Tea Master

We have long wanted to return to this little vegetarian restaurant but never got round to it as they only open weekdays lunch and selected weekday dinners. We tend to avoid the valley on fridays and shun having to pay parking fees for a simple lunch. As we were really craving for some good vego pick me up, we thought even if it meant to meet up in a car and a bike and pay for parking tickets, we would just head to wherever our tummies want to...

It has been more than year since we last visited and it is therefore of no surprise that the interior has undergone a modern revamp and the menu is even more inviting than ever before. There is a good selection of soups, appetizers, noodle and rice dishes as well as bento boxes. The colourful laminated menu is complete with pictures of every single dish! The difficulty lies in what to have??

We have always enjoyed their laksa noodle and herbal soups. This time we opted for something different, a cold appetizer of vinegared red seaweed salad, a pickled vegetable mince noodle soup and a three cup chicken rice dish. Another must order, are their fragrant teas, brewed teas or iced teas with choice of several toppings....shaken by hand and believe us, this is not your conventional sugary sweet Easy Way or Tea Etc. bubble teas! They are named 'TEA MASTER' for a reason.

Don't see much red in this vinegared seaweed salad but no matter, the taste was refreshingly zingy with a hint of chilli and sesame. The texture of the seaweed was a cross between the japanese wakame and crunchy jellyfish.

The broth of the pickled vegetable vermicelli was akin to double-boiled soups; clear, light and yet intense in flavour. The vegetable mince and mushroom were very well seasoned, they were pan-fried together then added to the noodle soup.

This place never fails to amaze us! How do they transform gluten/mock meat into such flavourful 'protein'! The three cup chicken is a very popular taiwanese dish and easily, this place rivals most competitors who use real chicken in their versions.  My only complaint, the servings are small.... more please!

Hazelnut Milk Tea

Shiso (plum) Green Tea with Almond Pudding

We didn't know what Shiso was but thought to give it a go. The almond pudding is good but is not a match with the salty sour plum i.e. Shiso.

Tea Master is our no. 1 vegetarian food and tea place.  Now now...if only they were closer to where we live!

Tea Master
Shop 18 115 Wickham street
Fortitude Valley
Closed on weekends