Yixing Xuan Teahouse

Yixing Xuan has been on Tanjong Pagar Road since 1989, which makes it one of the longest-running teahouses in Singapore and a contemporary of Tea Chapter a few streets away. Its founder, Vincent Low, left banking after a friend introduced him to Chinese tea, and the business is now a father-and-daughter operation with Charlene Low, who leads many of the workshops. City Nomads described them in 2018 as a passionate father-daughter team who have spent three decades raising awareness of the joys, history and proper methods of drinking Chinese tea. The format is the classic one: a pot brewed at your table in the gongfu style, repeated infusions, and staff who will walk you through what you are tasting if you ask. Tea appreciation workshops cover the basics from plant to palate, and the retail side stocks about fifty teas across white, green, oolong, pu-er, black and flower categories, along with Yixing clay pots and other teaware. Prices on the tea menu start around S$8 a pot, with a S$5 charge for a second person sharing.

The house signature is Beauty of the East, a Taiwanese oolong at S$8.50 with honey-fruit aromas and a bittersweet finish. The Wuyi rock teas are the other strength: Da Hong Pao in standard, premium and prestige grades from S$9 to S$16, and Rou Gui at S$12.50 with its smoky, oak-like aroma. Beyond those there is Ti Kuan Yin, a Fujian Yinzhen Baihao silver-needle white tea, a 2009 aged Gong Mei white tea, Hangzhou Long Jing in two grades, Bi Luo Chun, osmanthus-scented oolong, jasmine pearls and a hand-bound Dragon Pearl flowering tea, plus Feng Huang Dan Cong in Duck Shit and Honey Orchid cultivars from the shop. There is no wine, beer or spirit anywhere on the menu, which is why it is graded here as a genuine alcohol-free destination rather than a cafe with a tea list. The limitation is the clock: it closes at 8pm Monday to Thursday and 7pm on Sundays, stretching to 9.30pm only on Friday and Saturday, so it works as an early-evening alternative to a bar rather than a late one. Reservations and workshop bookings are taken through the website.