Moonflower Teahouse
[BALMUNG]
-=SHIRO Ward 23 Subdivision, Plot 45=-
MONDAYS Bi-weekly @8PM - 11PM EST
NO REAL GIL IS REQUIRED FOR THIS VENUE!However, if you wish to tip, we humbly accept your kind generosity!
Quote of the Day
"Tea is a religion of the art of life"Okakura Kakuzo
About
💮 ABOUT THE OCHAYA 💮
An ochaya, while literally meaning “tea house,” is not actually a place solely for drinking tea. An ochaya is a traditional setting in which clients and patrons can come to be entertained by geisha and hosts. Be it through music, dancing, tea ceremony, conversation, and more. Though, the Moonflower takes it to a more modern spin not completely strapped to traditions!Both Geisha and Hosts are people trained in the arts of music, dance, barding, entertaining, etc. We want to offer a space for geisha, hosts, and entertainers to find work, show off their skills and talents, build a reputation, and just enjoy themselves.Various spots throughout the ochaya are available for a geisha or host/esses to occupy and bring in patrons and clients who are interested in the type of services they have to offer.The Ochaya is NOT A BROTHEL so please do not mistaken it for such!
Discord
This Discord is to provide a space for geisha and entertaining roleplayers and those who are interested in the geisha community and traditions. RP events involving geisha can be arranged in other places as well!
If you are interested, please join our community server.Use #reserve-a-geisha, if you are interested in booking someone's time ahead!
💮 RULES OF THE OCHAYA 💮
🌸 Do not harass the staff members for ERP of any kind. This isn't a brothel. This isn't an event centered around ERP.
🌸 Drama and harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. The server is solely to promote some good ol' roleplay.
🌸 Always have a clear divide of IC/OOC, a player is not their character and a character is not their player.
🌸 Always err on the side of caution, comfort levels vary per person. Communicate clearly and concisely with the people you are interacting with to assure that everything runs smoothly.
🌸 Be respectful to others.
🌸 If you experience a problem please bring it to a Staff Member's cannot fix things we are not made aware of. If you are being harassed, let security know!
Special Event
A Tea Ceremony will be performed by one of our Geisha this evening, Lady Raevyn Sterling.The event will take place on the upper floor staging area. Please come witness the elegant art of the Tea Ceremony.
History and Significance of the
Tea Ceremony
The purpose of the tea ceremony is to create bonding between the host and guest and also gain inner peace. The tea ceremony is very important in both Doman and Hingan societies because it used to be practiced only by the elite Zen monks and noble warlords for most of history. However, the ceremony has seen some decline.
The art of the ceremony has now been passed down to artisans such as the Geisha, who have now been tasked to learn many of the old traditions in order to both preserve and showcase the culture of such techniques.
The ceremony itself showcases an elegant and practiced set of instruments and movements. Although, simple in appearance, it may take geiko and geisha many years to perfect the careful and intricate movements. Such is the significance of the art of the tea ceremony.
Special Wagashi Arrangement
Note: A bound notebook of this special arrangement has been made. Each has an artful depiction of each individual wagashi and what ingredients were used to create them.(Each wagashi was created by hand in a clean and careful environment so as not to risk cross contamination. Those with specific allergies can rest assured the Moonflower has taken very strict steps to ensure your experience in uninterrupted and pleasant.)
This special arrangement of wagashi is made to reflect the emergence and fleeting essence of Spring. Vibrantly colored, subtlely flavored and artfully made. These wagashi are made with the traditional ingredients with the addition of special flavoring made to be adventurous and match the earthy bitterness of the matcha tea. These flavors were carefully curated to both enhance, compliment and stay the intensity of the tea.Rolanberries, oranges, apples, bananas, mangoes, watermelon, pears, blueberries will be some of the prominent fruit flavors. Almonds, pistachios, cashews, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds were carefully made into past or dusted onto some of the wagashi. The creamy addition of milk and cream has also been used to create a silky soft texture and milky flavor.
