Inner Solace

Shanghai Tea House

I’m always on the look-out for tea houses and kopi tiams around here.  I haven’t found any. Not surprising because this is the backwater that is Perth. *sigh* I know my chances of finding these things are going to be infinitely better in Asia, but one lives in hope.

It’s stupid thing, but I dream of a day when I find a well-run[1] tiam that sells kueh, and thick-sliced slightly sweet bread like the kind you find in Asia, slathered with home-made kaya, and perfectly soft-boiled eggs.  And coffee or fresh soy bean milk served in those little cups I adore.  When that day comes, I’m sure I’ll see a ballooning of my figure…

I will settle for a tea-house that specialises in a nice variety of Chinese teas and snacks.

Which is why I walked into the Shanghai Tea House on William Street in Northbridge.  They used to be a cake shop called Mozart’s, now they’re a tea house that features Mozart’s cakes.

I have been told that the baker there bought some of their recipes from the owner of Cakes Delight in Mount Pleasant.  And the cakes at Cakes Delight are lovely.  They’re beautifully soft and a perfect balance of sweet, cream and cake.  Which is why I thought Mozart’s might be nice.

But I was a somewhat mistaken.

With a name like Shanghai Tea House, I expected an actual tea house with actual varieties of Chinese teas and bits.  I mean, Shanghai? It’s meant to be the cultural centre.  Tea culture in China? The height of social everything.  In its heyday that is where you went, it’s what you did.  It was hip, it was happening. Freaking poets wrote prolifically about it.

Okay, so I wasn’t expecting that standard, that’s just unrealistic.  But I wasn’t expecting a bog-standard café.

They had the ordinary selection of western teas (Earl Grey, English Breakfast…) and three whole Chinese ones.  They sold coffee and they sold Mozart’s cakes.

And the cakes? Not very Delight.  A different ‘D’ word perhaps.  They tasted old.  The exposed layer of cream could be peeled away.  The sponge felt like it could bounce.  I had issues cutting it with my cake fork.  Sawing was required in places.

The lunch and dinner menu looked somewhat interesting though.  Some very boring items and some items I’m actually curious about.  I am actually tempted to go there again for a proper meal to try and see…

But I would avoid the cakes like the plague.  If you want that style of cake without the crap, stick with the original Cakes Delight.

And the search continues…

[1] This bit is so important.  I have come across so many I want to burn and salt because they’re poorly managed or just generally half-arsed.