Tamon Tea had its grand opening this past June and seems to be kicking it off just right. Located across from the Downtown Berkeley BART Station on Center St., Tamon Tea deserves more publicity for its diligent and freshly prepared cuisine. Its practical location gives you an excuse to grab a snack to go before your next ride on the BART. The snack shop’s menu offers a spectrum of sweet and savory snacks, compelling you to try everything on the menu.
Photo by Luna Zhang
The Speciality
When I asked the manager about the shop’s specialty, he quickly replied, “Omusubi.” For those who are not familiar with omusubis, they consist of rice with meat or fish filling, wrapped in seaweed in the shape of a triangle. At Tamon Tea, omusubis are prepared daily, offering college students the ideal meal of a ten-minute lunch that they can easily get to-go.
Photo by Luna Zhang
Savory Options
I highly recommend trying one of Tamon Tea’s omusubi sets that include the following:
- Mini salad with citrus sesame dressing
- Salted edamame: Japanese green beans
- Choice of miso soup or drink: barley, iced or green tea
- Omusubi
Photo by Luna Zhang
Photo by Luna Zhang
For all you vegetarians out there–don’t worry because Tamon Tea accounts for your needs with many vegetarian omusubi options, as well.
Photo by Luna Zhang
Sweet Options
To satisfy your sweet appetite, try one of Tamon Tea’s sweet sets that include the following:
- Kushi dango: powdered sugar mochi with red bean filling
Photo by Luna Zhang
- Mitarashi dango: rice flour balls, covered in a sweet soy sauce glaze
Photo by Luna Zhang
- Dorayaki: red bean pancake
Photo by Luna Zhang
- Kashiwa mochi: rice cake wrapped in oak leaves
Photo by Luna Zhang
Photo by Luna Zhang
Although this is not the ideal place to sit down and dine, the workers are genuine and polite toward their customers, creating a friendly environment. The manager, who has been working there for three months, informed me of two other restaurants also under the same owner of Tamon Tea–a restaurant serving Japanese cuisine located in Oakland called Coach Sushi and a teahouse, similar to Tamon Tea, located in San Francisco called Kissako Tea. So, the next time you’re in Oakland or San Francisco and not sure where to get a worthy meal, check those places out, as well.
Location: 2055 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94720
Hours of Operation: Mon-Sat: 10:30am – 6pm
Thank you, Tamon Tea, for donating omusubis to Spoonfest.