Tea
Gunpowder Tea
A wonderfully smoky and earthy tea with a faintly sweet aftertaste. The tea gets its name from the form the loose tea takes which gives it a resemblance to gunpowder. The pellets gradually unravel as it steeps, leaving a golden liquor color.
White Tea
This particular tea is an umbrella term for tea that has been harvested before the buds have opened and are still covered in delicate white hairs. When brewed, the tea is usually subtly sweet with a light straw color and subtle aromas and flavors that possess exquisite floral notes.
Ishgardian Breakfast Tea
Ishgardian Breakfast Tea has been carefully curated for centuries. Due to their restrictive and past isolationist measure, trade was often funneled in carefully. This is represented in their tea which is an amalgamation of Thavnairan and Gridanian varieties, thus creating a unique flavor. When fully brewed it has a smooth taste with a citrus floral aroma and is finished with a splash of milk or cream.
Oolong Tea
Oolong is semi-oxidized when processing the leaves, thus creating a lovely deep orange color. This particular blend has woody notes with an apricot undertone. It produces a pleasantly potent and rich taste.
Matcha
Matcha is one of the staples of any Teahouse and Tea Ceremony. It is the tea most known from the Far East and the lifeblood of many Othardian households. When brewed it has mellow vegetal grassy notes, natural sweet nuttiness, and a touch of bitterness with a pleasant savory aftertaste.
Pu Erh Tea
A traditionally fermented Doman tea. The tea is compressed into a brick shape which can be broken off to brew any amount of tea. When fully brewed, it has a mild, yet distinctive and earthy flavor achieved by the fermentation process. It produces a deep vibrant orange color.
Green Tea
A tea differentiated by its bright green color and fresh herbaceous notes. It is harvested from the leaves that are exposed to direct sunlight. After they are plucked, the leaves are shortly steamed and are then rolled and dried. It has a vegetal and grassy character, mild sweetness, and subtle astringency.
Black Tea
Black tea is processed with heavy oxidation and its varieties characteristically have a distinctive dark color and develop earthy notes. When fully brewed it has a sweet and includes typical earthy, malty, nutty, and fruity nuances.
Ceylon Tea
A Thavnairan variety of tea. This variety of black tea possesses a mild and sweet flavor, it has a delicate, very light liquoring with notes of pine and honey and a golden coppery infusion.
Darjeeling
A Hannish variety of tea. It is often referred to as the 'Champagne of teas.' When steeped properly it has musky-sweet tasting notes similar to muscat wine. But it can also have delicate vegetal, mossy, fruity, and citrus flavors. However, if steeped for too long, its bitterness becomes more potent, which can be unpleasant to most.
DRINKS
Water and Non-Alcoholic beverages available
Moonflower Wine
Moonflower || 夜顔
"Yorugao" or Moonflower, our exclusively brewed white wine. This wine has ripe apricot, peach, and pear notes with a stone and honey flavor. This perfectly layered wine has balanced acidity and an impressively long finish.
Flower of the Lunar Eclipse || 月食の花
"Gesshoku no Hana" or the Flower of the Lunar Eclipse is our exclusively brewed dark red wine. This is complex, structured and supremely earthy, with mineral traces throughout. Strawberry, cassis and vanilla provide a rich contrast to the cedar, sage and wisps of tobacco, the tannins powerfully present.
Blooming Twilight || 咲く夕暮れ
"Saku Yūgure" or Blooming Twilight is our exclusively brewed dessert wine. It features intense rolanberry and red fruit flavors intertwining with fresh hibiscus floral notes.
Sake
Junmai || 純米
“Junmai” can be translated as “pure rice.” This is sake that does not contain added brewer's alcohol; the only ingredients are water, rice, koji, and yeast. Unlike other sake categories, junmai has no set rice polishing ratio, so it can be richer and bolder than other sake types. It can be enjoyed warmed or at room temperature.
Honjozo || 本醸造
Honjozo sake is not inherently sweet—the alcohol is generally added after the yeast has completed fermenting the sugar in the sake. Honjozo has a smoothed-out flavor, which is light and easy to drink, and can be enjoyed warmed or chilled.
