The face of the Wellington Village continues to evolve. The converted two story house that once housed a Halal meat shop is now the location of the Nihao Tea House (81 Holland Avenue). It opened its doors sometime during the afternoon of April 20, 2007. It is actually the second tea house in Ottawa to sport the name Nihao. The first is located in the Gloucester Center (1980 Oglivie Road).

Customers shouldn't come looking for teabags at the Nihao Tea House. Though I have no doubt that tea bags can be purchased, it would be shame not to sample from this little tea house's wall and a half of jarred teas. Among the teas that sparked my interest is a vanilla chai blend, a rare and exotic rolled oolong, and several blooming teas. Whatever they don't have on hand, you can most likely order or purchase off their website, nihaoteahouse.com.

Last Wednesday (April 25, 2007), my better half and I visited the establishment to sample its assortment of bubble teas. I discovered bubble tea four years ago in a small family-owned Taiwanese tea house in Chinatown. It has long since closed its doors. Jenn's first bubble tea came from Toronto, where a glass of bubble tea is far less expensive than what Ottawa's popular Bubblicity tea houses charge. At either Bubblicity location (Byward Market or Chinatown), a small fruit juice bubble tea with pearls or lychee jelly can easily cost $6. At NiHao, my better half and I paid a whopping $8.50 for both a green tea bubble tea with pearls and a lychee fruit juice bubble slush with pearls. Actually, the bill came out to $7.50, but I've never paid less than $8 for anything bubble tea related, so I left a generous tip.

For those of you who don't know what bubble tea is, please visit Wikipedia's entry on the subject. However, I implore you to try your first bubble tea in Toronto where the tea houses are just as swanky as those in Taiwan or Hong Kong. At one location, I even saw waiters serving warm green tea samples to the patrons who were lined up outside their door. Given that it was September, this gesture was well appreciated.

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Signage

Front Counter

Taro Green Tea with Pearls

Two Bubble Teas

The owner of the Wellington Village Nihao teahouse is very friendly. She was warm, easy to speak with, and helpful. As for the bubble teas, we found them average for Ottawa. The crushed ice in my better half's bubble slush was not ground fine enough in the blender, which left some unwieldy pieces of ice in her drink. My pearls were a little too soft for my liking. Happily, given that this teahouse's staple is tea, I was given an option between real green or real black tea for my drink. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. In fact, we revisited a week later with Jenn's little sister in tow.

Given the price and the convenience, because we living close by, we will be returning every so often.

Please note that, unlike Bubblicity, this NiHao location has not instituted a purchase card system yet. We were told that it is coming soon.

Particulars:
Nihao Tea House
81 Holland Avenue
(613)722-0088

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