Last week, A-Liang said he wanted to take me to dinner as a thank-you for my help at the tea show. Master Tsai had just returned from his month-long trip to China, and so we decided to go to his Tea Restaurant to eat.

The food was quite good; so good, in fact, that I forgot to take pictures of the various dishes. I quess that means I’ll have to go back again!!! Master Tsai serves everything extremely organic. There’s no menu to choose from - he just cooks up what he has available, usually 5-7 courses. We had a fruit salad with kiwi sauce, pan-fried fish, jong dz, and several vegetable dishes as well. Afterwards, we (naturally) drank tea, and had a nice chat.

Master Tsai handled the initial brewing duties, as he wanted to introduce a couple of the new teas he brought back from China. I didn’t take notes, so I’ll do a formal tea report when I get a chance. I really like watching him at work, because I can always pick up some tips. 

 One thing I notice is that he never hurries the brew; he is patient with the whole process, allowing each step to happen in it’s own time. Being ‘tea junkies’ as we are, it wasn’t difficult to fill in the time with conversation, but at the same time, he exudes a calm, relaxing aura that truly enhances the drinking experience.  There’s no keeping track of time (he doesn’t have clocks in the tearoom), so even though it was a weeknight, we didn’t finish up until around 10:00 o’clock. All in all, it was a very relaxing and pleasant evening well spent.

Masters Tsai and A-Liang talking shop.