So this place specializes in teas topped with a 'savoury/salty cream' topping.
I stumbled upon this place when I was looking up information for Chatime (which is nearby) The Latte Mei website (http://www.lattemei.com.tw/en/index.asp?i=) and store signage touts them as a major Taiwanese tea shop[ that's opened up a branch in Toronto. However, there's only a handful of locations across Asia and the website seems to be targeting franchisees. Hmm...
In addition, the website and store signs proudly present the story on how the 'founder' discovered the salty tea combination in Engrish like, "Such a tea-loving girl / Went to Japan where the Sakura blooms in spring to learn the Art of Tea." There's also another story of this 'girl' travelling to Belgium and discovered the secret of Belgian waffles. Kind of like dorky guy that keeps talking about a girl you've never met, I really kind to have to doubt that this 'girl' even exists.
Oh well, the website is worth visiting just for their cheesy video alone. Much like the girls in the video, I wanted salty cream all over my lips... PAUSE!
But we stumbled in one night because Chatime was slammed. We were here on a weekday night and we were the only two people there and the two staffers looked relieved someone finally came in - they were eager to serve and recommended that we get the Oolong Tea with Savoury Cream since it was 2 for 1 that day. I can't turn down a good deal, so we went with that.
After a short wait, we were given our teas - though served with straws, the server recommended that we sip from the cup. It's your pretty normal slightly sweetened tea at the bottom and as your first taste and the savoury cream flavour comes in second. At first, it was a weird sensation. I expect something similar to bubble tea - but that salty hint at the end was weird. Another sip... hmm, not bad. Another sip... hmm, this is pretty good. The savoury cream reminds me a bit of cheesecake with slight savouryness for umami.
I can tell this is definitely something most people would either instantly like or think tastes gross. I liked it and can see it growing on me. But this is coming from a man that dislikes most sweets and lean heavily towards bitter/salty/umami flavour profiles.
Will be back - but hope this place sticks around til it builds an audience or gets enough 'runoff' traffic from Chatime down the street. When I was looking at my receipt, I noticed the receipt number was 20130103023... if I'm deciphering the code correctly, we were the 23rd customer of the day at 9PM.
This place might become my personal Babu Bhatt's Dream Cafe - I want to root for it but it might be doomed to fail.