A Journey Through Yun Shui Tea House: Vegan Offerings and Gong Fu Cha Ceremony in Portland

Nestled in the heart of Portland, the Lan Su Chinese Garden offers a serene escape from the bustling city, combining traditional Chinese architecture with lush, tranquil landscapes. At the center of this urban oasis lies the Yun Shui Teahouse, a hidden gem where visitors can immerse themselves in the ancient art of tea drinking, as well as enjoy a delightful menu of Chinese dishes.

The teahouse was relaunched in February 2024. With a new menu that was created by Joe Ball, who has worked at some of Portland’s iconic vegan spots such as Obon Shokudo, The Sudra, and Harlow, and Kristen Thoennes, formerly of the Le Pigeon restaurant group. This partnership created a menu meant for everyone to enjoy. Meaning any of the dishes can be made vegan, making it vegan friendly and many of the dishes happen to be gluten-free.

The menu changes as a reflection of the seasons and offers small plates such as wonton soup, mein noodles, and even congee of the day.

You order at the counter before taking a seat where you take in views of the beautiful garden. It’s a peaceful and serene experience, but the stand out for me since the relaunch is the new Gong Fu Cha tea ceremony. An ancient tea practice where you brew tea with discipline and skill. The literal translation of gong fu is “right effort” and cha means “tea”. Making this ceremony the process of putting in the right effort in order to get the best flavor of the tea.

At Yun Shui, your private tea ceremony experience begins by walking into this beautiful setup that overlooks the pond and garden. On the table has the typical Gong Fu Cha setup, which includes a Gaiwan or teapot, server, tea tray, tea cups, and kettle.

Tea Ambassador, Christopher Lum, leads the Gong Fu Cha tea ceremony at Yuin Shu Teahouse - Photo by Vegan Ventures

Christopher Lum, Lan Su’s tea ambassador leads the ceremony and takes you on a journey through tea. In Chris’ eyes, Gong Fu Cha is a practice, a way of self-care. As each tea is brewed and poured, you notice the different smells and taste with each cup. The experience is not a formal tea ceremony as it’s meant to be casual, a way to be present, and enjoy conversation with one another.

I finished this experience not wanting it to end, but because it did, I left feeling rejuvenated, grateful, and with a new sense of knowledge around tea within Chinese culture. It’s an experience I would say is a must-do at the gardens but also, if you are in Portland.

Vegan Ventures: What can you share about the relaunch of the teahouse? How did you get involved? What was Lan Su/Yun Shui looking for when it came to this relaunch? Why was this relaunch important and significant, especially to Lan Su and Portland?

Joe Ball: Lan Su Chinese Garden relaunched their teahouse in February to coincide with Lunar New Year. After several months of renovations and repairs, we opened with an entirely new tea collection, featuring more than twenty Chinese and Taiwanese teas. The Lan Su Garden is a collaborative effort between Portland and its Chinese sister city Suzhou (苏州). Suzhou is renowned for its canals and classical Scholars’ Gardens. The name “Lan Su” derives from the last syllable of Portland and the first syllable of Suzhou. 

Lan Su had previously contracted out the operations of its teahouse to another entity, but decided to reopen after twenty five years as a part of the non-profit. This means the teahouse is now part of the garden year-round, participating in events and contributing additional revenues to ensure the garden thrives in the years to come. It was given the name Yun Shui (雲水)meaning Clouds & Water. It represents the clouds coming from the East (China) and water coming from the West (The Willamette River).

Vegan Ventures: When curating the menu, you mentioned you were inspired by Hannah Che. Could you share a little more about that? Where else did you take inspiration from? What key details were you looking for when it came to putting the menu together? Especially when it is for such an iconic Chinese garden.

Joe Ball: For my part, I became involved in this relaunch because of my background in restaurants and beverage service. Lan Su Chinese Garden is a non-profit organization. Between the organization’s staff and board of directors there was little institutional experience in restaurant management, so myself and Kristen Thoennes were brought aboard for our expertise. Having experience in international cuisines and kitchens, we nevertheless took inspiration and guidance from places near to us. My grandparents were engaged to be married in a Chinese American restaurant mere blocks away from where the Lan Su Garden now stands! 

Apart from working directly with AAPINH (Asian American Pacific Islander & Native Hawaiian) bakeries and produce companies, we absolutely adore James Beard Award-winning chef Hannah Che, formerly of Portland. If you have any interest in homestyle Chinese cooking, pick up her book The Vegan Chinese Kitchen: Recipes and Modern Stories from a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition. At least two of our dishes at Yun Shui are inspired by this book.

Vegan Ventures: A highlight of the menu is that anything can be made vegan. Why was this important to you and how did you go about making such a vegan friendly menu?

Joe Ball: As we had many, many plates spinning during our relaunch, it was crucial to make the food appeal both to returning members as well as tourists and first time visitors. The kitchen in this teahouse, based on centuries old architecture, is a veritable broom closet. I can’t say much more about the physical limitations of the space, but we aren’t able to utilize many of the most common pieces of equipment or cooking techniques for this menu. It’s a good thing that I pride myself on being a good problem-solver. 

The previous teahouse had a vegetarian menu and while we were encouraged to broaden our appeal with this relaunch, it was important to me to make the best dishes we can that are able to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. I have been vegan for 22 years myself, so people know they can trust what comes out of my kitchen. From spicy lotus root salad to handmade shiitake wontons in savory broth, it has to be delicious, beautiful, and fast– or we can’t put our name on it. 

(Most of the menu is also gluten-free!)

Vegan Ventures: What would you say is the goal Lan Su/Yun Shui (or you) want(s) for people to experience when they come to the teahouse?

Joe Ball: Everyone coming to Lan Su will experience a change in perception upon entry, transporting you across centuries and oceans. There’s no place like it in the continental US. When winding paths of the garden lead you to our teahouse front door, we have to maintain that air of wonderment and tranquility, though the teahouse is a realm of commerce as well. When a guest spends their day among the flowers, trees, classical architecture, poetry, birds, and koi we have in abundance, we can bring people back down to earth gently with a nourishing meal and a very fine pot of tea.

Vegan Ventures: Chris Lum is the new tea ambassador, how did he get involved? What would you say is most unique to his approach to tea that makes him a great addition to Lan Su/Yun Sui?

Joe Ball: You can’t spell luminary without Lum! Christopher Lum could go practically anywhere in the world he wants with his extensive tea knowledge, collection, and skill– and yet he chose Portland’s Yun Shui Teahouse to ply his trade. We are so, so fortunate to have him as a partner in this- His contributions are so vital that I’m going to spare your readers further platitudes and suggest you come down to see him for some of the best tea-pours of your life (so far).

Vegan Ventures: The Gong Fu Cha tea ceremony is a new addition at the Lan Su/Yun Shui. What sparked the inspiration to add this experience and how do you feel it extends the overall experience at the Lan Su gardens?

Joe Ball: While not everyone has the time or patience to drink tea like this every day, you should absolutely experience Gongfu Cha. Just so we’re clear, there is nothing wrong with Earl Gray tea from a bag in your favorite mug. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a good cup of coffee. But to borrow an unwieldy analogy, a nice cuppa tea is to Gongfu Cha, as a pet garter snake is to a soaring dragon in flight. Well, alright… That’s a bit of a stretch, but you’ll never know unless you give it a try! 

Thank you for the opportunity to chat about our teahouse at Lan Su!

Lan Su Garden is open year-round. You can check hours and buy your tickets here.

Some of Yun Shui’s seasonal vegan friendly offerings - Photo by Vegan Ventures