers leaving a sticky mess all over the napkin. There are savory options on the menu, too; the woman sitting next to me ordered the avocado toast and it looked tasty. I should definitely return and try it on my next visit.

May 20, 2015
MatchaBar

With so many coffee establishments in New York, a new tea place is most certainly welcome for non-coffee drinkers like me. The latest tea shop just happened to open in my neighborhood last week so I went to check it out over the weekend.

Specializing in the type of tea as its name implies, MatchaBar is all about matcha. They sell prepackaged tins of if as well as offering matcha-based drinks to go. And for non-tea drinkers who were dragged in by tea-loving friends, coffee is also on the menu. The space itself is pretty nice; there is seating in the front by the window and a large communal table in the back. I also love the very appopriate leafy print that adorns the wall.

And so what to try from the menu? It was a warm day so I ended up ordering one of their specialty drinks: the iced watermelon and matcha. It seemed to be one of the more popular items the day I went. When I received my drink, the watermelon and matcha were separated in colorful layers that all turned to green once I mixed it up. It was tasty and definitely refreshing, not at all bitter.

They serve hot matcha-based drinks too, which I may try as the temperatures drop in these coming months. Some baked goods were also available as well for those that need something to go along with their drinks; since I went in the afternoon, there wasn’t much variety left but I think I did see some scones and muffins.

September 26, 2014
Tea Drunk

What I wanted on Saturday afternoon was a cool and creamy antidote to the increasingly warm weather. I walked over to the Big Gay Ice Cream shop, looked at the long line that formed outside the store and decided I should get something else instead. Just a few doors down was Tea Drunk, a tea shop on my to-visit list. It is tea only (no food) and the tea is served Kung-Fu style if one is dining in, so to speak. There is a really short to-go menu of iced tea on the day I went but I wanted to sit down and rest my tired feet.

I chose the Shui Xian Oolong Tea and sat down at a table; the counter was packed with other tea drinkers so there wasn’t any room to sit up there. I really enjoy the rituals of serving Kung-Fu tea though I haven’t had it in years. It was fun to watch as one of the shop assistants rinsed the pot and the cup before steeping the leaves and pouring the tea into the teeny cup. The tea itself was excellent; I really liked the flavor of it. And the leaves were steeped several times and each time, the flavor changed subtly. Even though it was hot outside, I didn’t mind drinking hot tea as well. The whole experience was pretty relaxing and I would definitely go again and try something else next time.

April 22, 2014
Bellocq

One of the prettiest tea shops in the city is Bellocq. It’s close enough for me to walk to on a nice day but in the midst of a polar vortex as we are now, I’m more than happy to use mass transit instead. The shop is located on a quiet, industrial street and the storefront is pretty unassuming. But once inside, you can’t help but admire the view.

There are small tins by the window for customers to sniff and examine the different teas available for purchase. Behind the counter are large canisters full of loose leaves ready to be sold by the ounce. And in the back room is a lovely little sitting area with plants everywhere.
On the day I visited, the store was pretty busy with a mix of out-of-town visitors and city residents. Everyone was buying tea so it was while before it my turn but I didn’t mind the wait since I was admiring all the things in the store. Though there were several teas I wanted to try, I showed some restraint and only bought a sample of Golden Pu-Erh. But have no fear, there will be future visits indeed.

January 27, 2014