By: Marc Kent
While open only a month, Chef/Owner Tommy Wang brings years of experience with his highly successful restaurants in Palm Beach and the North.
Featuring Asian appetizers and entrees in addition to American entrees and traditional Chinese food, Spicy Ginger appeals to a cross section of tastes.
From the 17 listings of appetizers, we chose to sample a hot crispy veggie spring roll and a cold Vietnamese spring roll – both fine choices with their special fillings. The crab meat wontons were superb pillows of fine taste as were the steamed chicken dumplings. The seared crab cake was so-so with a flat flavor and needs a re-thinking. We had salt and pepper calamari, tasty with or without its dipping sauce and a fine texture throughout.
Their wonton soup was a nice, gentle broth with greens and shards of white meat chicken – a fine touch. A great hot and sour soup that was not too spicy but chock full of diced veggies was a winner! Two other soups are available – we’ll try next time.
All Asian entrees offer a choice of salad or soup and a choice of rice styles. 18 entrees are presented – crispy jumbo shrimp or scallops, glazed with sweet and spicy tomato sauce – we tried both – and both shrimps and scallops were perfectly cooked as they were when we sampled the ginger shrimp and/or scallops, sautéed with fresh ginger and mixed veggies with a fine white wine sauce. The steamed shrimp/scallops were a bit too salty due to the Asian sweet black beans in the sauce – limit the amount of beans, please.
We had shredded pork with chili peppers, jalapenos at their best, perfectly spiced with onions and string beans – tender and juicy – very, very nice! We note Peking duck on the menu as well as a bone-out roast ducking but one must order either dish a couple of days in advance.
Some 9 items as American entrees include unusual offerings such as calf liver with sautéed onions, grilled lamb chops (large loin chops topped with a great garlic sauce and cooked to perfection), a New York strip steak, chicken breasts, salmon grilled or poached (this we found to be a fine dish with very light, tasty finish and a cold pineapple salsa) and more—-excellent selections.
The traditional Chinese food offerings – 8 in number- include moo shu pork or chicken with Mandarin pancakes, chock full of tasty ingredients.
We have had shrimp with lobster sauce for many years but …
Tommy Wang’s version was unusual – it’s a “Boston” style with brown sauce and exceptional in taste and texture!
Chef Wang outsources various desserts including fresh fruits, chocolate items and other sweet treats to finish a fine meal.
We found the food to be a cut above at this attractive bistro, seating 65 inside and 20 on the patio. This is a restaurant with very, very reasonable pricing and generous portions.
Located at 6020 North Federal Highway in Boca Raton (561-998-3388) Spicy Ginger is open 7 days – Monday through Friday from 11:30AM to 10PM, Saturday and Sunday from 4PM to 10PM.Eat in or take out, this is a winner- Go and Enjoy!