Saint Alp’s Teahouse is the perfect place for a quick lunch, dinner or just to sit down with a delicious drink and snack between shopping in the East Village. Late nights are also popular, with crowds of both young and old stopping in for drinks. Bubble tea is the main attraction here, with the added allure of small plates of food which I like to call "Taiwanese Tapas." Bubble tea is sweetened black or green tea mixed with milk and tapioca beads. These are chewy starchy beads, with a similar texture to the Japanese mochi. These teas are often flavored with grounded sesame, coconut, peanut and other additions, and can be served hot or cold.
The majority of the menu lists different combinations of teas. There are nine ways to serve black tea (plain, with passion fruit, lemon, honey etc), seven ways for green tea (jasmine, apple, mango etc.) and the list goes on. My favorite is the Sesame Black Milk Tea, served hot. A tea cup arrives with the black tapioca beads, and a teapot holds the tea. It is delicious, with ground sesame added to the slightly sweet milk tea combination. On a cold winter’s day, nothing could be more soothing. Another interesting favorite is the Black Milk Tea with Wheat Germ. It tastes much better than it sounds, believe me. Of course, for those of you who don’t like tapioca, there is always the classic Hong Kong coffeehouse special, Black Tea & Coffee with Milk. The deep flavor of coffee is strengthened by tea, and excellent choice. This is best served hot.
Food is divided into three categories. There is the toast, which is basically an inch-thick slice of toast with jam, coconut butter, or my personal favorite, butter and condensed milk. This is reminiscent of childhood days in Hong Kong when I made this for breakfast. Another category is snacks and refreshments. These are light snacks such as small pizza with bacon and pineapple or seafood topping. There are hot cakes, pineapple shortcakes (a popular Taiwanese delicacy) and various flavored jelly (herbal, green tea, coffee etc.) I like the Taro Pudding with Adzuki Bean the most.
Authentic Taiwanese Delicacies make for a perfect light lunch. This past Sunday, a party of three made a good meal out of Deep-Fried Cuttlefish Balls, Chicken Wings, Pork and Vegetable Dumplings, Spring Roll and Deep-Fried Chicken Chunks with Spices. The food here is consistently good and not too greasy. For lunch, we had a table full of food and one drink each, and paid a bill of around $30. The portions are larger than they seem on the menu photos. The selection here reflects the influences of Taiwan, both the West and Japanese cuisine have made their mark here.
Saint Alps has another branch at 51 Mott Street in Chinatown, as well as branches in Hong Kong and China.