Tea Bone Zen Mind

Nestled among the row of shophouses along Seah Street is a tea place. I have passed by it during my almost daily walk along Seah Street but I never thought much of it. We had our monthly office outing and the boss suggested going there for tea. It is hidden near the middle of the street on the 2nd level (above Mushroom Park) and going up the staircase, you feel transported to another place.

The place has a charming European feel - French to me - with its cosy furnishings and cushions on every settees and French music playing in the background. Fresh flowers are used and there is even a tree in the middle of the room though it is quite bare and devoid of leaves.

The selection of teas is mind-boggling. It serves not only Chinese tea but also the usual English tea. Every tea comes with its own tea set and light snacks. I chose the white peony as I wanted white tea and it came with candied orange peels. There was a packet containing the extra tea leaves which I could use right there or take it home for further use.

The packet containing the extra white peony tea leaves.

Iced teas came with warm crispy dried squid while a colleague who ordered ginger tea had ginger cookies. Lemongrass tea came with something else. The tea sets were also different.

We also ordered finger food - tealeaves eggs (cha ye dan) which were excellent. The boiled eggs were infused with the cha ye flavor. Another good choice was the cucumber sandwiches which came with very thinly sliced cucmbers and sprinkled with seaweed bits and seasame seeds. The bread was either rolled or pressed so thinly that it was a refreshing and light pick me up. The tea wings were so-so, nothing different.

This would be an excellent place during a weekday afternoon to chill or have a quiet chat with a girlfriend. The place is very quiet and perfect for reflection. It closes early, at 7pm. I can't remember the exact opening hours.