Ginjo || 吟醸
Ginjo is premium sake that uses rice that has been polished to at least 60 percent. It is brewed using special yeast and fermentation techniques. The result is often a light, fruity, and complex flavor that is usually quite fragrant. It's easy to drink and often (though certainly not as a rule) served chilled.
Daiginjo || 大吟醸
Daiginjo, which literally means "big ginjo," is often the most prized bottling of the sake brewery, representing the height of the brewmaster's ability. Typically pricey, served chilled to bring out their nice light flavor, complex flavors and aromas.
Shiboritate || しぼりたて
Shiboritate, "freshly squeezed," has a narrower definition, only used to describe the sake that is available immediately after pressing the sake produced in the earlier phase. It can be wild and fruity.
Nigori || 濁り
Nigori literally means “cloudy sake”. Nigori is a style rather than a classification. Nigori style has rice solids (lees) suspended in the sake. Nigori is technically NOT unfiltered rather it is coarsely pressed (Sake undergoes both pressing and filtration). Nigori has a distinct texture and notable sweetness.
Amazake || 甘酒
Amazake has a creamy, thick consistency with a sweet flavor, served either chilled or warm/hot. It is also low in alcoholic content. It is traditionally served hot during the Winter season, which has a warming effect, and chilled in the Summer season but retains its distinct refreshing sweetness throughout.
Specialty
Lemon Sour
A rising favorite in Othard. A simple lemony cocktail for a casual and refreshing afternoon or evening. The cocktail is made with a bit of salt, sparkling water, frozen shochu, and our secret mix of Eorzean Lemon and Othardian Yuzu. It will simply tickle your senses!
Honeyed Lager
A crisp and refreshingly smooth lager. Its bright and golden color reflects its main ingredient, honey. This golden liquid was lovingly brewed with the highest quality hops, barley, and yeast and made through a secret filtration process. A sweetly addicting drink to be had!
Otsumai || Snack Menu
Edamame
Young soybean still in their pods, simply salted. A surprisingly addicting snack.
Tsukemono
A combination of vegetables pickled in salt, known as shiozuke, gives you the flavor of seasonal vegetables. The salty snack has a crispy texture and an addictive taste.
Nori to Sake Ten
An addictive combination of fried nori and salmon skin lightly battered and fried to crispy perfection, enhancing the umami flavor of both ingredients.
Ika Gesso Karaage
Ika Gesso Karaage is deep-fried squid tentacles. A local favorite bar snack. It is served with a miso-infused mayo.
Kakiage Tempura
Mixed variety of tempura featuring shrimp and seasonal vegetables. A popular classic dish.
Mixed Senbei
A variety of fried rice crackers with unique flavors, textures, and ingredients that combine sweet, salty, and savory tastes.
Dashimaki Tamago
Dashimaki tamago is rolled pan-fried egg omelets flavored with dashi broth. A lovely fluffy texture heightened by the savory umami flavor of the dashi broth.
Una Tama
Una-Tama is eggs (tama) and freshwater eel (unagi) in an omelet. An 'upgraded' version of the dashimaki tamago served with perfectly cooked eel slathered in unagi sauce and rolled up in the fluffy omelet.
Oden
Oden is a one-pot dish consisting of a variety of ingredients such as fish cake, boiled egg, daikon, and konnyaku stewed in dashi broth.
Gindara
Gindara is a black cod filet, usually seasoned with saikyo miso and paired with kyurizuke—pickled cucumber.
Sushi & Sashimi Combo Set
A combination of freshly made sushi and sashimi, crafted with the finest seafood from the ocean.
Tebasaki
Tebasaki is deep-fried chicken wings that have been marinated with sweet and spicy sauce, then topped with toasted sesame seeds. It is paired with a simple side salad of lettuce and cherry tomatoes.
