(The humble entrance of the tea house.)
This is how the tea house that I went to works:
(Array of food accompanied by pots of tea. )
I definitely come across more Starbucks cafes than tea houses in Shanghai. Hopefully, it was because of the iconic symbol that I could recognize and also because of its ability to possess the most strategic locations where most people will pass by.
I come across a lot of tea shops that sell a variety of tea leaves and products but they are not tea houses as they are mainly shops for selling tea leaves than to allow people to spend time there.
Anyway, I was lucky to discover one tea house that is traditional enough for me and it is not far to walk to. There are other tea houses with a very modern outlook that serve cakes and fusion food which is really not my cup of tea.
(The sofa area which is our favourite area.)
This is how the tea house that I went to works:
There is a minimum charge of 58 yuan per person which means that that is the price of the cheapest tea available. There is no upper limit for the price of tea that one can order. You pay for the price of your tea and the price comes with a free flow of hot water, a free flow of food in the form of dry snacks and fruits. There is no limitation to the amount that you eat. There are at least 20 types of snacks to choose from if you can get used to the idea of Chinese snacks. The price also includes a meal, either lunch or dinner set where you can select a dish of your choice from its limited menu and it comes with rice, steamed egg and a soup. However, there is a restriction of up to 6 hour stay from Friday to Sunday. There is no service charge or VAT. And the teahouse stays open till 1am.
