Dinner at Blue Ginger
Jul. 14th, 2007 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jim_p[also cross-posting this to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
food_porn]
Today was Tamara's birthday. Allons, enfants de la patrie.... Ahem. Anyhow, her birthday usually conicides with Readercon, so we try to do something for her then. This year Readercon was a week before her b-day, so we could do something else for her.
I've long been a fan of Chef Ming Tsai, having watched several of his cooking shows. I've made Peking Duck from his recipe a few times and it always comes out great. Now that we're in Natick, we're just a short hop from his restaurant, Blue Ginger. So as a birthday present, I secured reservations there for the evening.
I was about to say that this would be the first time I'd ever dined at a restaurant owned by a big-name celebrity chef, but that's not strictly true. Years ago we had dinner at Thomas Keller's first restaurant, RaKel, in NYC. This was before he opened the French Laundry and became a big name, but at least we did get to taste his cooking.
Our reservations were for 6:15. We arrived at about 6:10 and were promptly seated. The place was already hopping (they open at 5:00 for dinner). We were seated in the rear dining room, away from the open kitchen. Just as well, I wanted to concentrate on the food and I probably would have been distracted by the show. If we ever go there again, though, I'll ask for a table facing the open kitchen.
For appetizers, I had the foie gras/shiitake shumai. I'd heard about them and was determined to try them. Three large shumai came in a steamer, each topped with a single edamame bean. Along with this came a bowl of shallot/sauternes broth. The shumai were buttery and decaadent as only something made with foie gras could be :) The sauce was deep and hearty, but also a bit sweet due to the sauternes. To complement this I had a glass of Haart Riesling. The waiter warned me that it was "semi-dry", but to me anyway this matched well with the appetizer. The sharpness cut the heaviness of the foie gras nicely, and the lightness was a nice balance to the very rich sauce. The portion of sauce was so generous one might be tempted to have the rest as a soup, but this is not advised. After a few spoonfuls my palate was so overpowered by the dark flavor that I had to give it a rest.
Tamara had the Thai mussels along with a glass of Vinum Chenin Blanc. This wine was also fruity, but less sweet and bolder than the Riesling. The mussels themselves were absolutely exquisite -- tender, succulent, and not at all rubbery or gritty (my usual complaints with mussels). The mussels came in a fragrant lime sauce and were covered in a vegetable medley including grape tomatoes, ginger, green papaya, and just the right number of chili pepper slices. The dish was perfectly balanced.
For the main course, I had the Chile Tea Rubbed Duck Breast. The duck breast was topped with blackened tea and spices, and was done to absolute perfection. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy, and flavorful. The blackened tea suffused the dish, which was interesting. There was just enough to impart a dark, smoky flavor to everything while stopping just short of tasting, well, burned. I found it amazingly effective. The duck was accompanied by a "Duck Confit Johnnycake" (basically a patty of shredded duck confit) and a grilled salad of apricots and green beans. It was like getting two duck dishes for the price of one. I totally cleaned my plate :)
Tamara had the New Zealand rack of organic lamb with three-mustard sauce. When they asked how she wanted the lamb, she said her usual "As rare as you can make it without being bloody". The waiter responded that if she asked for that it would be cool inside.... "Well, maybe not that rare". Since most restaurants overcook meat, Tam usually has to emphasize that she really wants it rare. I give the waiter major props for knowing how the kitchen does things and helping her order it just the way she wanted it... and the lamb came out exactly the way she likes it. Like the duck, it came out wonderfully tender and flavorful, and the sauce was a nice bold accompaniment. Accompanying the lamb was a sauteed spring vegetable medley and minted champagne mangos. Tam really liked the mangos, which surprised me -- normally she hates sweet things in savory dishes, but in this case the sweetness was beautifully controlled and she was raving :)
For dessert I had the bittersweet chocolate cake... and it really lived up to its name. Very chocolatey, and very intense. Complementing the cake was a little scoop of cardamom ice cream and a canelle of whipped cream covered in chocolate ganache. Again, each of these provided a different balance to the deep flavor of the cake. I, for one, would enjoy the cardamom ice cream all by itself. Tam didn't like it so much by itself but she liked what it did with the chocolate.