Gyoza
Every piece has that signature crispy bottom with a juicy and tenderly chewy inside. The gyoza comes with our mildly spicy dipping sauce and a side of pickled red ginger.Type: Pork & Beef Mix || Shrimp
Dumplings
Our dumplings are lovingly prepared by hand and then steamed to perfection. Each bite is promised to deliver a juicy and tender bite. Slightly soupy from its own juices with a mixture of fresh vegetables and just the right amount of spices to send your taste buds on a little adventure.Type: Pork || Shrimp || Vegetable
Wagashi || Sweets Menu
Anmitsu
A tasty and colorful dessert of kanten jelly, fruits, mochi, sweet red bean paste, green tea ice cream, and a good drizzle of black sugar syrup.
Rum and Raisin Buttercream Sandwich Cookies
Arising star dessert in Othard. The mix of rum-infused buttercream and sun-dried raisins sandwiched between two vanilla shortbread cookies. A deceivingly delicate dessert.
Namagashi
A Hingan confection that is best paired with tea. The dough is made with rice flour, azuki beans, and agar. It is aim to be pleasing to the eye and soften the bitterness of teas.
Fruit Jelly
Luxurious bites of fruits at the peak of their freshness encased in yuzu-infused jelly.
Mochi Aisu
Homemade ice cream that has been wrapped in mochi skin. Enjoy a variety of flavors: chocolate, rolanberry, custard, matcha, adzuki bean, and black sesame.
Persimmon Jelly
A wonderful dessert made with persimmon juice and puree. It is like biting into a citrussy cloud, a sensation between jelly and custard. Simply sweet, cool, and refreshing.
Honeydew Melon Parfait
A chilled and refreshing melon dessert. An outer layer of mint gelatin transitions into honeydew-infused shaved ice and chilled sliced honeydew at its base.
Kakigori
A beloved frozen treat featuring silken threads of shaved ice, flavored syrups and numerous toppings. There is one everyone will enjoy!Matcha: adzuki red bean topping, mochi ballsRolanberry: splash of lemon juice, condensed milk. whole rolanberry & slicesMango: condensed milk, sliced mango, kiwi, banana, and candied gingerKinako & Kuromitsu: kinako powder, kuromitsu sauce, mochi balls,
Coffee Jelly
A popular dessert made with a mix of condensed milk and evaporated milk. Coffee jelly offers a nice balance of bitter coffee flavor and subtle sweetness, making it an elegant dessert to savor.
Specials Menu
The Specials menu features dishes inspired by both seasonal and special occasions.
Each item and recipe is carefully curated and crafted to reflect the season.
Theme//Autumn
Teas//Beverages
Autumn Solstice
This naturally caffeine-free tea blend has antioxidant-rich rooibos herb that is layered with sweet berries and rose. Tart, sweet and rich flavor notes. The aroma of fresh berries with a whisper of vanilla. A smooth and delicious cup.
Cocoa Mint Tea
A unique tea that has a refreshing peppermint balanced with satisfying chocolate taste; and a naturally sweet finish. It smells like a classic dark chocolate peppermint patty.
Hannish Chai
A traditional blend of warming spices for a timeless ritual: teatime. A blend of bold and eye-opening spices awakens your palette. A rich nose-tickling aroma is what will draw you in. Enjoy the innate warmth with each sip.
Harvest Apple Spice
Orchard-ripe fruit and berries infused with warm baking spices. The aroma of sweet apple cider with mulled-spice fragrance and faint berry undertone. The taste of juicy apple spice, orchestrated with notes of berry richness and a hint of oak. It is an Eorzean autumnal favorite.
Pumpkin Spice
A classic fall blend for the changing season. Black tea with autumn's signature spices of cinnamon, ginger, and clove. The allure of zesty ginger and clove meets your nose. Then, the taste of spiced pumpkin and chai spices. A nostalgic and cozy feeling in every cup.
Seasonal Sake
Nagoshi Sake: "Sake That Has Passed the Summer”
A sake that is ready to open just as Summer comes to an end. It covers up off-notes such as bitterness, astringency, and roughness from freshly squeezed, and makes the flavor with a mellow taste. As the aging period is not enough long, the flavor is less strong. But it has a characteristically soft taste. The fragrance passing through the nose after drinking is very refreshing, making it ideal for those who are not used to Hingan Sake or prefer a more dry sake profile.
