Samovar Tea Lounge, San Francisco – 2012

I was in San Francisco last week, and my absolute favourite place to visit while I’m there is Samovar Tea Lounge in the Yerba Buena Gardens.  I stopped in for tea and lunch, and was treated to a quite place away from the hustle and bustle of both the city and of the conference I was attending.

My favourite tea is their Ocean of Wisdom — it’s an herbal Chai based around rooibos that was blended for the Dalai Llama.

For one lunch, I paired it with a divine concept (that I’m so stealing): a tea soup bowl.

The wonderful chefs combined brown rice, veggies, wakame, shiitake mushrooms, and steamed tofu in a stone bowl.  At the table, my server poured tamari and then green tea over it as a broth.

I need to make this at home.  Frequently.

I love the idea of using tea in recipes — like in my Chai Tea Simple Syrup or in desserts, but this was the first time I’d had tea as a main component of a dish.  Ohhhh it’s got me all tea-inspired!  I can’t wait to do some cooking with tea now that I’m home!