Lauren Shantall
food
Our tummies are global gourmets, burbling loudly in favour of a worldly identity. We don’t realise how much the myth of a national character is corroded by our own digestive enzymes, or how the notion of “Rainbow cuisine” colours our palates in far more languages than a mere 11. For in any given week our tastebuds will migrate greedily from Indian biryani to Italian gnocci to sticky Thai rice. And we think not much of it, except for how good the food was in relation to price and ambience.
The enticing world of international munchies turns us all into smooth-tongued diplomats paying lip service of the sincere kind. The foreign bill of fare now earning my unashamed vote is the unusual menu of the Pearl Tree No. 1 Health Tea Emporium, the first and only Chinese tearoom in Cape Town to import Taiwanese-style bubble tea with Pearl tapioca.
This strange, fanciful-sounding concoction is a far cry from tea’s legendary, simple origin. Its discovery is attributed to serendipitous accident. Pearl Tree dates the infusion’s introduction to China around 3000BC. Emperor Shen Nong “was under a camellia tree by a fireplace and a few dried leaves drifted down and soaked into a pot of boiling water. The emperor took a sip and was much impressed by the lingering sweet taste and delicate aroma.” From there, tea came to be sipped all over the world.
Now, thanks to Ian Fong, Pearl Tree’s owner, we can enjoy delectable variations of the East’s famed beverage. If Shen Nong found himself partial to blanched Camellia sinensis, imagine how he would have responded to a delicate strawberry and jasmine iced tea frappe combined with pearls of tapioca and topped with creamy froth. The pretty-in-pink Juliet is only one “Special Cold Drink” of the 44 teas on offer.
A Pearl Tree cuppa, hot or cold and sweetened with fructose, is an adventurous, sensational departure from the rooibos/filter coffee norm. Sampling the house speciality translucent black orbs of tapioca starch that contrast strikingly with milky tea is imperative. The drinks, which have names such as “Red Ants, “Tree of Life” and “Sunset of Cape Town”, are served in tall, clear glasses with extra-large, colourful straws and spoons to accommodate the chewy tapioca.
Specially brought out from Taiwan, nutritious Pearl tapioca is made from sweet potato, cassava root and caramel. The pearls perfectly complement coconut, malt, almond or mung bean. Taro, the edible root of an Asian plant, is a popular choice.
The lighter, clear teas of the bubble tea series are equally delicious, consisting of 80% green jasmine tea blended with fruit. The health and beauty hot tea series features exquisitely scented rose and lavender infused from whole buds.
Western sandwiches and Eastern snacks, such as Chinese beef meat pies, rainbow salad noodle and spring onion pizzas, are also available. Treats include Chinese laughing donuts, deep fried milk custard and a waffle-like Chinese egg puff.
But the unusual teas are by far the most interesting option. This innovative style of taking tea is already common in China, Thailand and Bali, but it is still relatively unknown in South Africa. The novelty factor combined with the delicious taste make struggling to locate the restaurant within that cavernous plastic pleasure dome called Canal Walk worthwhile. In all, Pearl Tree rates highly as a cultural exchange programme of the gastronomic kind.
Pearl Tree Emporium is situated at shop 59, Canal Walk, Century City. Tel: (021) 551 8006