Lin Heung Tea House

As some of you know I have been following a dress making course with the ultimate goal of creating a basic black dress (also known as The Little Black Dress). There are two other women in the class and we decided to buy the fabric together. Buying fabric can be quite tricky (=more expensive) if you don't speak a little bit of Chinese. Since one of the women was Chinese (married to an Englishman) Chikasan, the other Japanese student and me decided to tag along. We succeeded quite quickly and decided to have lunch together before heading back home. I had told them about our recent grasshopper experience so I guess Linda Bella (not her Chinese name) realized I was open to some more unusual eating experiences. So she brought us to a very old establishment. It was called a tea house but it was also a restaurant. You had to walk up some stairs (fortunately, since this has kept it a bit of secret) past a bakery counter. Upstairs we walked into a big hall, very basic, just white walls, dirty grey tiles and lots of round tables. The people eating there were mostly old Chinese people. Not one tourist to be seen except for this very tall one....We sat down at the same table as an older couple.
Immediately the 'waiter' asked us for our order of tea. There are no other drinking choices! Next thing they brought us a big bowl of water and we washed all our cups, bowls and chopsticks in the scolding water! Looking around I realized that that was probably quite necessary.The floor didn't look all that clean.....When the bowls were all washed they poured hot water from large old metal kettles onto your choice of tea leaves. You let it steep for a little and with the lid on an angle you pour some of this in the smaller cup. If it gets too dark and you want your tea less strong you take of the lid and leave it on the table. Within seconds an old man with a white Chinese jacket fills it up for you. I kept doing this many times but everyone else drank it quite dark and bitter. This whole process was quite sloppy and dirty. At this point our table was covered in hot water and tea leaves and the water eventually started pouring into my bag....The kettle is also being held very close so it's up to you not to get burned. After this tea experience we were able to order some food. Big metal carts were being rolled around with stacks of dishes and bamboo steamers on top of it. When they pass your table you ask for the choices or you lift of the lids and pick the ones you like. We had dumplings, a rice dish with pork and herbs and spices, a soup and at the end a small package of thin crispy dough (or skin?) with a little leg and sweet potato in it. It could have been quail. I forgot to ask. But there were many more choices, like crispy pork belly, tripe, eel stirfry etc.
I was quite in my element! I was soaking up the old world charm and the amazing food and on top of that listening to Linda Bella who had travelled around the world for almost three years by herself.....She was telling us these most amazing and fascinating stories of her (dangerous) adventures. Quite a feat if you consider that she's half my size and very petite. After many hours af talking and enjoying good company, great food, tea and sights we decided to move on. At the cashier counter I offered to pay and my new friends said that we would split the bill afterwards. When I got the check I had to laugh and told them it was my treat this time. It was 10 US dollars for three people and we were absolutely stuffed!!!