【27】 Never Judge from the outside, especially for a restaurant @ Spice Island Tea House, Oakland

Have you ever had the experience that you were utterly surprised by getting something really good in a setting where you never expected such a level of excellence? Like spotting a natural beauty in a gloomy gutter(with all respect to people who have to live in those places). Well, the discovery of the Spice Island Tea House on At wood street in Oakland was such an experience.

The restaurant has a front door that looks like a blighted house, and the houses attached to it are not better either. So it’s a place you walk by everyday and will not think of much. Then one day Alb suggested to Sarosh and I that we should go there claiming the food was good. So we went together, had a great meal at an acceptable price, and I have been going there occasionally for some special occasions ever since.

Matt and I actually talked about our marriage in this very restaurant. For some reason, they changed their menu and the quantity of food decreased too. It’s after these changes that I started to go there less and less. But still have a good feeling about this diamond-in-the-rough and all the good memories happened there.

Stores like these are every where in Pittsburgh. They may look shabby outside. But definitely respect the fact that those little shabby stores have been around the block for a very loooooooong time.

Beer winning trivia @ Spice Island Tea House, Atwood Street

1. Oh, don’t be fooled by the restaurant's name.. “Tea House” (茶馆) was used frequently by Chinese or Asians in old times as a name for a restaurant where tea is served but also food is served. Nowadays, it’s used as a name for a social place where you can drink tea and/or play  Majiang(麻将) or other pastimes. It’s especially predominant in Sichuan and Fujian Province where Majiang is a popular game. Once upon a time, there was a joke says that if you flew above Chengdu (the capital city of Sichuan Province), you could hear people playing Majiang in tea houses and smell the spicy flavor of their hotpot.

2. You can find Tibet goodies, Indian Buffet, Mexico taco and grocery store, Asian restaurant and tea house (Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and etc.), American bar, and universal loved Starbucks coffee and ice-cream on Atwood Street.   

Your ID @ Atwood Street

What’s the name of the gentleman who is homeless and claims a spot on the corner of Atwood street intersecting Forbes Avenue (on the opposite side of the street where Starbucks coffee shop locates)?