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Tea (rec.drink.tea) Discussion relating to tea, the world's second most consumed beverage (after water), made by infusing or boiling the leaves of the tea plant (C. sinensis or close relatives) in water. |
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The Boston area is wonderful in all ways, from relaxed pace and
intellectual humility to simplicity of street navigation and mild, predictable weather. We are, however, a little short on decent tea purveyors in leaf and brew. And all the usual complaints about intransigence and equipage of Asian restaurant staff apply. Hence the pleasant surprise reported here. My favorite Chinese restaurant hereabouts (no vested interest; in fact, I'm not sure I ought to be promulgating this intelligence) is Royal East on Main St. I've been eating there since it opened around 1985, while laboring next door for a now-defunct imaging company that got started coating the crystallized urine of quinine-fed dogs onto plastic sheets to make sunglasses. (Would I lie to you?) Later, it became the only venue mutually agreeable to the disparate tastes of my entire family during the extended psychodrama of our reunions. In the past few years, I've gotten to know the owner/founder, Otto, fairly well if superficially. (He even recommended an outstanding and underpriced traditional Chinese doctor/bodyworker nearby, one of whose credentials is that he treats a notable rock star when the latter is in town.) But we never got into matters of religion until recently. A few months back, I asked about the ranks of well-seasoned Yixing pots, metal canisters, trays and other implements of mass consumption arrayed around the bar. Otto said that he's equipped for serious tea tastings, but declines to put this offering on the menu. Americans get upset at having to *pay* for tea, people don't know what real tea tastes like, etc. He apparently serves the good stuff regularly to a few knowledgeable customers, but won't offer it. I threatened to bring some of my own favorite teas if he'd share a cup, and he accepted. Today I had the pleasure of visiting Royal East with Corax, in town for an convention on something-or-other to describe which I lack sufficient classical education - he can fill in over on http://chadao.blogspot.com, perhaps with pix. Otto kindly agreed to come in a couple of hours before dinner to meet us. So Corax and I arrived early and lunched on a very nice trio of spicy pork with peanuts, garlic beef and baby bok choy with whole fried garlic cloves. Waving off the usual pitcher, we got a pot of hot and threw in a chunk of 2001 YiWu Zhen Shan wild tree shu Puer from Fu Hai (via Yunnan Sourcing), which made a nice balance for the strong and varied food flavors. This decided me never to go to a Chinese restaurant again without my own tea - life's too short. Otto arrived as we were plowing into this bounty. He complimented our tea, then came back with a 20-year-old shu of his own. After a couple of steeps of this in a porcelain pot, we brought out one of the new Tea Gallery Lung Jings. He admired the tea's freshness and leaf shape, then produced a package of West Lake he'd just received from Hong Kong. This was excellent, and a nice contrast to the two Puers. At this point, we'd consumed most of the vittles, so Otto had the table cleared and brought out full Gong Fu regalia. Since his own favorite tipple is Tie Kuan Yin, we had a fairly rarefied one of these (up in the $500/lb range) that he'd just had sent from a family friend's plantation in the old country. With the TKY he brought a couple of exquisite books on master tea pots and tea-making from his large collection. Over the next few steeps, we got some useful insight and humorous anecdotes on the Chinese numbered-factory Yixing teapot production system, and the challenges of buying even medium-quality merchandise without an inside connection. After that, we went on to three from Silk Road Teas: an unusual, (to me) seaweedy oolong from their "Special" collection called Guo Jiang Xiang No.2, a year-old but still terrific Songzhong dan cong, and their delicate but powerful Drum Mountain Clouds & Mist; the latter impressed him enough to ask for a sample. Early on in this round, Otto got hungry too, so Corax and I were forced by politeness to endure a second lunch of pea tendrils and cold chicken with an aromatic dressing of freshly chopped ginger and scallions. The chicken bears special mention: looked pretty mundane; cold boiled chicken on a bare plate. But one assumes that the boss of the best restaurant around gets OK treatment from his staff, and in fact the bird was extraordinary: not only cooked perfectly, but with about thrice the flavor of any other chicken I've tasted. Turns out that for this dish - like many wonders not on the menu,including the pea tendrils; always worth asking a waiter about specials - he sources unusual ingredients, here a little-known French strain. (But to strain the rara avis concept to the limit, he said that we should call ahead next time for double-steamed black chicken, an even more unusual subspecies with white feathers and dark skin, like unto a polar bear. Who knew?) While I fondled the Yixings, Corax collected the Chinese names with Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciations for tea, equipment, procedures and ethereal attitudes; I'll let him report as only a gastronomic philologist can.) There may be two salient lessons here. One is that there is great tea, tea service and tea conversation available in (great?) restaurants, but apparently the Tao Te Ching is as relevant to fine tea as to all else: those who advertise don't always deliver, and those who deliver don't always advertise. The other is that despite a truly ab-initio relationship with this fine establishment and its owner, my relationship and experience there have experienced a step-change upward as a result of asking about tea. A salutary event indeed. May you have such fortune. -DM PS - That wasn't decadent enough, so we strolled down the block to make sure that Toscanini's still has the world's best cocoa-pudding ice cream. Corax, ever the classical loyalist, is holding out for gelato at some little shop in Rome, so we'll just have to have a re-match. |
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![]() DogMa wrote: > There may be two salient lessons here. One is that there is great tea, > tea service and tea conversation available in (great?) restaurants, but > apparently the Tao Te Ching is as relevant to fine tea as to all else: > those who advertise don't always deliver, and those who deliver don't > always advertise. The other is that despite a truly ab-initio > relationship with this fine establishment and its owner, my relationship > and experience there have experienced a step-change upward as a result > of asking about tea. A salutary event indeed. May you have such fortune. > > -DM > > PS - That wasn't decadent enough, so we strolled down the block to make > sure that Toscanini's still has the world's best cocoa-pudding ice > cream. Corax, ever the classical loyalist, is holding out for gelato at > some little shop in Rome, so we'll just have to have a re-match. Great stuff. As for the Tao Te Ching, it is a perfect match with tea and life. I began reading and following the philosophical teachings of Taoism over 8 years ago, and it has enhanced my love for and enjoyment of tea and life. To me it is simple, to the point, real, and as applicable today as it was when penned. I don't get preachy or on any soapboxes for any religion or philosohical teaching, but between my love of art, Taoism, and tea I can take a step backwards in time and remove myself from the hustle and bustle and technology and appreciate a lot of things that go unknown to many today in favor of shopping, money, and the endless pursuit to get ahead (of what I'm not sure, but to just get farther ahead than the guy next door at any cost.). And as for the cocoa-pudding ice cream vs. the gelato, I'm with the gelato every time. - Dominic |
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Sorry, OP pulled for minor legal reasons. In (very) brief, it was a
report on a delightful tea experience at the excellent Royal East restaurant, where owner Otto will serve (and share) wonderful tea and stories, but only if asked. -DM |
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