The Bottom Line
Pros
- The teas are exquisite yet affordable.
- Owner Daniel Ng really knows tea.
- The decor is lovely and calming.
- Cheaper than a visit to the spa and potentially more relaxing.
- Zero pretension.
Cons
- The first visit can be intimidating.
Description
- Location: 5756 Monkland Avenue, corner of Wilson
- Get There: Villa-Maria Metro
- Phone: (514) 303-8238
- Ambiance: suitable for couples, families, or solo.
- Iced tea (such as lychee red iced tea) and dessert (such as raspberry cheesecake and almond cookies) are available.
- Cha Guan Website
Guide Review - Montreal Tea House Cha Guan - A Review
Hong Kong native Daniel Ng knows how to make his clients feel welcome, at ease, even appreciated! A patron one table away confirmed my impression in spades, telling me with the familiarity of an old friend that he tried all the tea rooms in Montreal. “But this house is the best" he said, pointing with pride at his personal teapot, purchased at Cha Guan. It's brought out specifically for him with every visit.Daniel explained -- as he served me a pot of fuan bai yuya, a rare white tea with only a two-to-three day cultivation window every year, followed by an exquisite wulong tea infused with osmanthus -- that tea house regulars in his hometown always use the same pot, provided they drink the same tea. "They even change color with use, depending on the tea" he said, as if the pots take on a life of their own with each steep.
And tea rooms seem almost more commonplace in Hong Kong than dépanneurs in Quebec. "One street will have like 40 shops but each will specialize in only one kind of tea," Daniel said as he sold me on the peanut butter cookies and a piece of green tea red bean cheesecake, not too sweet and delectably light.
The intimidation I felt vis-à-vis the exotic tea set and tiny cup in front of me melted away as the young owner seemed to read my mind, responding with a “don't worry about spilling, it's about the experience” attitude mixed with humble professionalism and the kind of warmth one sees in the eyes of a person living their childhood dreams, which, in Daniel's case, is spot on.
A lesson in Chinese history and tradition, all in a casual and relaxing environment, Cha Guan exceeded my tea time expectations. Whether you qualify as tea room obsessed or if you're used to the more unceremonious context of orange pekoe plopped in a white coffee mug, Cha Guan is a piece of loose leaf heaven and thus, a tea time must.
