Leaving it all on the table

"With all that considered, drinking tea in the long term is a healthy dietary habit," he says.

Fu Chun Ju restaurant in Beijing was awarded a Michelin star last year in no small part thanks to the signature dishes of chef Yeung Waikit, one of which is his pan-fried prawns with Longjing tea. The tea leaves are served in a dozen teacups, and each cup contains a prawn, over which the waiters pour tea during service.

Yeung says fried Longjing tea leaves with prawns is a traditional Chinese dish, but he wanted to add a modern twist to the method of cooking it and its presentation.

"I want the diners to try this dish like they are drinking a cup of tea, so I serve it using a tea set, a novelty which interests the diners," he says.

Yeung marinates the shelled prawns overnight in cold tea so that it absorbs the tea flavor, rather than deep frying the ingredients.

Fellow single-starred Michelin chef Li Dong also uses tea in his dishes. He uses tea to marinate beef before roasting it to enrich the flavor of the meat.

He says for Chinese chefs, tea is not only a drink but also an ingredient.

"We have a long tradition of cooking with tea leaves, such as Sichuan cuisine's Zhangcha duck, which is also known as tea-smoked duck," Li says. "The key to matching the different varieties of Chinese tea with other ingredients is pair local tea with local produce."