Y.E.E: Tea Time @ Ten Ren’s

This was my first time at a Ten Ren’s and I wasn’t sure what to expect. This location is very easily accessible just off the 404 on Hwy 7. I was surprised that they even had a store in the restaurant. It was much bigger than I had anticipated.
We were greeted by staff on arrival and they gave us an informational brochure on the different teas that they were being served. We got a few bites and tried some teas which were quite delicious. All the appetizers had a tea theme. I have never had cold teas except the standard iced tea before, so it was a new experience for me. The teas were a bit on the sweeter side though.
Overall the event was quite well organized but it did start getting a bit cramped as everyone was standing near the tea tasting area. Thank you Kris for a great event and kudos to the hard working staff of Ten Ren’s for making this event a success.

Kris, thanks for the last minute RSVP, I truly did enjoy this event and would’ve missed out big time if I didn’t get in. I also picked up my first pair of Unilocal shades. #socool
Ten Ren’s interiors wowed both my friend and I — and he’s an architect and I am a designer so that’s saying something. The colors were fantastic and the curved glass separation around the dining area finishes with good taste.
The teas were A+. And I am not a tea person. But if there’s anything like the cold lime tea out there, I am buying it. My new favorite! Also loved the other teas. The light food that came out was perfect too! Dim sum always translates to dumplings for me, and there were none, but that wasn’t disappointing at all. The shrimp tempura totally made up for it!
Lastly, I agree with Stephanie. If there’s one thing I should learn from my +1, it’s to be able to introduce myself to all the fellow elites.

First Unilocal event in the GTA. Thank you Kris U. and Ten Ren.
All the tea was delicious. The red bean flavour was surprisingly good. The lime was tangy but not in a bad way, really. The food that were served compliment the drinks. It really a relaxed tea time with flavored tea and light dim sum menu. Yummy.
The set up of Ten Ren is charming. You have the kitchen that you can see into from your seats, and the other side is a tea shop. You can buy a variety of green tea, oolong tea, and other kinds, I’m sure. There are also really great tea sets, from one to four cup portion.
Again, the Unilocalers whom I met were all welcoming. I can’t wait to meet more Unilocalers if I get to attend other Y. events. For now, I know and will remember J.I.

Thanks Kris! It’s been awhile since I’ve visited Ten Rens — it’s nice to come back and try their different sample of drinks. I love the Taro Green Milk Tea. That’s going to be my go to drink from now on! Thanks for introducing the new drink to me! We also get to try some of their Taiwanese snacks — oh yum! It’s nice to see old faces at Ten Ren’s! The atmosphere was nice, staff were very welcoming.
Thank-​you Chole for coming out even though you were sick! That’s dedication right there!
Well, we loved it so much that we decided to sit down and have lunch afterwards. You have tickled our taste bud, and we want more!

This was my very first ever YEE as well as my first YEE before becoming a Unilocal Elite! And most importantly, thanks Kris for hosting this and organizing everything alongside Ten Ren!
Personally, this was a great event because I got to meet many people in person for the first time and actually «talk-​talk» to them haha. Likewise, it was exciting! I was actually informed most Unilocal events have booze, but I ain’t disappointed at all. Tea is awesome! :)
This event reminded me of taste testing. Five different flavours of Ten Ren’s tea was served in small cups nicely placed on the table. They were all very unique and refreshing in taste.
— Pear Green Tea (水晶美人綠茶)
— Red Bean Longan Milk Black Tea (相思福園奶茶)
— Fresh Taro Milk Green Tea (香芋奶茶)
— Fresh Lime Green Tea (翡翠檸檬)
— Grape Rose Ice Tea (葡萄玫瑰花)
My favourite was the Grape Rose Ice Tea — it had a slight rose aroma yet full of grape flavour. I do have to say it tasted more like a juice than tea: P The lime was very peculiar too and spiked my sour taste buds. It was delicious though.
Snacks were pretty good — I especially loved the egg wrap: D
Some may not enjoy the pear one as it has a strong bitter after taste probably due to the oolong tea-​base. As for the red bean, it was interesting haha. And lastly, the taro was average like other taro milk teas.
The staff at Ten Ren was really welcoming and friendly. They also have a vast selection of tea leaves along their restaurant wall. Although they had someone who specialized in tea, I wished she gave some introductions too.
Overall restaurant atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxing too!
Thanks again Kris for organizing! Can’t wait for more events! And thank you to all who nominated me as an Elite! (You know who you are: D:D)

Out here on the Westside, we have Ten Ren’s…but like in the mall where teens get their bbt, so thanks to Kris for exposing me to this East-​end version of a dine-​in, more fancy version of the chain!
Shortly after I arrived, I received a coupla pamphlets: 1 — outlining the various tea samples that they were serving, including the nutritional benefits (+BONUS) and 1 — «The Art of Tea Making».
It would’ve been great when the Ten Ren’s rep spoke, in addition to the welcome/​thanks, to give the group a lowdown of the actual location, how long it’s been there, whether or not they always served food, etc. — something that I did not know that TR’s did.
The tea samples were very refreshing! For non-​tea people, they were quite juice-​like, so nothing too ‘different’. Nibbles were things like deep fried taro ball, shrimp patty, a small wrap with pork floss/​egg, and a shrimp tempura-​looking thing. Apparently some of the batter was tea infused, but I couldn’t taste it.
And I may sound like a grade school teacher, but can we all challenge each other to introduce ourselves to a new face at the next event? I was VERY impressed when Ankita’s +1 introduced himself to my bf. Not sure if it was a case of 1 white guy, seeking out the other in the crowd type sitch, but quite shocked that it was a +1 as opposed to an Elite. Just sayin’.