Akidashi Ichiban: "The First Sake of Autumn"
A remarkable feature of Akidashi Ichiban Sake is the exquisite balance of its aroma and depth of flavor by aging. Neither too young nor too aged, it is good timing to taste. An exquisite balance of flavor and aroma, the temperature can be varied in many ways. If you make an icy-cold Sake, you can enjoy its deep flavor and sharpness. On the other hand, if you warm it up, you can enjoy the mild aroma rising from the Sake.
Banshu Umazake
The last Hiyaoroshi you can try around the Sixth Astral Moon is Banshu Umazake. A well-aged Hiyaoroshi with totally different from Nagoshi Sake, characterized by its good, mellow flavor with a strong aroma. Also, it is thicker and the taste is very mellow as if it were a ripe fruit.
Junmai Hiyaoroshi: "Autumn Assassin"
Embrace the flavors of fall with Hiyaoroshi sake! This small-batch, seasonal sake is bottled in the spring and spends a perfect six months maturing over summer. A taste profile of a lingering yeast and clover honey nose; brisk, clean finish.
Fukukomachi “Evening Sky” Junmai Karakuchi
It is a signature Genshu or undiluted sake with fruity licks but dry tricks. The perfect “semi” sake that is semi-dry, semi-sweet, semi-bold, semi-thick, and semi-rich, but fully fun! Round and tingly, this sake has deep rich pear, white grape, and melon tones, with a hint of citrus and rock candy. Lively, brisk, and zesty, "Red Snapper" drinks with a crisp attitude that appeals to all wine lovers.
Seasonal Otsumai
Tsukimi Soba
Tsukimi soba is another traditional tsukimi food made with hot buckwheat soba noodles served with an egg yolk on top meant to resemble the full moon. Grated yam is grated on top to represent pampas grass.
Beef Sukiyaki Hot Pot
Sukiyaki is one of the most popular hotpot dishes It consists of thinly sliced beef, tofu, and vegetables simmered in a pot with seasonings such as soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake. Fresh vegetables such as leek, hakusai (napa cabbage), shungiku (chrysanthemum), shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, star-shaped carrots and shirataki (konnyaku noodles) are used in this cozy dish.
Kenchinjiru (Vegetable Soup)
Kenchinjiru is a clear soup with root vegetables, tofu, shiitake, and kombu stock. It’s a well-balanced and flavorful soup for a vegetable-heavy meal on a cold night.
Mixed Variety Steamed Buns
Enjoy a wide variety of steamed buns perfect for this autumn: mixed vegetables, pork Bahn bao, teriyaki chicken, shrimp baozi and marinated ground beef
Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)
Oyakodon is a classic comfort food of Doman home cooking. Tender pieces of chicken, onions, and eggs are simmered in an umami-rich sauce and then poured over a bowl of fluffy steamed rice.
Sweets
Oshiruko (Sweet Red Bean Soup)
A simple delicious and comforting red bean soup with shiratama dango. This sweet soup contrasts with the chewy dango as the flavors and textures blend harmoniously.
Grape Daifuku
Grape daifuku is a fruity twist on a traditional Japanese daifuku. Balls of mochi (gyuhi) are stuffed with white bean paste and a green grape in the center! An incredibly sweet and lightly tart treat!
Pan Purin (Milk Bread Pudding)
Pan Purin is made with fluffy shokupan, eggs, milk, and sugar and topped with a delicious caramel sauce. The high ratio of custard gives this dish the texture of purin (the Japanese take on crème caramel or flan) that simply melts in your mouth.
Kabocha Flan
A whimsical spin on a traditional flan but uses Far Eastern ingredients. Kabocha Flan with caramel sauce has a silky smooth texture and rich custard flavor with a hint of sweet kabocha squash.
Word From the Owners
"Thank you very much for your patronage. It is an absolute honor to serve you. We hope that our talented artisans and musicians have brought a well-deserved atmosphere relaxation and entertainment to your evening. We look forward to your next visit."