Cold Tea's ambiance is bling, as in Hotline Bling... felt as if we walked into a music video for Drake in the main room. White spaces well lit, like many of the patrons.
The hands on multitudes of lucky-cat figures rock back and forth in gold and white against a dark wall, as if welcoming patrons to the hip place. The kitchen is gangster af and japanese inspired. The quail eggs on the cart where once only steam buns could be purchased symbolize the leap toward a more exciting extra experience.
Lets get real for a minute... I miss the old Cold Tea with the bright red wall, quirky collage, dance floor with hiphop remix tracks pumping. Oddly enough i also miss the holes in the seat of the trendily dilaputated space. But grunge is gone, gentrification is now. Maybe it's not all that bad... It sure tastes delicious.
For food, the steak octopus wasabi taco was killer. Fried fish bigMac-esque steamBun-ish snack was a treat. Someone we didn't know at the giant shared table got the taro chip fish dish. It looked amazing...
Regarding drinks, the sochu elderberry spicybasil cocktail was a hit. Great balance. Highly recommend.
As expected, overpriced pbr was a good basic crisp complement to the food. Their craft beer draft list was impressive and local: kompaii to that.
I hope CT has a patio in the summertime.
I hope the food of hanmoto makes more food around the six, aka Toronto.
I hope the Hotline Bling tune will stop playing in the back of my mind over the next few days as I bask in the glow of my Cold Tea experience.