Shan Cha 山茶 Cafe at Chinatown – Taiwanese Tea & Sake Bar

Shan Cha 山茶 is a Taiwanese cafe that brings to you a whole new drinking experience. Not only does Shan Cha boasts a wide range of premium tea blends, it also offers quality sake and whisky by the bottle or glass, coffee, smoothies and juices.

Located at China Square, in the hearts of the CBD, Shan Cha caters to nearby office workers with breakfast such as the classic Bacon & Egg $4.80 and Ham & Cheese Roll $9.80.

The signature Taiwanese Minced Rice is a must-try with herbal egg and not forgetting the mini Sweet Potato Waffle with Ice Cream to round up the meal.

What caught my eyes were the beautiful hardwares Shan Cha is using for their hot and cold tea, coffee minced rice and desserts. It was tempting to bring one home with me.

The owner revealed that most of the items are specially imported from Taiwan or custom-made. Even the mini potted plants lying around the cafe comes from the hands of the owner. Such dedication to details.

You can’t come to Shan Cha without ordering their speciality teas.

In a hot weather like Singapore, the Iced Fruit Tea would do good to ease the heat. Served in a cute bottle bearing Shan Cha’s logo, the tea is infused with fruits and sold in two sizes – regular and large – starting from $4.50 onwards.

Amongst all, I love the Lemon Tea (reg $5.50, large $6.50) which was refreshing and tangy. There were also other flavours such as the Rose Apple Tea, Summer Peach Tea and Grass Jelly Mint Tea.

As for the tea, it ranges from the Oriental Beauty Tea to Oolong Mountain Tea, WenShan BaoZhong Tea and 3 types of Black Tea. Real tea leaves are used on the spot to prepare the drinks.

Instead of the usual tea pot, Shan Cha uses cylinder-shaped flask with a heat-proof hand grip. You can even choose your own tea cups to go with the teas.

For sake and whisky lovers, this is your moment to rejoice. Get tasting portions or go for the bottle. You can even find the Yamazaki 12 Year Single Matt here.

The Iced Milk Jelly $7.80 came with real tea jellies made in-house. They were smooth and tasty with the coffee. It reminded me of eating grass jelly!

Feeling famished?

Simply order the Taiwanese Minced Rice (reg $8.50, large $15.50) with a Black Tea Egg $2.30. The savoury menu is a straightforward one with these two items, the Dumpling (reg $9, large $15) and the rest of the breakfast items.

I would suggest going for the large portion of the Taiwanese Minced Rice which would give you a satisfying portion of braised minced meats, moist and fragrant, over sticky Japanese rice.

Besides cakes and brownies, Shan Cha has their version of the waffles such as the Sweet Potato Mini with ice Cream $8.80. The waffles were slightly sweet and chewy while the ice cream added a touch of creaminess to the overall taste.

The handmade Nougat ($1.20 per pc, $5 per box) came in either cranberry or pistachio flavour. They were surprisingly soft and sweet. Not bad.

Shan Cha is probably the first-of-its-kind in Singapore to have a multi-concept cafe and bar offering a variety of drinks catering to different groups of people. Be it takeaway or dine in, you will surely find something you enjoy here!

 

Shan Cha 山茶

22 Cross street, #01-63 China Square, Singapore 048421

Tel: +65 6222 3695

 

Mon – Thurs:   8:00am – 8:30pm

Friday: 8:00am – 10:00pm

Saturday: 10:00am – 10:00pm

Closed on Sundays and Public holidays

Website: https://www.shancha.com.sg/

 

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