SILK Cold Brew (Background), Kueh Tapioca (Foreground) The folks of SILK Tea Bar had really set an impression somewhere — stopped by the tea bar which is located at the second level of one of the shophouses at Sago Street (i.e. right opposite Chinatown Complex Market, where The Food Peeps Coffee & Deli is also located) without the intention to write about it but more to just have a quiet hour to spend all alone, but we left being especially satisfied with their dedication to serving their customers well and their knowledge of different teas in general. One would rarely visit an establishment and hear from the staff asking “Are you comfortable today?” when one leaves the place — the statement itself is already testament to how much they care about the patrons that come through their doors everyday.
Predominantly a tea bar that specialises in steeped teas, they do offer quite a variety hand-brewed teas or different variety and origins which they take a lot of pride in serving — but they do recognise how some patrons might be looking for something more casual as a simple drink to just sit around and have whilst passing by the area; the range of casual teas mostly are made up of hot teas, though one can enjoy the SILK Cold Brew which is a daily special, cold-extracted tea. The folks at SILK Tea Bar would inform patrons on which is the daily special tea served for the day — the SILK Cold Brew was a ripe Pu-Erh tea with noticeable notes of chrysanthemum; an incredibly easy-to-drink tea with very light floral notes and clean finish which was a joy to have. We were dialog intrigued by how they do serve up Kueh Kosui and Kueh Tapioca as light snacks to go alongside the teas at SILK Tea Bar; the former was sold out when we made our visit and thus we went for the latter — Kueh Tapiocas are typically quite dense and sweet so we were really glad with how this one was light, chewy and fluffy without being too sticky or sweet, which pairs up with the tea nicely without taking away all the flavours of the tea.
If anything, SILK Tea Bar probably exemplifies the qualities of a modern progressive tea bar the best — no doubt we do have more authentic Chinese-style tea houses such as Tea Chapter within the vicinity, but SILK Tea Bar probably strikes the best balance between being a traditionally formal tea bar with its quiet, peaceful and clean surroundings; there isn’t an element in its design that screams pretentious in here, whilst also embracing the art of tea-brewing in the modern age such as to provide patrons with more casual options such as that of cold-brewed tea. Attention to detail has been placed from the selection of light snacks to pair the beverages all the way to how they serve the patrons — the light snacks menu not only sees the list of usual nibbles such as salt / sugar peanuts, but also local favourites such as Kuek Kosui / Tapioca that are executed in a way that doesn’t steal the limelight away from the teas. The staff at SILK Tea Bar also squats next to their patrons to explain all about their concept and various offerings to the patrons as well; a formality usually observed in more traditional tea houses. Given the details that the folks here have looked into during our visit, SILK Tea Bar has plenty of potential as an establishment that would educate its patrons on tea culture and teas in general without being particularly intimidating to visit — a spot that we would most certainly think of when we need a quiet spot with good tea to clear our thoughts.