Tucked away on the stretch of Ninth Street, also known as Little Tokyo, this tea-serving place, sister to Soba-ya (owner is Bon Yagi -- Decibel, Sakagura, and Hasaki fame), matches her sibling quite... More

Tucked away on the stretch of Ninth Street, also known as Little Tokyo, this tea-serving place, sister to Soba-ya (owner is Bon Yagi -- Decibel, Sakagura, and Hasaki fame), matches her sibling quite well. Hidden upstairs, entrance indicated by a hanging banner and brown door that one can easily walk by and miss, is a gem of a find -- tea house with zen like appeal. Walk up the dark, wooden stairs, push forth past the billowy curtains, enter the serene bliss of zenful agony of the leaves. A replica of a traditional Japanese tea room, paper screen included, robe-cladded waiters, muted earth tones, soft flowy fabrics, sturdy bamboo and benches to sit upon, one is easily transplanted. In the corner, there's even a small zen garden too! Seated, right next to the window, a friendly robe-cladded waiter, handed us our menus. A bit overwhelming at first, the menu has a superb and ample list of teas, and maps identifying where the leaves came from. For both of us, we placed two orders of the three course desserts with your choice of teas. When you order two, no dessert is alike, more to share and sample! Suffering from a major illness back in February, I've lost my taste for *milky* teas and have pretty much strayed away (sadly, still the case today). Testing out my taste, I ordered one of their herbal crimson chai, he ordered the royal yunnan tea. Tea, perfectly steeped, arrived in clear, mini-biosphere shaped bowls. The waiter graciously poured into our large porcelain cups. Desserts, arriving a pair at a time, were elegantly presented. Dainty bits in cute glasses and bamboo sets. How pretty one feels. First to arrive, red bean ice cream with sake and green tea ice cream. Both were served with almond/black sesame crisps. Followed by the green tea macaroons, and black sesame creme brulee. Last was a chocolate souffle with raspberry sauce with white chocolate on the side, and yokan. Except for the yokan (which I'm never fond of), the desserts were superbly sublime. They also serve food, cocktails and sake here too. Plus, they offer traditional tea ceremony with lessons too! Funny thing, an alternate choice, a surprise still, I was whisked away to this place and very pleasantly surprised. A nice hideaway to spend part of your afternoon with friends or a date.
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