Tea Modern Chinese

Amazing food, right on point ambiance and service at its perfection. Great addition to the Orange plaza. If you sit with Yubean you lucked out.

Came with my bookclub for tea today. I had high expectations based on the reviews and was excited to try a tea with some Asian twist. I was expecting the sweets that accompany the savory foods to be geared to more Asian style and the teas to be what I'm used to at home since I have a lot of those flavors. Boy was I wrong.We had one person in our party with dietary restrictions and cannot have dairy. We called and emailed before making a reservation to make sure they can adjust the tea menu or substitute other items for her. When we asked they had no idea what we were talking about. It took a lot of back and forth checking with the kitchen to find out what she can and cannot eat. At the end we asked if they can substitute some of the vegetable pot stickers they have on their regular menu. I didn't take a picture but she got four plain vegetable pot sticker, an egg sandwich and a cucumber bread. Compared to everything we got, it was sad. Since there was dairy in all the desserts she couldn't eat those. But at least maybe give her more pot sticker or something else. As for the rest of us, the food and tea were lacking in so many ways. The cucumber bread had no flavor, the scone was so small and we got one plate of butter and ham for a table of six. The desserts were soooooo sweet. Like immediate diabetes sweet. I couldn't finish the raspberry or the lemon one. The tea was just sad. I got the ti kuan yi and tried the other teas as well. None of them had flavor even though there is a huge teabag. It was like drinking warm water which was sad. There was no aroma that came off the teas or flavor. As far as the service, we had to keep asking for sugar and cream. The waitress had mentioned if we don't like the tea they charge $5 to change to a different one but she never asked after if we liked the teas. Lastly there is only one restroom so don't wait until you need to go just in case it's occupied. It was also out of toilet paper and toilet seat cover and I had to tell the workers to refill it. Good thing I always have my own tissues for just this reason. After tax and tip we paid $58 each. Am I still hungry? Yes. Would I go back again? Not for the tea service. Maybe to try the food on the menu but this tea service was a rip off.

I'm a big fan of afternoon tea and the concept of Asian fusion tea set was really intriguing and that itself did not disappoint! My friends and I got 3 teas to share: dahjeeling, jade, and ti kuan yi to have a variety to try. They each paired well with different bites. I'd look on their website for what hints each tea has!As for the food, it was all solid and delicious! The most standout from the savory was the curry chicken basket. The waffle "basket" was so thin with a perfect crunch to pair with the curry filling. The quiche dumpling was good with the sauce but lacked something on its own, really interesting concept though. The egg sandwich was amazing and the cucumber open face was delicious.For the sweet, the matcha vanilla panacotta was the most unexpected, light and not too sweet. Black sesame cream puff was a next favorite with a nutty flavor. I docked a star because though we started off with good speed of service, granted we came at opening and very few customers, at the end we had to wait a very long time for our card to be taken for payment, and when we tried to give it to the server, she gave us an odd look. Then after giving the card with the check, it took even more time to get it back for us to leave. The party next to us was waiting a while to even get their tea order. Hopefully they have more staff soon or figure out the timing of providing service. If you're on a time crunch, I'd recommend coming when it's less busy.

I have been to dinner and afternoon tea service so I can touch upon both experiences. Afternoon tea: Right when my friend and I sat down, I informed the server that the rest of my group were looking for parking so that's why they weren't there yet (parking is a pain to find so keep that in mind). The server understood but not even 10 minutes later, she comes back and tells us rudely "you guys need to order your teas now." I asked her, is there a time limit because we haven't decided yet? She was like no there is no but you NEED to order your tea now. I'm like okay then....her attitude really put me off. The service overall was strange. We were pretty much left alone the rest of the time. Why be so pushy in the beginning but not check up afterwards? The tea itself was fine. The savory selections tasted better than the sweeter pastries in my opinion. I had dinner serve the night before I went to afternoon tea (yes I went two days in a row). The server that night was friendlier than the one from afternoon tea. The food was a bit saltier for my liking. I felt like the dishes were almost there but didn't achieve the umami that I was hoping for in a familiar Chinese dish. I must say, whoever I spoke to via emails has been very kind and friendly so I must give kudos to that.

My friend and I heard about this place, so we decided to try them out. The place is pleasant and cozy. You could watch them putting the items together. We went at 10 am when they open to avoid the wait. Their reservation were full for the week. They have a fixed price menu for their Afternoon TEA menu. It is $45/pp. You get one pot of tea of your choosing, along with 4 savory finger food items and 4 dessert items. The food is average. My favorite was the Black Sesame Hazelnut Choux. The service was good. Not sure it's worth $45/pp.

