Scribbles in Hong Kong - Tiny tea shop with amazing iced masala chai

As you can probably tell, I'm trying to post about my vacation to Hong Kong before too much time has passed.  Especially about trekking up hills just to get to a tiny tea shop that had the best iced masala chai I've ever had!  Really small but cozy place, serving up some flavourful teas!  (The menu might have changed since I was there but I think this place deserved a write-up.)

Teakha tea shop (and zakka store) was our destination, located in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.  Be prepared, getting there from the MTR required walking up some steep streets!  The owner, from reading her blog has put a lot of thought and effort into designing and promoting her tea shop.  Some of her inspiration comes from her travels and she has created a really nice little shop that embodies a slower pace to life set in the fast paced world of Hong Kong.

Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street, 
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong 

http://teakha.com/

Outside

Inside

Baked goods counter

Tea cannisters

The menu is small but with a nice variety of teas.  Some breakfast and lunch options are also available.

Tea menu

Small seating area - I was sitting at the other seating area which was a communal table.

The best iced masala chai I've tasted so far!  It was really flavourful and well spiced, not the bland cups you often get in most places.  It also had the right balance of milk nor was it watered down.  I don't proclaim to be an expert in masala chai but I think this was quite stellar.

Iced masala chai

Lemon iced tea

Since we came all this way, I tried a scone, the strawberry basil one sounded interesting.  It was different than other scones in texture as it was similar to a muffin scone hybrid.  The strawberry flavour wasn't as strong as I expected but there was some basil you can detect.  Overall, not bad and you get a discount when ordered with a drink - definitely a sweet deal.

Strawberry basil scone

Interior decor - retro and clean

The back or side - seems like there are folding chairs

So, if your in the area check it out.  This was my first time to this area in Hong Kong and it was definitely an area with less tourists and more of a local feel.  Here are some pics of the area.

Scribbles in Hong Kong - 1 Michelin Starred Dim Sum

How often do I get to dine in a Michelin starred restaurant?  Not very often!  Actually, I've never dined in one until I went to Hong Kong a couple of months ago.  I've been to Hong Kong several times before so this visit was quite short and I wasn't planning to do much sight-seeing.  Instead, there were a few places I wanted to check out - the 1 Michelin Star Dim Sum restaurant "Tim Ho Wan" was one.

I'm not one to really be caught up on Michelin Stars but I've enjoyed dim sum my whole life and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I had to go and taste for myself.

Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists 添好運點心專門店

Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall) Central
中環香港站12A鋪(IFC地庫一層)

There are several locations, we just happen to choose this one since I wanted to go shopping in Central afterwards.  But, the location is a bit hard to find since it is near the airport express train and doesn't really have that "dim sum" atmosphere.

The menu is not very large and prices are decent for Hong Kong, however we found prices in Toronto could be better for some dishes.

Here is what we had:

Glutinous Rice and Chicken Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

Savoury chicken and shitake mushroom filling inside, meat was abundant, and glutinous rice was soft but held it's shape.  One of my favourite dishes.

Abalone Chicken Feet - Flavour was subtle but the texture of the skin was more "qq" or has a bite to it which is not the normal texture we're accustomed to in Toronto.

Siu Mai or Pork dumplings - Flavour was subtle, not much going on here though.

Vegetarian Bean Curd Roll - Savoury and had enough sauce.  Filling was fresh but wasn't outstanding.

Haw Gow or Shrimp Dumplings - Skin was thin and filling was fresh and sweet but it's not the best that we've had.

BBQ Pork Buns - What a lot of people rave about when they come here.

Baked BBQ Pork Bun - Inside the filling was saucy, did not have excessive red food colouring, good balance of salt and sugar.  Amount of filling was just right.  If you like sweet and savoury, this will also be a hit as the sweet crumbly crust on the top complemented the meat inside.  Tops in my opinion!

Steamed rice roll - Skin was thin and held together well, there was enough filling but it didn't "wow" me.  Well made but maybe I was expecting too much. 

Overall, the dim sum was very good.  There were some exceptional dishes (like the chicken and glutinous rice wrapped in a lotus leaf) but also some that were so-so in my opinion.  Ambiance, unfortunately because of the locale that I chose, didn't have any...really like a food court but with servers.  Am I glad I went, of course!!

Worth a try, but I would go to a different location unless you are just getting off the airport express train or going to board it to catch a flight.