Take Five with Roy Fong — Educator, Importer, and Connoisseur of Fine Teas
Nobody knows tea quite like Roy Fong.
The 53-year-old entrepreneur opened the first traditional Chinese tea house in San Francisco in 1992. Now, he overseas two Imperial Tea Court locations in the Bay Area — one in Berkeley, and the other in San Francisco’s Ferry Building.
A visit back to his native Hong Kong when he was in his 20s, changed his life. As he wandered around the old tea district there, he knew he had found his destiny. Now, he sells about 300 types and grades of teas, priced at $16 to $480 a pound.
His two tea houses also are thought to be the only restaurants in the Bay Area that feature an all-organic, sustainable dim sum menu.
With the exception of a few sauces, everything else on the menu is organic and sustainable. The flour used to make the wrappers and the tea oil used to fry the green onion pancakes are organic. The shrimp is wild. The pork is family-raised and sustainable. Even the tea leaves used to flavor the broth for the won ton soup are organic.
Read more about Fong’s organic dim sum — and other purveyers jumping on that bandwagon — in my story in today’s San Francisco Chronicle Food section.
I had the chance to sit down to lunch with Fong recently at his Berkeley tea house. He poured cups of jasmine tea, the favorite variety of Northern Chinese.
Before pouring water over the rolled-up leaves, he had me take a whiff. The aroma was very floral. It was an indication that the green tea picked in early spring was quite fresh, because jasmine tea takes on a more citrusy fragrance as it ages. Surprise your guests at your next party by pairing jasmine tea with brie cheese. Fong says the two are an exceptional match.
Q: You’ve won quite a loyal following for your organic dim sum, haven’t you?
A: People drive hundreds of miles for it. We have regulars who come from Monterey for lunch all the time.
Q: The wrappers on the shrimp dumplings are so incredibly translucent. How do you do that?
A: You have to control the water temperature, and roll the dough very thin. The water can’t be too warm or too cold.
Q: I’m guessing you won’t tell me the exact temperature?
A: Nope. (laughs)
Q: What’s the most popular dish here?