posted by Archana on Asian, Dinner, East Village, Japanese, Lunch, Snacks, Tea, Vegging Out

1 comment

Don’t you hate but also kind of love when you realize there’s an amazing restaurant near you and you’ve never even been? You’re annoyed that you’ve missed out, but you’re also thrilled that you discovered it. That’s how I felt about Cha-An Tea House in the East Village. After 2½ years of living in the EV, I finally went to traditional tea house for my friend’s birthday.

It’s a small place, and since we had eight people in tow, they had us pre-order the day before. Annoying at first, but it was nice not to have that many people fussing over their options—myself included—when we got there.

What’s in it for you: Sweet potato samosa; bread basket; soy milk quiche; vegetable appetizer; 15 grain rice

What’s in it for them: Crab cakes; and all specials are meat or seafood (i.e. tuna steak udon and chicken teriyaki don)

I worked pretty closely on the menu with one of Cha-An’s employees, and she recommended that we keep our tea selection to two types for simplicity’s sake. The birthday girl chose jasmine pearl (bottom, left) and lavender mint (bottom, right). We first started with the jasmine and later moved onto the lavender since the mint was a perfect end-of-meal refresher. The jasmine was unbelievably fragrant; it smelled like the jasmine flowers my relatives grow in India. Totally took me back!

As for the meals, we had four options, and I went with tea set B, which I think most everyone agreed was the best of the four. (Haha.) I chose it because it seemed like the most traditional. It came with a mushroom-zucchini soy milk quiche (advertised as mushroom-scallion, but fine for me), tea-smoked salmon, some cheesy seafood (I think) which I didn’t like, vegetables, an amazing pepper soup, 15 grain rice and dessert.

Phew! That’s a lot! (The servers don’t speak great English so rather than burden them with our “What’s that??” questions, we kept the element of surprise.)

My favorites were definitely the quiche, soup and salmon. The mystery seafood I happily passed off to my hungry boyfriend.

The majority of our party got set A, which is a porridge, and on the side, meat (chicken or fish) and five toppings, including seaweed and a pickled plum among other items that none of us could figure out, and dessert.

I’ll admit, and I’m sure those who actually ordered it can back me up, but this was a pretty adventurous—and not in the good way—option. I really don’t like porridge, and mixing it in with the somewhat bland toppings would be like adding salt to the wound. And though some didn’t love the chicken, others scooped it right up. To each his own, I guess.

The afternoon tea set was the third option and came with two bagels and an assortment of cookies, scones, and cake. I nibbled on all the stuff and it was all really tasty, but not the most Japanese food to get here, obviously. Special shout out for the scones and green tea macaroon—amazing!

Last, but certainly not least came all of our desserts:

In addition to the green tea truffles, which we ordered separately, sets A and B came with their own confections. Since I ordered set B, I got the green tea-red bean (I think) sandwich. I could’ve done without that red mush, but it felt like the right amount of sweetness (pretty much none) considering the palette of the day’s lunch.

Set A lucked out with a pound cake swirl filled with cream and topped with berries. Small and simple, but really yum.

(No one went for the fourth option, which was the day’s special: eel over rice.)

I wouldn’t say I was bowled over by the actual taste of the food, but what did win me over was the overall adventure. It’s truly something to experience. I’d also like to try Cha-An’s private tea ceremony, which takes place in a room nestled in the corner of the restaurant. The ceremony is meant for a max of four people, which keeps things nice and quiet. It’s next on my list!

Our meal was elaborate but that’s because we were celebrating; you can surely enjoy Cha-An on a smaller scale. Just remember: The place is small, fills up quickly and accepts cash only. Regardless, we couldn’t stop gushing about how unique of a place this is. Definitely somewhere worth showing to visitors who, after seeing your teeny apartment, wonder why you live in New York City. Cha-An is a prime example of why they’ll be jealous.

Cha-An Tea House
230 E. 9th St. 2nd floor (between 2nd and 3rd Ave.)
212.228.8030
6 to Astor Place
R, W to 8th St.-Broadway