Wreathed in Fumes of Tea

Have you ever explored the Mandarin Gallery?
Its facade of polished marble walls & sky-high glass ceilings screams at all cash-strapped students to give it wide berth.

Not if you're a coupon wielding student, of course. Brandishing a 51% off special meal ticket - my friends & I meekly went exploring this giant cavern of marble opulence - right into a cafe called Arteastiq.

An immaculate lounge room with set designs so sharp you could cut yourself on it. The cafe itself oozes aristocratic charm, it's delightful ambience marred only by the unreasonably low tea table.

Arteastiq is known for its home-brewed tea.
Our tea arrived on a wooden tray with dainty glassware containing honey or sugar cubes to sweeten your tea, if you so wish, & a side of biscuits.

I got a Viva la Fiesta La something something Tortilla. It was about ten words long & sounded more foreign than an ang moh speaking Singlish. You know what? Next time if I ever open a posh restaurant, I'll call the plain fish & chips Aqua Animalia de la Tuberosum Plantae & sell it for $19.

Anyway, it was duck wrapped in tortilla. And it was delicious. But slightly tiny.
The side of salad came in a tiny glass cup. And, get this, no cutlery.
The only thing on the plate that came close to being a fork was the toothpick stuck into my tortilla. Let me tell you, eating a salad with a toothpick will guarantee you loose more weight than you consume.

The food was good & the tea was superb. MMMmmm.
But the normal price for this is $33 and the discout made it $17. In fact, the tea itself on a normal day would cost $12 a pot. Ouch. Arteastiq is THE place for tai tais & guys who want to impress their girlfriends (it sure impressed the heck outta me).
It's really good but very, very over-priced.
Hello $1.20 teh beng!