My Cup of Tea: Radiance Tea House & Books

January 25, 2010 1:51 pm

My Cup of Tea: Radiance Tea House & Books

After a recent visit to the Museum of Modern Art, I met up with a good friend for lunch at one of his favorite Midtown spots: Radiance Tea House & Books. Radiance actually opened last winter, and on our latest visit, it proved a perfect spot for a mid-day, cold winter date.

Balancing light, fantastic food and a peaceful, bookish atmosphere, Radiance specializes in loose-leaf tea, selling about 50 different standards and blends. Tip, they also have a great food menu and sell Eastern-inspired books, gifts and tea sets.

We began with a pot of hot Moroccan mint tea, a combination of peppermint, spearmint and a tender green tea from China, blended in house. It was light, full of flavor and an excellent intro to the house's tea offerings. It was served with a pair of biscuits—bready and just a tad sweet.
Warming up and feeling relaxed, we opened our menus. The lunch menu's offerings are broken down into two main categories—"Combinations" and "Fresh Salads" —with a variety of side options. The combination dishes range from dumplings and rice balls to Terikyaki Glazed Salmon and Summer Chicken Noodle, and each comes with a house salad and chilled edamame beans. The salad selections include the Radiance Green, Asian Shrimp and Tropical Salmon Salads.

I opted for a steamed dumpling box with Little Soupy Pork Buns (soup dumplings) and Chicken & Woodear Mushroom dumplings. I'm a sucker for a good dumpling, and these definitely hit the spot, with simple and balanced flavors. My friend chose the Tropical Salmon Salad —a light, tasty medley of salmon, mango, avocado, five-spiced pecans, greens and peanut dressing.

The wait staff was warm and friendly, and invited us back again soon. Tip, Radiance also hosts a variety of events, all intended to introduce "the profound Asian tea culture and Chinese traditions to the general public." As such, they offer tea tastings, tea ceremonies and tea classes, some of which I'm planning to try out soon myself. This time of year, there are few things as satisfying as a nice cup of hot tea.

Radiance Tea House & Books
158 West 55th Street
(between 6th & 7th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
212.217.0442
www.radiancetea.com