Jade Leaves Tea House is a tea lover's dream. As an outgrowth of Turtle Dragon Tea and Herb Company next door, Jade Leaves' extraordinary selection of fine imported teas is exciting but not surprising. Each of their 90-plus teas is available by the cup or by the pot. Tea is not restricted to liquid form, however, and tea makes several appearances on the Asian-fusion menu: for example, green tea crepes, green tea egg rolls and chai almond mousse.
Jade Leaves is a beautiful place. The dining area is filled with Chinese antiques and intimately partitioned by intricate wood screens. Soothing Zen music plays in the background and, to top everything, the tea is served with tea-leaf shaped ginger cookies and in gold-glitter-flecked tea cups. However, with design this nice, the food had a high bar to meet.
The menu at Jade Leaves is small but features a smorgasbord of non-country-specific Asian favorites: Pad Thai, curries and fried rice. There are also a few unexpected surprises like the Thai bison salad. Most dishes are vegetarian or vegan featuring organic, locally grown produce with the option to add free-range bison or turkey.
The freshness of the ingredients can definitely be tasted in the food. Pad Thai, for example, is a dish that in the right hands can be heavenly but can quickly take a turn towards greasy mush. Jade Leaves' version is unusually delicious: light, bursting with flavor and sprinkled liberally with almonds instead of the more traditional peanuts. At $12 for a mountain of tasty noodles with bison, the price is not exorbitant and with flavor that good in a setting as well-designed as Jade Leaves, it is well worth the occasional splurge.
With food and drink that lives up to its beautiful design, Jade Leaves is worth a trip with someone you'd like to impress.
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