Sherman's Food Adventures: Tea Team

Tea Team

*Restaurant is now closed*

The Northeast corner of Kingsway and Nelson is unmistakeably unique. No, I'm not talking about the abandoned shopping carts in the alley. And neither am I referring to the "massage parlour" either. I'm talking about the former location of Brownies Fried Chicken. You know, the one with the bear on a uniquely square signage resembling a box of chicken. Well, Brownies is long gone and ultimately, this location became Hing Loong Chinese Restaurant. Of course the new owners didn't spend any extra money and merely changed the signage on a 4 sides of the"box". I guess it could've passed for a Chinese takeout box if you imagined hard enough. Now, the location has changed hands again and is now Tea Team. Brought to you by the same people as Teaworks, they also kept the square sign. Too bad they didn't change it into a bubble tea cup. That would've looked outstanding!

If you've read my post about Teaworks, I wasn't really all that impressed. In fact, I took a swipe at the food without actually trying it. I did get a remark about that and honestly, I probably should have tried it despite not wanting to. Well, tonight, Viv and I were going to give it a try and see if what I've heard is true (from other foodies that it's below average). Viv decided on the Pink Guava Green Tea with mango jelly. Arriving in a large mug, there was something amiss. Can you figure it out by the picture? If you said, "the freakin' straw is too small!", you are correct. Now, how is she supposed to drink the mango jelly through that straw??? Duh... At least the drink was quite good, not being too sweet. For the food, I picked something that I haven't had in awhile - Fried Pork Intestines. Yup, it sounds disgusting; but I like it. However, I really didn't like this one. The darn thing was fried to the point that it was a bit hard to chew through the outer layer. Plus, it was oily as hell. I think my own intestines will have a slight issue after eating these.

Viv went for some Dumplings in Spicy Beef Soup. The broth was indeed very flavourful and spicy; yet, it was quite "thin" at the same time. Ignoring the huge oil slick on the top (probably chili oil, I hope...), the soup lacked body and depth. We assume it was flavoured with the help of MSG. The dumplings themselves were devoid of any texture. The dumpling skin was mushy and thick while the filling was equally soft. For myself, I ordered the 3 Cup Chicken Set Meal. Included was rice and 2 small side dishes (eggplant and lotus root). It was very hard for me to take a good picture of this dish because it was oilier than the bottom of a Pizza Hut pan pizza. Look at the glistening oil! Too bad really, the chicken itself was quite flavourful with hints of spice, savory and tartness. Well, all that didn't really matter since the chicken was fried like they wanted to kill it a second time. Adding insult to injury, the eggplant was more like oil soup. So there you go, I tried the food and yuck! I didn't think oil was on the menu; but it was plentiful in everything we ate. A clear sign of food that is not prepared correctly or with care. Did the ghosts of Brownies ever leave because my chicken was probably oilier than fried chicken. I won't even bother to try Teaworks food if Tea Team is any representation.

The Good:
- The one tea that we sampled was light and not too sweet
- Centrally located in Burnaby

The Bad:
- They should have only 2 sections in the menu: drinks and oil
- It's impossible to get any service
- Despite the appearance of affordable prices, it's poor value

Tea Team Bubble Tea on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

happydiner said...

One can always expect a fair and candid review from you. If only the food establishments realize the value of an honest food critique, they can't fool the consumers with paid reviews. Thanks for being the guinea pigs. Just kidding.
May the Tiger Year rings in Health, Happiness and Prosperity for our favorite food blogger & family. :)

Sherman Chan said...

Thanks happydiner! Your words of encouragement mean a lot to me. Also, thanks for the CNY wishes and may you have good health, happiness and prosperity with you life and those around you.

shokutsu said...

I`ve only been here a few times to get their BBT but was curious about the food all the young Asian teenyboppers were eating inside. Its always busy inside.

Sherman Chan said...

shokutsu, the food sucks, plain and simple. I think it's only good for teenyboppers because it contains enough fat to give anyone older a heart attack. Now I know why people hate the food at Teaworks... BLECK!

slif said...

Maybe Tea Work changed cooks or something, but since I work next door at London Drugs, I eat there pretty regularly (at least 1x a week if not more) and I've found the food to be quite good, and a good value too.

Tea Team seems to be universally hated so that much I'll stay away from :-)

Sherman Chan said...

Okay Silf, you got me curious, I'll need to revisit Tea Work...

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