This afternoon tea experience was definitely unique. I think the Chinese twist on an English afternoon tea was creative. I liked some items and did not care for some items.The menu is set - the only thing you choose is your tea. We had the Ti Kuan Yi and the Earl Grey Creme. Both were good, but I preferred the Earl Grey. My favorite food item was the Curry Chicken Basket. It was very flavorful, well seasoned, and had a nice crunch. The egg salad sando was solid and classic. The chives gave it a nice freshness. And the matcha panna cotta was good. It was not too sweet and had a nice texture, though I wish there was more matcha flavor.I did not like the quiche potsticker. I appreciated the creativity and attempt at an Asian fusion item, but it did not work for me. Looking at it, you just kinda expect it to taste like a dumpling. But when you bite it, it's just mushroomy tasting egg, which is a let down. I did not taste any lychee in the mousse as the raspberry was overpowering. The yuzu merengue tart was too tart and sweet for me, and I did not taste any yuzu. The cucumber sandwich could have used more cream cheese and less salt. I thought the black sesame hazelnut choux was good. The black sesame flavor followed by the hazelnut was very fun - I just thought it could have been more fresh. Also, I liked the brown sugar scone, but I have a sweet tooth. So others may disagree. I kinda wish it came with clotted cream instead of butter though. Overall, the tea experience was still cute and enjoyable. The service was very friendly and attentive. Afternoon tea is always a vibe, and at the very least I liked that this place was trying to do something different. It's a good idea, but I think that certain things need polishing.

So happy a new Chinese place opened in Orange. It took over the old chicken sandwich and ca dumplings. It's a more high end restaurant now...we went to check out their high tea and were pleasantly surprised by the food and service. For 45 dollars, you got 4 savory and 4 sweet treats plus an unlimited refillable pot of tea of your choice. They also have champagne and mimosa as add ons. I love the curry chicken waffle siu mai and the sesame cream puffs. Our waitress was very sweet and attentive. The place is cozy and clean...parking could be challenging especially during weekends, they have a parking lot at the back, they also have few other public parking lots and street parkings all around old town. Suggest to make time for parking and a little short walk. Reservation is highly recommended as this place gets very busy for high tea.

One of the best afternoon tea i have been to! I almost wanted to gatekeep. Place just opened. Hard to make reservations for afternoon tea since all booked during this past weekend. I attempted to call on the day before but the phone was busy. I was able to do a walk-in and they were barely able to accommodate a party of 3 people walk-in since they were full. Soo happy we were able to get in last minute. Service was good. They refilled the hot water 3x for tea. Each person was $45 and each gets their own tea pot with their choice of tea.If you have dietary restrictions, they are able to switch the item out for another on the list. Ex. I was able to switch out the egg sandwich to the curry chicken (my favorite). It was pretty filling for brunch. Free street parking and parking lot. Arrive early!

Chinese food with a modern flair! This new Chinese restaurant opened and completely redesigned the restaurant interiors. I love the brick face architecture which they kept because it is Old Towne Orange's historic building. The tables have a white marble design to them. The dining chairs are wooden Vineyard chairs. Each table has a place setting with gold flatware, and vintage glass water goblet, nice disposable chopsticks, and the rest were the normal essentials. Michael was our server and he was great! He took our order which was a bottle of rose, Stir Fry Broccolini and Radish, Orange Chicken, and Honey Walnut Shrimp. He was observant and realized I was a Yelper. He ended up comping us dessert -- Raspberry Matcha Mousse. He was great at catching when our water or wine glass was running low. Out of the three dishes -- they were all good and each had its own different flavor. I loved the garlic miso in the Broccolini. Who knew radishes would pair well with them!? The Honey Walnut Shrimp was delicious with its creamy sauce of green onion and (I presume) honey and mayo. So not your traditional Honey Walnut Shrimp. And the size of the shrimp were huge! I do wish it came with (6) pieces instead of (5) pieces though. Odd numbers suck when it comes to sharing plates. Flavor wise -- my favorite was the Orange Chicken! It was bomb.com! I love the garnish of long strings of chili pepper. But the sauce for this Orange Chicken definitely does not taste like the norm... there was an addition to it that I just can't figure out. My friend said it may have been Hoison sauce...? Anyway!! The food was yum and I loved the plating. Overall, it was a nice dinner and definitely elevated / upscale Chinese dining. Costs for the dishes are definitely higher than old mom-n-pop shop Chinese restaurants. It is definitely not an everyday Chinese spot, but great for special occasions. Speaking of special occasions -- I can definitely imagine myself planning a small birthday dinner there!

Made advanced reservation for afternoon tea that is only available on the weekends til 3pm. The restaurant itself wasn't too big but enough space for various groups. It is $45/person and we enjoyed the savory items such as the egg sandwich and chicken curry crust over the sweets. The jade green tea and passion fruit jasmine tea was delicious and very good. Service is great and they include an 18% gratuity regardless of the number of people in your group.