Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
including
bo lai
(a fermented black tea,
which is the most common tea in Hong
Kong; also spelled bo lay), jasmine,
lung
ching
(a green tea), and
sui sin
(narcissus
or daffodil).
After you've sampled the classic ambi-
ance of Luk Yu, scout out its low-rent equiv-
alent in the more traditional Western
District, the
Lin Heung Lau Tea House
(160-164 Wellington St., Sheung Wan;
&
2544-4556
). The dining rooms look
decidedly worn, and the clientele is mostly
old-timers, but the dim sum is delicious.
Note that here the tea is brewed in old-style
lidded cups, rather than in pots—another
dying tradition in the scrum of modern
Hong Kong.
24-26 Stanley St. (
&
852/2523 5464
).
(
Hong Kong International (26km/16
miles).
L
$$$
Conrad International Hong
Kong,
88 Queensway, Pacific Place, Cen-
tral District (
&
800/CONRADS
[800/266-
7237] in the U.S. and Canada, or 852/2521
3838; www.conradhotels.com). $$
Stan-
ford Hillview Hotel,
13-17 Observatory
Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (
&
852/2722
7822;
www.stanfordhillview.com).
Tea
448
Drinking Mint Tea
Moroccan Whiskey
Marrakech, Morocco
Moroccans laughingly describe mint tea to
Westerners as “Moroccan whiskey.” In this
predominantly Islamic country, where
alcohol is officially proscribed, mint tea—
atei benna'na'
—is Morocco's national
drink, and it's available anywhere, anytime.
English soldiers first introduced tea in
Tangiers during the Crimean War in the
mid-19th century, but Moroccans put their
own spin on it almost from the start. They
mixed the tea leaves with fresh mint,
skipped the milk the English usually added,
and went straight for the sugar—lots of
sugar, ladled in large chunks. Mint tea can
be found in cafes and
snak
restaurants
countrywide; despite the desert heat, locals
generally drink it piping hot, often accom-
panied by sweet Moroccan pastries drip-
ping in sweet honey or dusted in cinnamon
and sugar icing.
Mint tea makes a particularly welcome
break in Marrakech, where travelers often
succumb to the temptation to exhaust
themselves dashing around the
medina,
ticking off the sights, bartering for souve-
nirs, and clicking away on their camera. It's
available almost everywhere, but some of
the best spots for it are the rooftop terrace
of arty
Café des Épices
(place Rahba
Qedima;
&
212/24/391770
), the terrace of
Café-Restaurant Argana
on the medina's
lively main square (place Jemaa el Fna;
&
212/24/445350
), the literary cafe-cum-
art gallery
Dar Cherifa
(Derb Cherifa Lak-
bir, off rue Mouassine;
&
212/24/426463
),
or the air-conditioned
salon de thé
at the
back of
Patisserie des Princes
(32 rue
Bab Agnaou;
&
212/24/443033
).
Locals drink the tea from glasses—
never from a china cup—and brew it
according to long-established ritual: They
heat it slowly in a small pot, preferably
over an open charcoal fire, then pour it
from an arm's length height into the glass
to aerate the brew. They perform this step
two to three times, tasting after each
pour, until the tea is considered ready to
drink. The length of time and height of
