Yama

Yama – Queen Victoria Building, Shop 2, Level 2

Yama

Yama is a Japanese café located on Level 2 of the Northern end of the QVB. Diners can either sit inside the café and admire the beautiful pistachio and gold décor, or sit outside in the walkways and be bathed in sunlight streaming from the QVB’s vaulted ceiling, watching shoppers walk past. Each option offers a difference choice of seating – inside you are offered large comfortable almost arm-chair like chairs, whilst outside is the stock-standard brown wooden chair. The staff are friendly enough; they are not overly attentive which makes Yama a good place to meet up and chat with friends. However the downside is that this means somewhat poor service.

Tea menu

I came to Yama with my mum and brother for afternoon tea on Mother’s Day, after lunch at Din Tai Fung in Chinatown. This was not my first time a Yama; this cafe has become a somewhat frequent stop of mine in the QVB since stumbling upon it years ago with a Uni friend. There is only one reason that I go to Yama – the tea menu. As a tea fanatic, there is nothing that gets me more excited than a tea menu, and Yama’s does not disappoint. There are 31 teas on offer, from your standard English Breakfast, to green tea blends like Japanese Cherry, and the more interesting and foreign Yuzacha (citron honey tea).

When we arrived at Yama, we seated ourselves and waited for service. A waitress brought us menus fairly quickly, and we each selected a different blend. MotherTea ordered Stockholm Blend – a black tea with orange peel, safflowers, calendula blossoms, rose petals, vanilla and apricot. BrotherTea chose a Chai containing rose petals. I selected Hawaii Cocktail, a fruit infusion containing hibiscus, rosehip, currants, pineapple, mango pieces, papaya pieces and orange peel. We also ordered some biscuits – MotherTea and BrotherTea both chose a pistachio biscuit, while I ordered a Viennese Finger.

Tea Pots and the Tricky Strainer

The teas arrived fairly promptly. Each tea comes in a sizable porcelain pot, and is served in standard-sized porcelain cups and saucers. The pots were all shaped slightly differently, which is both aesthetically pleasing and makes it easier to share tea between drinkers: it is easy to identify which pot contains which tea. Some pots did spill when first poured however not all of them. The teas were also all loose-leaf, so a tea strainer was provided. The strainers were tricky to manage at first, however by the time we’d reached the bottom of our pots we had (mostly) figured them out.

Beautifully decorated interior

MotherTea’s Stockholm Blend was a winner – it was beautifully fragrant and sweet, while BrotherTea enjoyed his Chai. I loved my Hawaii Cocktail, which pours pink! The only downside to the Hawaii Cocktail is that it is so sweet – it is a good afternoon tea blend, but would not make a good meal-time tea. All teas scored extra points as they actually contained what was described – there were actual pieces of orange peel in the Stockholm Blend, while I could see the mango and pineapple pieces in my Hawaii Cocktail. The food we ordered was, however not so good. My Viennese Finger was disappointing, while MotherTea and BrotherTea both described their pistachio biscuits as “weird”.

Overall I had a positive experience at Yama, however there is really only one reason to go there – the great and somewhat unusual teas on offer. I will definitely be returning to Yama, and am excited to try some of the Green Tea Blends.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
Tea: 8/10
Excellent selection: 31 teas on the tea menu.

Tea Pots: 7/10
Good size, aesthetically pleasing, some spillage.

Service, Ambience, etc: 5/10
Average service, food not great, good place to meet up with friends and not be (too) bothered by the staff.

OVERALL SCORE:
20/30

MissTea xoxo

Find them:
(02) 9269 0080


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