36-step Tea Egg

Dropped by at Carrie's TEA cafe yesterday and was treated to their version of tea eggs. Was expecting the conventional boiled egg with cracked shells steeped in tea and herb mixture, much like the ones I made months ago.

Carrie's version is far more sophisticated and one should discard all conventional expectations when trying hers. First, the whole egg is coloured a rich deep brown. The egg white is not hard as in hard-boiled, but more of the quivery softness of coddled eggs. The spoon dug inside to reveal that the dark orange-y yolk was set just so until it was not runny anymore but still retaining its melt-in-the-mouth feel. The whole egg, right down to the centre of the yolk, was imbued with the intriguing multi-layered tea soup that it was cooked in- the flavours of sweet and savoury mingling with woody herbal accents.

It was over all too soon and the only thing we could do was sing praises and express our wonder. At only $3 per egg, I reckon this is also a highly affordable indulgence too.

25 pieces are made each day, additional pieces needs to be ordered 3 days ahead. Carrie revealed that it took them a lot of trial and error before they could get it right. In case anyone is interested in duplicating it, she let on that the process involves exactly 36 steps, some of them quite precarious and very exact. Alternatively, one could enjoy it at her beautiful cafe with some premium Chinese tea and read from her collection of Penguin paperbacks.