Posted by Renée Suen in beverages, photo essay, tea on July 30, 2008 at 8:17 am

When it comes to versatile drinks, besides water, tea and coffee have probably seen more reincarnations than the James Bond movie series. Focusing on the former, some may find it surprising that the mere presence of some simple dried leaves is enough to add the extra oomph required for basic foodstuffs to reach culinary epiphanies. We've previously featured green tea flavoured snacks, biscuits, and sweets found at Asian markets, however tea can wear various masks, as shown below.

Ten Ren's Tea Time (Unit 101, 111 Times Avenue, Thornhill), is a Taiwanese tea emporium that directly sells tea leaves, pots and cups of bubble tea, but sit down for a meal and find a menu filled with tea based concoctions that reach far beyond those that quench the thirst. Start with the house special green tea salad, then order the white tea mountain yam soup with ribs, and the lily cooked tea chicken. Or try the steamed king's tea mushroom with bricks of silken tofu and a prawn.

Speaking of tea and seafood, head to Chef Tom Thai's Foxley Bistro (207 Ossington Avenue) for the sautéed tea-smoked skate filet. Here we find four generous and meaty lychee tea-smoked portions that flake into tender, silky myomeres - each piece having the magical sponge-like ability to soak up its surrounding roasted garlic and ginger sauce.

The tea smoked squab breast + spiced quince crepe + foie gras + parsnip + hibiscus & smoked cardamom chocolate sauces + candied mandarin peel (try saying that three times fast) course from Colborne Lane (45 Colborne Street) showcases Claudio Aprile's artistic side, where the diner's plate becomes a painter's palette filled with an exponential number of possible dining combinations.

Pick up a package of green tea soba noodles at Sanko Trading Co. (730 Queen Street West) to make a refreshing cold noodle dish at home. Accompanied by a cold soy-bonito broth, sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, chilled cooked shrimps and slices of drunken chicken breast, this is the ultimate hot day meal.

Tea may be served in a semi-solid state like the fragrant rose tea jelly found in the fruit and custard dessert at Sushi Kaji (860 The Queensway, Etobicoke).

The Pomme: tarte tatin au 'crumble' de the vert, gateau au chocolat blanc a la pomme, pomme d'amour, glace a la citrouille (aka Apple-green-tea crumble tatin, white chocolate apple softcake, pomme d'amour, pumpkin ice cream) from Amuse Bouche Restaurant (96 Tecumseth Street) may be a mouthful to say, but is an incredibly tasty architectural feat.

There's also nothing like the ubiquitous Asian combination of red bean and green tea. A meal at Le Café Michi (1802 Pharmacy Avenue, Scarborough) may end with airy green tea sponge sandwiching scattered chunks of sweetened azuki and copious amounts of green tea buttercream.

T&T Supermarket takes this to the next level by making a sweet breakfast bread that easily replaces the cinnamon roll or keeping it simple with a delicious matcha Japanese Castella cake (top of post).

But if the craving hits on a hot summer day, just head to the local Baskin Robbins (various locations) and ask for a scoop of green tea ice cream.

Renée Suen is a graduate student at the University of Toronto, specializing in cardiovascular sciences. She has an insatiable appetite and can often be found with her camera, searching for something tasty to eat. Many of these culinary discoveries can be found on her Flickr site.