Clarity In A Cup
WINE&DINE|September - October 2020
Made for the modern tea enthusiast, these teahouses may come in a variety of guises but all lead back to the quiet gratification that is the crux of tea-drinking.
Faye Bradley
Clarity In A Cup

Tingtai Teahouse in Shanghai

The striking, contemporary interiors at Tingtai Teahouse retain a crucial balance between stylish and traditional. A challenging task to say the least. Located in an old factory space in Shanghai’s Moganshan Road, now occupied by local artists, Tingtai Teahouse is a place to spend hours sipping tea and socialising. Designed by architecture and interior design firm Linehouse, the teahouse offers the classic cha dao, a meditative tea ceremony. There is even an art exhibition space, thanks to the owner’s passion in the arts.

What’s truly distinctive about this factory-turned-teahouse is its grand allocation of private rooms. Seclusion is key, as it was in the bygone era, when it comes to appreciating tea.

To recreate a sense of privacy, designers have used elevated box volumes to divide up the space. Each wooden tea room floats above a green terrazzo landscape with sunken seats, making for a clear line of sight throughout the entire area and giving the illusion of floating staircases.

Not to be overshadowed, the range of tea offered is, of course, just as impressive. It’s the finer, rarer teas that can be found here including 11 types of pu’er such as Banzhang and Bingdao and other 15 to 30-year-old teas.

DeHui Tea Space in Beijing

This story is from the September - October 2020 edition of WINE&DINE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September - October 2020 edition of WINE&DINE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM WINE&DINEView All
New Blood
WINE&DINE

New Blood

The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
Sharing Is Caring
WINE&DINE

Sharing Is Caring

Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.

time-read
1 min  |
April - June 2021
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
WINE&DINE

Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History

From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.

time-read
6 mins  |
April - June 2021
New And Improved
WINE&DINE

New And Improved

The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.

time-read
1 min  |
April - June 2021
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
WINE&DINE

Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine

Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
Let Land Grow Wild
WINE&DINE

Let Land Grow Wild

Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
The South Asian Misnomer
WINE&DINE

The South Asian Misnomer

Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.

time-read
8 mins  |
April - June 2021
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
WINE&DINE

Keepers Of The Spice Trade

From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
WINE&DINE

Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice

Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.

time-read
4 mins  |
April - June 2021
WINE&DINE

Building Blocks From The Archipelago

For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.

time-read
7 mins  |
April - June 2021