Oriental Teahouse

When my friend mentioned that she’d found a place I’d love in Melbourne, I was expecting some kind of dessert mecca. Instead, she took me to the Oriental Teahouse, a place that combines two of my favourite things – tea and dumplings. It was a quiet Friday afternoon and we were the only ones in the store. We both started out with the sparkling iced tea special – raspberry and vanilla. It came out in a jar with a handle and was refreshing, sweet and fizzy with a couple of raspberries inside. On to the dumplings. I started with the prawn dumplings and then had the xiao long bao, both of which were served piping hot with three pieces each. The soup inside the xiao long bao wasn’t as flavoursome as the one at Lotus, but the skin was a bit thicker and there was a nice amount of filling inside. Prawn dumplings are my favourite, and these were pretty high up on the list of delicious ones with plenty of prawn inside. We finished with the chocolate dessert dumplings, which were deep-fried and coated in sesame – yum! Check it out for great tea and nice dumplings.

Oriental Teahouse, 378 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC                          http://orientalteahouse.com.au/

Brother Baba Budan

My stop in to Brother Baba Budan was delightfully spontaneous – after an afternoon browsing the shops, the buzz and an impulse drew me in to this hole-in-the-wall coffee den. Not being a coffee drinker, I chose peppermint from a minimalist tea menu, and then I spotted the donuts and my impulse was rewarded. I picked the choc-mint over the iced vovo, although both looked great, and took a seat at the bar at the back. I watched my tea being brewed while I started on the delicious donut. The donut itself was soft and not too dense, whilst the icing was evenly spread across the top and just a little bit melted (perfect!). There were sprinkles of mint sugar on top which flavoured the whole donut. The tea was made from loose leaves although the brand was not listed on the menu. It came out in a gorgeous iron teapot of just the right size, with a small cup that meant the tea didn’t cool too quickly. The brew itself was just the right strength and left a lovely peppermint aftertaste. The staff were happy to let me finish my tea even after they’d closed up for the day.

Brother Baba Budan, 359 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC http://www.sevenseeds.com.au

T2B

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love tea. Quite a lot. So when I heard that one of my favourite tea brands, T2, had opened an experimental ‘brew bar’ making blends of their huge range of teas I had to stop in. T2B offers a range of products, but on arriving at the store in the Queen Victoria Building, my eye was immediately drawn to the bottled iced teas sitting in a tray of ice built into the front counter. The lady who served me was very helpful when I asked about what was in the ‘Peachy Dream’ brew – Turkish Apple for sweetness, Peach Sencha for the peach flavour and Red, Green and Dreamy rooibos (South African tea) for more peachy sweetness. I’d never tried rooibos before, so the lady kindly let me smell the rooibos first (such great service!). The iced tea comes in a generously sized bottle and on first sip was a great choice. Apart from being beautifully refreshing, the balance of flavours was delightful – the peach flavour was stong but not artificial and it was sweet without being sickly. Highly recommended for service, flavour and value.

T2B, Queen Victoria Building, 455 George Street, Sydney NSW    http://www.t2tea.com/brewbar/

Lo and Loud

Lo and Loud was my local breakfast place for the two days my colleague and I spent in Ankara. Within walking distance of the hotel and stocked with incredible, mouthwatering pastries, it was no hardship to pop down for breakfast in the mornings. Turkey seems to run on tea (çai), and I had my first taste of it here. As someone who usually drinks black tea, I quite enjoyed the brew with one sugar to counteract the bitterness. We tried a variety of savoury pastries across the two days, although never reached the point where I knew their names. Favourites included a slice that was filled with meat and potato (served warm), and a glazed bread topped with black sesame seeds – simple but tasty. We were lucky enough to meet a Turkish gentleman who spoke fluent English on the first day, and he graciously talked us through the pastry options and then ordered for us – hospitality is flawless in Turkey. We were delighted to see him again on the second day, where he repeated the favour. Obviously Lo and Loud was his local too, and I can understand why.

Lo and Loud, Barbaros Mh., 06700 Ankara, Turkey, no website