Poetry of the day:
七碗诗(Poem by 盧仝)（唐. 790~835）
一碗喉吻潤，
二碗破孤悶，
三碗搜枯腸，
惟有文字五千卷，
四碗發輕汗，
平生不平事盡向毛孔散，
五碗肌骨清，
六碗通仙靈，
七碗吃不得也，
唯覺兩腋習習清風生。
蓬萊山在何處，玉川子乘此清風欲歸去。
Translation:
好詩， 好詩。

It was a cool non-​alcohol cocktail event on this past Sunday at Ten Ren’s Tea. The very first time Chinese tea/​food YEE? How can it not be cool!
Thank you our coolest CM, Kris U, for always organizing something different for us.
There were 5 different types of sweetened tea serving cold and hot in tasting-​size. It was nice so we could try 5 different flavors at one time. I lost count on how many samples I tried. It definitely kept us busy sampling the tea. I personally prefer the Grape Rose Ice Tea. I wish Ten Ren could serve at least one pure Chinese tea without sweetening so as to make their tea list more complete and a better pairing to the salty appetizers.
It was a nice venue and event for sampling tea and food and meeting all fellow Elites and their +1. I enjoyed this day event on a weekend. Thank you Rana for posting her photo of the swag table. I did not know there was Unilocal post-​it. Hope I can take one next time;)
Thank you Ten Ren’s Tea and Kris for making this event happened.
Kris, I am certainly looking forward to your next event!

My first Elite event began with a warm greeting from Kris and running into awesome people I had met at a UYE.
I loved that the tea theme flowed into the food menu. Tea infused sausage and taro were fabulous. I’m glad the servers kept moving, because I’m pretty sure Jen and I would’ve polished off the breaded shrimp. :D
I thought I’d tried a large variety of tea until I came here; I hadn’t tried any of these before! Sweet! My favourite was the Lime Green Tea and I’m mad I didn’t pick any up while I was there. Will have to pick some up next time I’m in the area. Ten Ren’s chose the most unique teas for us to try; they were all so different from each other. They even gave us a handy guide so we could see the health benefits of each. The staff there were all courteous and helpful.
If I lived in the area, I’d definitely revisit.
Met some awesome Elites and got to catch up with some I already knew. Can’t wait for the next event!

I love the early elite events! This one was at Ten Rens and provided amazing teas and nibbles that have me seriously thinking about returning for lunch this week.
I’ve seen Ten Rens around for years but never actually went into one, so I am grateful to Unilocal for again introducing me to something new and amazing. :)
I think my favorite tea was the Grape Rose Iced Tea and the fried shrimps and tea flavoured sausage (!) couldn’t come around fast enough.
In addition to all of the treats, I met some new friends and had a great time even though I came solo. :) Hope to see more events like these soon!

Tea Time and Small Bite of Food in a Taiwanese Tea Room.
How do you like your tea? Sweet, Sour, Cold, Hot or you drink yours like a Milky dessert?
Thanks Ten Ren’s welcoming Unilocalers in for a nice tea tasting. Those sweetened tea might not be everyone cup of tea but it was great to have a little taste of everything.
I have been to Ten Ren’s for years and I was glad that we finally have an Elite Event.
Of course, it would never happen if not for our Unilocal GTA CM Kris U, Thanks so much for organizing.
And it was always fun to get to meet some new and old Unilocalers and chit chat a little over some tea! And no one was too busy eating or getting drunk!
3.5 Star

Thank you so much to Kris for coordinating & inviting us to the tea time event at Ten Ren’s ! It was so nice to hang out with new & old elites, catching up & enjoying mini appetizers while sipping some yummy tea. I must’ve had 10 samples by the end of the event lol My fav was the grape rose ice tea, Taro Milk Green Tea & Pear Green Tea. Wish we got to see Ten Rens market more of their selections (loose leaf, preparation, etc.). I was a bit surprised that tapioca or jelly was not offered as some others may not have tried it before.
Loved the beautifully laid out swag table. Did you guys see how the passion fruit chapstick is back in stock?! So happy! There were also Unilocal post-​its!!! My yoga teacher training manual will be covered w/​them soon…
Will definitely be back with my friends for dinner as they have nice set dinner menus. Great for groups. We ended up staying here for lunch afterwards with two other Unilocalers :)
Thank you to Chloe & Ten Ren’s for hosting. Kris your hard work is always evident. Can’t wait for the next one ! :)