Tea houses

In the 80s, tea drinking was quite popular in Singapore. This was probably due to the influence from people who came back from Taiwan. As we know, Taiwanese drink tea daily and tea houses can be seen everywhere in Taiwan. Then tea houses began their business in Singapore. These tea houses were set up in shops in super-markets, some were set up in shop houses along streets in china town. Usually these tea houses would charge a fee per person for the type of tea you would like to drink. There were all sorts of Chinese tea for people to choose, from the green Dragon Well to black puerh . The tea houses would provide also all the utensils needed to enjoy your cups of tea. For beginners, there were workers to demonstrate to you the steps to brew Chinese tea, the reasons to perform these steps and the tea culture and ceremony. Tea houses created perfect ambiance (light music, etc) for people to relax and enjoy cups of Chinese tea. It was a way to relieve stress and soak in the environment to appreciate the fragrance and delight of tea drinking, if you don't like sauna and spa. To enhance business, the tea houses also sell a variety of Chinese tea, teapots and tea making utensils and accessories. There were also courses for customers to enrich their interest in other aspects of the Chinese culture. Tea houses were also an ideal place for people to engage in business dealings like negotiating for business contracts, etc.

The Queen visited a local tea house in Singapore

Today, there are not many tea houses still in operation in Singapore. It seems that the tea drinking business is hard to sustain in Singapore. Generally people here are quite busy in their daily chore and not many can find time to sip tea in tea houses. The revenue form tea drinking is not significant as the customers can stay for a long time to enjoy their tea and they don't vacate their seats. However, the main culprit is the rental of shops. As rental is high in land-scarce Singapore, the profit generated from tea drinking may not be sufficient to cover the costs. Shortage of labour is another factor as it is not easy to get dedicated people to work in this line of business. When business failes to generate enough returns, tea houses begin to close down one after another. Just like the Bubble Tea (a type of tea drinking introduced again from Taiwan) business that was once popular and many people jumped into this business. When the craze for bubble tea finally died down, the Bubble tea shops also started to close down quickly. Another reason why tea drinking cannot take off in Singapore is that most people here drink coffee. As a cup of coffee is easily available in most eateries at a very affordable price, people tend to go for coffee rather than spending hours in a tea house.

 

I had my first tea appreciation in Chinese Tea house some 25 years ago. The tea house operated in a unit in a downtown super-market. Beside tea drinking, the company is also a supplier of Chinese tea and tea ware in Singapore. I was introduced to the art of tea drinking by the proprietors. As I grew to know them more, they also introduced to me the tea sets and teapots that they commissioned potters from China to specially made for Chinese Tea House. As I had already started collecting teapots, I purchased a few set from them. I have since been using these teapots to brew my favourite puerh tea.

First generation Chinese Teahouse pots

Second generation Chinese Teahouse pots

Tea drinking utensils

Bakut Teh Teapots

Bakut teh tea set

There is a famous dish in this part of the world called 'Bakut Teh' which means spare-ribs soup in local dialect. To make this dish, you need to get some pork ribs and boil them in specially prepared herbs and spices with plenty of garlic. The dish is eaten with rice and occasionally some salted vegetable. Usually people go to the hawker centre (market place where local dishes are served for a reasonable and affordable price) to have this dish. This is a favourite dish for most Singaporeans when they eat out in a local market. The pork ribs are fresh and the soup is very tasty with the traditionally herbal flavor. The soup can be replenished with no extra cost.

Spare ribs soup

The next time you go to a hawker stall to order this dish, you can also ask for the Chinese tea that comes with this dish. The vendor will bring a small kettle next to your table to boil water for brewing the tea. It is best to have the tea that blends with this dish, hence the name 'Bakut Teh' where bakut means spare ribs and teh means tea in the local dialect. Of course, the vendor also supplies you with a small teapot and 4 small cups and a small packet of 'Wuyi Yancha' or Goddess of Mercy tea. It is a pleasant experience to sip fragrant tea in small cups at the same time enjoy your favourite local dish, if you have not done so. Local people practice the Teochew style kungfu tea drinking where small teapots and cups are used. As the teapot is small, you need to brew tea many rounds using hot boiling water from the kettle placed next to where you sit. When the teapot is soaked and bathed in hot tea, it will season well. These teapots in these hawker stalls have developed a nice patina due to many years of usage. Some teapot collectors will go to these places to enhance their collection. I usually bring along my own teapot and puerh tea whenever I go for this dish. It costs me only one dollar to pay for the hot water. It gives me satisfaction to brew my own tea using my own utensils while enjoying my favourite spare-ribs soup. Over time, my teapot can also develop a nice patina. As these small teapots are used ceremonially with this dish, I like to call them 'bakut teh' teapots. My collection of 'bakut teh' teapots, some are made by known potters, others are just teapots of the 1970s and 1980s.

 

 

 

 



The tea set in my office

Cranes and pine trees

Here is a shaoshan stone carving of white cranes and pine trees. This is a popular theme as cranes and pine trees are symbols artists use to denote longevity.

An interesting about this carving is that the white cranes with red heads and the grey pine trees are all coming from the same piece of stone. The stone craving artist intelligently make use of different colours on the stone to come out with this theme of White cranes and pine trees. Any artifacts thaving a theme of longevity are popular among collectors.

White cranes and pine trees

Dragon head teapot from the Republic era

This is the popular dragon head teapot design originally created by the legendary Shao Dahen during the later years of the Qing dynasty. However, the design was later modified by Huang Yuling of the early republic era. This design depicts a Yuan Pao (Silver Ingot) at the top of the cover and becomes the standard for many years to come.

This dragon head teapot was probably made during the Republic times (after 1911). The dragon head and the scales were very well crafted and fine details could be seen in the teapot. The dragon head can be seen emerging between the waves in hot pursue of the pearl not far from it. The teapot had been used for quite some times as the colour and texture revealed the ageing characteristic.

Dragon head teapot from the Republic era

This teapot had a price tag of over ten thousand dollars when it was first brought in to Singapore in the1990s for an exhibition cum sale of teapots and other antiques from China.

Original design by Shao Dahen

Sanbao Green 2

Acquired another piece of green Sanbao stone carving from Qintian (山炮绿). This carving is smaller then the earlier green stone carving. The carving with stand weighs about 10 kg. Due to its small size, only carvings of trees appeared on the rocky parts of the green stone. The stone artist used his skills to carve out trees to hide the unattractive parts of the stone. With minimal carving, the beauty of the green stone is left in its original condition. The base is another qintian stone carvings of trees and buildings. The theme of this carving is Mountain in Green.



Sanbao Green carvings