When I think about special Singapore experiences, I think about the wonderful pu-er tea cakes, teapots, and tastings at Chinatown’s King of Tea — a traditional tea shop run by the King of Tea himself, Ah Long.

This is a fantastic Chinese tea shop. At Long Shan Ger Tea Culture, you can choose among hundreds of pu-er tea cakes …

… and you can browse the thousands of yixing clay teapots …

… but the real reason to come here is to drink tea. This is not like coming to a restaurant-style tea shop — no, this is ritual at its most charming and intimate. You sit down with Ah Long and learn about how to measure the tea, how long to steep it, and how to pour it. You discover the meaning of every object on the giant tea board.

And then you drink tea together.

Every time I come to this shop, I think I’ll just spend a few minutes looking for a teapot. And then I end up whiling away an hour or more drinking tea and trying my best to chat and learn. My inability to speak Chinese means that there’s a significant language barrier, but it doesn’t matter, because we make it work. And then I get up and look around some more, because there’s so much to see.

You can also just sit in silence; the new Banda Street location, just behind the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown, has a great view toward downtown.

If you’re in Singapore, I can’t recommend a visit here highly enough.

The King of Tea: What You Need to Know Before You Go

1. The King of Tea is closed on Saturdays.
2. You will have to pay for the tea-drinking experience unless you are making a tea or teapot purchase.
3. The location is on the second floor of an HDB (5 Banda Street #2-92). You may have to do some poking around to find it, but you can’t miss it once you get there.

For more Singapore tea experiences, you’ll find great options in my Tea Lover’s Guide to Chinatown. While you’re exploring, keep an eye out for the fabulous Murals of Chinatown.