Mother's Day at Radiance Tea House & Books

I needed a place to celebrate Mother's Day, and I had a pretty tall order to fill. We were meeting our friends the Olives, who have two little girls, one of whom is an avid reader. Both girls love rice and miso soup. We also had someone in our party who avoids all wheat, spices and added oils, several people who were trying to save money, and my very active 16-month-old toddler (Baby Vates), who only seems to eat pancakes. What to do?

I found the perfect answer in Radiance Tea House & Books. A surprisingly serene oasis near Times Square, the restaurant features an inexpensive menu of dumplings, rice bowls, salads, and noodles, as well as an impressive tea list and a beautiful selection of ceramics for sale. There were books for the Olives, gluten-free dishes, bowls of miso soup, and plenty of room for my little one to toddle around (although I had to make sure that he didn't try to go down the staircase). Best of all, everything ranged around $10.

We ordered a plate of steamed bok choy, which was seasoned with a light soy sauce. Chewy, translucent vegetable dumplings arrived with ponzu; unfortunately, Baby Vates was not interested in the slightest. I instead occupied him with cranberry sesame crackers, the same ones that came with our tea. Our gluten-free parties were satisfied with shrimp/mango and teriyaki salmon rice bowls, and I devoured a salmon salad with a peanut dressing, which was loaded with avocado slices, mango, and sweet five-spiced roasted pecans.

Baby Vates started to roam the place. He was taking the gift boxes of tea apart, so I ordered him some almond tofu with strawberry sauce and fresh strawberries to try to distract him. Again, he was not interested, so I ended up eating the dessert; it was light and refreshing. There was also a tea-colored dragon fruit dessert for Mother's Day - this was an acquired taste.

I can't say that I didn't envy the solo diners relaxing over a pot of premium rose tea and books about Chinese brush painting, but I did have a swell time.

Radiance Tea House & Books: 158 West 55th St., (212) 217-0442.

Andy's Seafood & Grill

Forest Hillsers know how hard it is to score a table at East Ocean Palace, a popular Chinese restaurant with large fish tanks. As of this week, there's an alternative in nearby Rego Park, and what an alternative it is! Andy's Seafood Kitchen is a new Taiwanese/Szechuanese place on Queens Boulevard, and its menu boasts every imaginable treat from the sea. Are you craving sea cucumber? Have some in brown sauce, or with abalone. What about conch? It's served with chives, or with fried bean curd. Snails in black bean sauce, Taiwanese cuttlefish soup, fried baby oysters, squid with scallion and ginger, sauteed crab with vermicelli or black bean sauce... the list goes on and on. I stopped in today for the delectable sliced flounder in hot chili sauce - it was served in a bubbling broth, which was fragrant with cilantro, scallions, sesame oil and ginger.

Andy's has something for everyone. For the fan of Chinese-American food, there are scallion pancakes and sweet-and-sour pork. For the more adventurous, there are salt and pepper frogs' legs. And for those of us who are trying to conserve cash (and that's a lot of us these days) there is the already-legendary "Dollar Menu" (Monday-Friday, 11 am-4 pm). Served from a steam table, this menu includes Peking duck, crispy whole shrimps, pepper steak, and much more. Andy (yes, there really is an Andy), rounds up the items of your choice, and gracefully places them upon your plate - no messy communal buffet here!

Please visit Andy's, but leave me a table. I have a lot more eating to do here.

Andy's Seafood Kitchen: 95-26 Queens Blvd., Rego Park, (718) 275-2388.

Late Night Snacks at M Shanghai Bistro & Den

"I'm convinced there's something addictive in this sauce," said my friend as she dipped a plump seafood dumpling. "Unfortunately, we always seem to crave it on Mondays, when this place is closed."

All the delectable little bites at M Shanghai (fried chive egg pancakes, juicy pork buns, wontons, sticky rice shumai, dumplings) are served with a quartet of sauce components. The server expertly mixes them; you just indicate your spice tolerance. M Shanghai's appetizers are a perfect solution to the midnight munchies (the kitchen is open till 12 a.m., and delivery requests are accepted until the witching hour).

If you long for something more substantial, you can fill up on shredded beef with chili pepper, salt-and-pepper shrimp, sliced crispy chicken with ginger, noodles with oyster sauce, and much more. Or, you could make a choice from the "specials" menu, which never seems to change! Peel-and-eat ginger shrimp are a favorite.

M Shanghai just celebrated its fifth anniversary with a basement electronica party. The quirky joint was around long before the era of Williamsburg condos and south-of-the-BQE gentrification. So eat up some thin-skinned, juicy dumplings and enjoy one of Williamsburg's most enduring restaurants.

M Shanghai Bistro & Den: 129 Havemeyer St., Brooklyn, (718) 384-9300.

Deluxe Food Market Inc.

Are you the most adventurous carnivore whom you know? Do your friends shake their heads in disbelief when you order the alligator special? Then I'd urge you to check out Chinatown's Deluxe Food Market Inc., where you will be amply rewarded in your search for mystery meats. The narrow, brightly lit shop is filled to the gills with preserved duck necks, salted duck tails, smoked duck feet, fresh squab, dried shrimp sausage and something called "chicken paste". (Your more conservative friends will enjoy the baby back ribs and fresh fish.) Look for the roasted ducks hanging in the window.

Deluxe Food Market Inc.: 79 Elizabeth St., (212) 925-5766.

Vegetarian Dim Sum House

This relative newcomer to Chinatown is decorated with illustrations of the Buddha. After finishing a large meal, I wondered if I resembled an incarnation of the fat, smiling god.

All edibles are strictly vegetarian, although you can also order various fruit milkshakes. I enjoyed a mango milkshake while I took in the formidably long menu. Braised "chicken" with lily flowers? Or sweet and sour "fish"? Finally I decided on the vegetarian mock shrimp dumplings, the hot and sour soup, and the lemon "chicken". The dumplings were gelatinous rice flour pockets stuffed with rice and chewy "shrimp". A very tasty and sour soup was served in a gigantic bowl, full of bits of red chili, tree ears, large chunks of tofu, and scallions. After polishing these appetizers off, I attempted to tackle the lemon "chicken" made of Chinese yams. The "chicken filet" was served in a pleasingly tart lemon sauce, but seemed to taste more of potato than chicken! But no matter; I left happily stuffed, feeling like I had at least contemplated nirvana.

Vegetarian Dim Sum House: 24 Pell St. (212) 577-7176.