Radiance Tea And Books

I took my full lunch hour yesterday to go out and celebrate an early birthday. The morning was spent looking up various places online – someplace that wasn’t too expensive but had a nice atmosphere and an affordable lunch menu. Enter Radiance Tea House and Books – the name alone sounds calming and soothing, plus we both love Asian cuisine. I ordered the Shrimp Avocado and Rice Box and it was delicious! It contained a little bit of everything – two dumplings, salty edamame, celery salad, and my favorite part, shrimp with creamy avocado over a bed of rice. I mentioned before that I’m a pasta snob – turns out I’m a rice snob as well (an overall carb snob, I guess). I prefer rice not to be too al dente but it cannot be mushy. Otherwise death. The rice that was served at Radiance was perfect – creamy enough with some sort of sauce, but substantial that I knew I was still eating rice and not mush. I also ordered the Eastern Journey iced tea which was a blend of green and black tea with jasmine and rose infusion. It was nice and refreshing, not at all worth the price of $5, though I’m glad I ordered it since it balanced out the meal and I would have regretted not trying an exotic tea. They have a full tea menu - so much so, that it is overwhelming. If you enjoy tea and want a lot of options to choice from, this is the perfect little spot. We got so caught up in our conversation that we wound up running a little late back to our respective offices. Worth it.