Therapy for the Senses

Spas and therapies have become buzzwords for the New Age. With stress levels hitting sky-high, our senses crave the occasional pampering to keep us sane. Whilst countless have found solace in mud baths, facials, mood music, foot-soaks and massages, what exactly does one look for at a curiously-named Tea Spa?

My initial vision was of me soaking in a steaming Earl Grey Jacuzzi with perhaps a Tea Tree Oil facial thrown in by a loving maiden of milky complexion. But lo and behold, the folks at TeaSpa Tea Bar & Café had different ideas – they’ve got therapy figured out - gourmet-style, that is.

Walking into the mood-lit eatery at Raffles City is like entering a shrine – you walk a little softer, talk a little softer and notice a subtle incense-like perfume of tea blends in the air. The classy resort-styled décor and soft jazz put us at ease as we settled in to contemplate the extensive menu of herb-infused foods and teas.

They weren’t kidding when they said tea. There are easily some 80 varieties of herbal infusions and gourmet teas available here. In fact, there seemed to be a tea, blend or fruit tisane for every occasion, ailment, mood and get-this, astrological sign. And no, the Gemini Tea does not come as a one for one promotion.

Neither did we spot any anti-SARs teas although the cheekily named Immuni-Tea stood out as a prime candidate. Another eye–catcher was the Zit-Away – a complexion remedy for acne and blemishes featuring echinacea, burdock roots, dandelion, sarsaparilla and red clover. The Crowning Glory (said to strengthen hair, nails and bones) drew quite a few chuckles due to its key ingredients – skullcap and get this, horsetail (the herb, not the equestrian fly swatter.)

According to them, all their teas come free of preservatives, artificial colour, artificial flavouring and are served in filtered water rich in oxygen.

Now, we’ve all heard about the restorative powers of tea – peppermint for digestion, ginger for nausea, chamomile for calming nerves, rosehip for heart disease prevention etc, but all that is a bonus for someone who’s just out for a hot cuppa of something more flavourful than water.

Drinking tea is a pleasure in itself. Like smoking, having your choice brew gives you a reason to sit back and relax. Each sip (or inhale) basically introduces more oxygen into your system and this helps to clear your mind.

At this point, our thoughts were punctuated by our growling tummies and we quickly settled on the set dinners priced at $28.50++ comprising a soup, a main, dessert and a tea of our choice.

My Exotic Mushroom Trio was thick and tasty with mushroomy goodness. My partner’s Capsicum Pepper Soup was a tad on the watery side and would have benefited from a thicker base for more oomph.

The Chicken & Leek Ravioli in Carbonara and White Wine Sauce, on the other hand, was unremarkable –chicken was dry and the sauce bland and powdery.

The winner on the dessert plates had to be the Green Tea Cheesecake. It looked like cheese with marbled green swirls – tasted delightfully moist, not too heavy, with the green tea lifting the normal cheesy undertones and giving it an aromatic aftertaste. Skip the White Banana Chocolate Cake.

Accompanying the desserts were our long awaited brews. My partner thoroughly enjoyed her Anti-Stress blend - chamomile, with red clover and spearmint (think tea with a chewing gum in it) while I sipped contentedly at my exotically-scented Kashmiri Chai (black tea leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and spice).

It was a great way to end the evening and we lingered just that little bit longer to strain every ounce of goodness out of our tea-leaves and to bask in the restful ambience.

TeaSpa

Food :	Good
Ambience :	Very Good
Address :	TeaSpa Raffles City 252 North Bridge Road Raffles City #03-21C TeaSpa Paragon 290 Orchard Road Paragon #05-34/35