Tengah hasn’t seen much action in the local F&B scene ever since the estate has seen its first wave of residents moving in apart from the various home-based cafes and the few dining establishments that had opened up when Plantation Plaza first commenced operations. With more businesses moving into the shop units situated within the void decks of the various HDB estates that has become occupied, we are starting to see establishments like Tea Dot • 茶点 start its operations within the deeper neighbourhoods of Tengah as well. Tea Dot • 茶点 is situated at the void deck of Blk 236B Tengah Garden Walk; this would be located quite near the Yong Li Coffee Station coffeeshop there. From the outside, Tea Dot • 茶点 adopts a pretty minimalistic exterior with a counter that faces out to the main corridor and playground area that allows the sale of ice-cream over the counter without the patron having to walk into the premises. With that being said, there is still a counter that faces the dine-in area within that allows for orders of both beverages and ice-cream; the entire space is being decked in a concrete-esque grey whilst fitted with dark wooden fittings that gives it a slightly more industrial look rather than minimalist. The use of platform seating around the walls rather than dining tables and chairs did seem to be intentional to create a spacious interior that allows for ease of movement for patrons to make orders and self-collect them once they have been prepared. The full range of gelato available at Tea Dot • 茶点 are displayed in the display chiller at the counter facing the main corridor and playground, while the list of beverages are split into sections such as Herbal Tea, Single Origin Tea and Espresso.

Tea Dot • 茶点 does carry quite an extensive line-up of gelatos in their display freezer at the counter and there seems to be a good variety of flavours that would suit different age groups and varying taste profiles — that being said, it does seem like the gelato offered at Tea Dot • 茶点 are likely to be sourced from elsewhere rather than being made in-house. We were a little bit spoilt for choice but eventually found ourselves settling for the Ninja Sesame gelato which is essentially a black sesame gelato. As expected, it does come with a sticky texture that gelato typically carries — the consistency of the gelato is smooth without any noticeable ice crystals that has been formed within, all that whilst there is a slight grittiness from the sesame that is churned into the gelato. It does carry a little bit of that roasty and nutty note that one would generally expect out of black sesame, though the Ninja Sesame gelato may come across as a flavour that is a little bit on the sweet side for some.

One major highlight at Tea Dot • 茶点 that actually made us travel all the way out to Tengah for it was actually the offering of its Herbal Tea line-up which is fairly unique for an establishment on its type that also does serve up Single Origin Tea and gelato. It is interesting to note that the line-up of Herbal Tea are actually dispensed out from automatic taps upon order — think the likes of dispensers that are used at establishments like 2050 Coffee, Sugar Belly and SOE Coffee. Each herbal tea offering also comes with their very own jelly topping — we went with the Luo Han Guo Monkfruit, and the default topping that came along with this was the Herbal Jelly. Tea Dot • 茶点 describes its Luo Han Guo Monkfruit to come with elements such as monk fruit, licorice, honey date, jujube, ginger, longan, honey suckle flower and prunella vulgaris — the notes of monk fruit and licorice provided for the basic notes of the herbal tea that is fairly similar to that of what one would expect of Jia Jia Herbal Tea; a short whiff of the hint of ginger can be detected in the finish, though this does not create a “spicy” flavour for the herbal tea. The herbal jelly that came along with the Luo Han Guo Monkfruit does seem to be similar to that of Guilinggao, though the version here doesn’t feel as medicinal as the ones gotten from traditional Chinese dessert stores that serves them.

Considering how there is a lack of exciting F&B options in Tengah, we do feel that Tea Dot • 茶点 is the answer for those whom are residing in Tengah that is looking for a neighbourhood-ly spot to enjoy teas and have a scoop of gelato whilst at it. Its location at Tengah Garden Walk away from the main node of Plantation Plaza at the time being does make it a little bit inconvenient to get to especially for those residing in other neighbourhoods across the island, though it does seem like a convenient spot that would attract young families for a post-meal dessert treat after having a meal at the Yong Li Coffee Station coffeeshop just a few steps away. What makes Tea Dot • 茶点 particularly interesting would be its inclusion of herbal tea in its line-up of beverages, as well as the way that it is being served up — a rather interesting addition that sets them apart from the myriad of mom-and-pop bubble tea kiosks situated all across the island. Its gelato offerings does however feel more like an accompaniment to their operations as a store serving up teas, and could be better expanded upon if they are able to churn up their own gelatos using elements of herbal tea / single origin tea that could better draw a correlation for what they seemingly want to capitalise on.