Crepe shop offers paradise inside a pot or a pancake

Tea has terrific power. Even if you don’t believe the health claims about certain leaves and flowers – that they aid digestion or lower cholesterol and blood pressure – a fresh pot of tea tends to force people to sit and relax. That attribute alone makes tea worth the time.

Tea served with tasty fare is even more delightful. Christina Li, the owner of Le Thé Et Crêpes, has been serving customers in her charming venue on Pleasure House Road at Northampton Boulevard for almost three years. Li’s sons, Joshua, Brandon and Lawrence, work with her. The 18-seat dining room with a small bar is adorned with artwork and silk flowers under pendant lights.

Flower teas and crepes, savory and sweet, are the house specialty, but a host of other offerings are available, too. The lunch menu is more concise than the dinner menu, but the desserts are offered in their full glory any time.

We enjoyed decaffeinated beauty tea and jasmine flowering tea that blossomed when brewed in a French press. Lawrence was attentive to us and the pots, ensuring that we always had hot water to enjoy the fullness of the fresh tea leaves and flowers. A scallion pancake ($3.95), cut into triangles and sprinkled with salt, was a pleasant start.

Homemade gyoza ($7.95) delivered lovely meat and vegetable dumplings with a slightly sweet sauce of rice wine vinegar, sesame and soy sauce. A dip in the sauce kicked up the remaining scallion pancake wedges.

Of the three lunch crepes offered, we selected poulet (chicken, $10.95) over charcuterie (cold cut with cheese and egg, $10.95) and saumons de fumée (smoked salmon, $17.95). The delicious poulet filling included tender chicken morsels, plump mushroom halves and fresh baby spinach leaves caressed in white wine-Parmesan sauce. A few mixed lettuce leaves, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices and black olives offered a fresh and appealing accompaniment. Dinner crepes include those mentioned as well as shrimp, beef, sausage, seafood and vegetarian.

From the crepe desserts and other appealing endings, we tried crêpe de fruit ($7.95). It arrived with peak-of-freshness fruits including bananas, blueberries, kiwi, blackberries, strawberries, mango, raspberries and whipped cream, both in and around the crepe topped with mango-guava sauce. It was luscious.

Le Thé Et Crêpes is my newfound indulgence – and health regimen. Tammy Jaxtheimer, flavor@pilotonline.com