Allow me to explain. Both establishments, though almost halfway around the world from each other, proudly boast, and rightfully so, over 40 varieties of well-selected and excellently-blended teas originating from the best plantations around the globe.
The options range from classic mixes, such as Earl Grey, which is the fancied accompaniment to fish and shellfish dishes, to the tisanes (herbal infusions), like chamomile, a combination of daisy-looking flowers that relieves nausea and when taken just before bedtime induces sleep, ginger and lemongrass flavors, which calms the stomach and soothes cough and colds, rosemary extract, an all-around digestive tonic and a comforting brew when one feels the flu coming, and star anise tea, which stimulates the appetite and calms a growling tummy.
Okay, I may have to admit that perhaps the tea shop’s English counterpart may feature more stock. But we’re not in the numbers game. Agree?
While Fortnum and Mason customers take home the exquisitely packaged products, Tsai clients enjoy the potion right in the premises.
Tsai does not limit itself to serving tea. This is where and when the similarity ends. Though Fortnum and Mason has two distinctive restaurants within its building at Piccadilly, it does not offer an extensive all-Asian menu for lunch and dinner. Some dishes emerge moist and succulent, such as the Thai grilled chicken marinated in coconut cream with cilantro and the grilled black tiger prawns on garlic-flavored noodles and leeks.
Vegetarian and noodle concoctions also bring out the best at Tsai. Green tea soba noodles with a pan-seared fillet of salmon, ginger-infused broth and Asian greens are fused together into a great delicacy.
Tsai is situated at Crossroads, one of Cebu’s newest mini-villages of friendly, welcoming rows of neighborhood restaurants in Banilad, all within the city proper. Of ultra modern architecture, the salon, predominantly done in ivory color, has achieved an Asian personality through its subtle use of folk artifacts and an assortment of wood embedded with jewel-like pieces of colored glass.
This charming and preferred locale is the brainchild of dynamic, high-spirited individuals such as entrepreneur Julie Alegrado, hotelier Kathy Darza, restaurateurs Joyce Celdran Chiongbian and June Alegrado Ugarte, lover of good food Iris Arcenas and the lone gentleman Jovi Alegrado.
"The real beauty of a place like Tsai is that you can eat and pay as little or as much as you like without compromise in quality," claims Joyce Celdran Chiongbian.