Essential Brew Tea Café & Restaurant houses a tranquil haven for tea-lovers and just about anyone else who will appreciate the café for its beauty – apparent in both its ambience and menu. The 4-years old establishment infuses the magic of tea, one of the world's oldest beverages, into a series of scintillating dishes, ranging from seafood to meats and from rice to desserts. What you get is tea-infused cuisine with a characteristically contemporary twist befitting of the modern diner.

• The Vibe
  The 2-storey café-cum-restaurant oozes a sense of serene inspiration, especially on the upper level. Fellow bookworms will find the interior endearingly home-like, with its Japanese-style platform, coveted plush cushions and no-shoes-allowed policy, for some quality novel time. The large glass window at the far end of Essential Brew allows plenty of warm sunshine to stream in, although it opens up to a rather distasteful view of ongoing construction work. Fortunately, the eyesore is obscured as the sun goes down so you only glimpse a starry sky and cars puttering along the busy Holland Avenue.

• The Food
  The extensive use of tea at Essential Brew naturally features an equally extensive range of tea. One can spot Japanese influences in their use of green tea and Jasmine tea, European in Earl Grey and English Breakfast, Indian in Chai and Darjeeling, and Chinese in the likes of Oolong and Pu'er. Drinks at Essential Brew are not just the plain ol' tea of centuries ago. Their menu is set to dazzle customers with modern interpretations of tea-infused drinks.

  Start with their absolute favourite, the Lingerin' Angel ($4.75), a unique concoction of Jasmine tea with orange to give you that burst of ice-cold citrus goodness. The sweetness of jasmine is skillfully balanced by tangy orange, which leaves a faint tea fragrance lingering in your throat. If you would rather have something edgier, go for an Alpine Mist ($5.25) to get a taste of peach and cranberry layered against Jasmine tea. Slightly more sourish, thanks to the generous dash of cranberry; it acts as a perfect pick-me-up after a hard day's work.

  While the drinks were fabulous, the food was unexpectedly unimpressive. Half a dozen Breaded Mussels ($7.95) turned out to be a messy dish of dry breadcrumbs. There is nothing spectacular about the New Zealand mussels and it is not at all fanciful to have breadcrumbs dribbling down your plate and lap if you are not careful. Their Earl Grey Ribeye Steak ($18.95) fared little better. The steak itself is of a good chewy texture but serving it with an Earl Grey red wine sauce masked the meat in an awkwardly sweet taste. My palate found better luck with the potato wedges served alongside the steak, which just goes to show that Essential Brew's most popular main course is not tailored to suit everybody's preference.

  The Cilantro Fillet ($13.95) may not be a hot favourite at Essential Brew but it was a relief from the previous tea-infusion dishes. Flavoured with coriander leaves, the fish was a fresh and light choice that goes down very well with the spectacular drinks. It also comes served with a fragrant Jasmine rice ball, which exemplifies an infusion of the alluring aroma of Jasmine tea in a ball of white rice.

  The highlight of the meal came in the form of a sandwich. The Melva Focaccia ($6.95) is almost like the all-time familiar Mushroom Swiss – only made better with Italian herb bread, plenty of mushrooms and even more cheddar cheese. Delicious, filling and definitely value-for-money sums it up for those who are not adventurous enough to brave the other tea-infused creations.

• The Service
  The staff is relatively young at Essential Brew so they are easily your vibrant, energetic bunch. Despite their age, they are very well-versed with the entire menu – any member of the staff can tell you how each dish is prepared and what tea has been used. That is truly impressive.

The SD Food Advisor's Take on Essential Brew Tea Café & Restaurant
The lovely aroma of tea residing in Essential Brew calms one down gradually like a tranquilizer. Just a pot of tea, a sandwich and a good book will settle you down nicely for a languorous afternoon alone or an idyllic evening with friends. Personally, I prefer the café for the latter because past dusk, you will find the entire café doused in a dim, sleepy mist. The tea-infused menu is adventurous enough but certain meats are just not tea-complementary, at least to my taste buds. That said, your taste buds may beg to differ so give this place a shot and judge for yourself.