Tam's dessert was the creme fraiche cheesecake. It came as a small round on a wafer, accompanied by a bing cherry sorbet and a cherry compote. Again, it was all to die for. The cheesecake itself was light in texture but very rich, and the sorbet/compote balanced it very nicely. Again, I would enjoy the sorbet just by itself.
If there was one overriding theme to all the dishes, I'd have to say it's bold flavors. There were lots of intense flavors in every dish, all beautifully blanced. Depending on which part or combination of the dish you put in your mouth, different flavors would come to the fore. I liken it to a symphony, where there are lots of different sounds happening at once, but all controlled and balanced with different ones coming to the fore at different times.
By the time we left the place was totally packed, and we didn't realize how noisy it was until we stepped outside. One thing that we noticed was how (relatively) quickly most patrons ate and how fast the tables turned over. The tables on either side of us both turned over completely while we were there. We weren't exactly dawdling, but we were savoring and enjoying our meals. I just can't imagine eating this kind of food that fast...
All in all, one of the very best meals I've had in a long time.
food_porn]Today was Tamara's birthday. Allons, enfants de la patrie.... Ahem. Anyhow, her birthday usually conicides with Readercon, so we try to do something for her then. This year Readercon was a week before her b-day, so we could do something else for her.
I've long been a fan of Chef Ming Tsai, having watched several of his cooking shows. I've made Peking Duck from his recipe a few times and it always comes out great. Now that we're in Natick, we're just a short hop from his restaurant, Blue Ginger. So as a birthday present, I secured reservations there for the evening.
I was about to say that this would be the first time I'd ever dined at a restaurant owned by a big-name celebrity chef, but that's not strictly true. Years ago we had dinner at Thomas Keller's first restaurant, RaKel, in NYC. This was before he opened the French Laundry and became a big name, but at least we did get to taste his cooking.
Our reservations were for 6:15. We arrived at about 6:10 and were promptly seated. The place was already hopping (they open at 5:00 for dinner). We were seated in the rear dining room, away from the open kitchen. Just as well, I wanted to concentrate on the food and I probably would have been distracted by the show. If we ever go there again, though, I'll ask for a table facing the open kitchen.
For appetizers, I had the foie gras/shiitake shumai. I'd heard about them and was determined to try them. Three large shumai came in a steamer, each topped with a single edamame bean. Along with this came a bowl of shallot/sauternes broth. The shumai were buttery and decaadent as only something made with foie gras could be :) The sauce was deep and hearty, but also a bit sweet due to the sauternes. To complement this I had a glass of Haart Riesling. The waiter warned me that it was "semi-dry", but to me anyway this matched well with the appetizer. The sharpness cut the heaviness of the foie gras nicely, and the lightness was a nice balance to the very rich sauce. The portion of sauce was so generous one might be tempted to have the rest as a soup, but this is not advised. After a few spoonfuls my palate was so overpowered by the dark flavor that I had to give it a rest.
Tamara had the Thai mussels along with a glass of Vinum Chenin Blanc. This wine was also fruity, but less sweet and bolder than the Riesling. The mussels themselves were absolutely exquisite -- tender, succulent, and not at all rubbery or gritty (my usual complaints with mussels). The mussels came in a fragrant lime sauce and were covered in a vegetable medley including grape tomatoes, ginger, green papaya, and just the right number of chili pepper slices. The dish was perfectly balanced.
For the main course, I had the Chile Tea Rubbed Duck Breast. The duck breast was topped with blackened tea and spices, and was done to absolute perfection. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy, and flavorful. The blackened tea suffused the dish, which was interesting. There was just enough to impart a dark, smoky flavor to everything while stopping just short of tasting, well, burned. I found it amazingly effective. The duck was accompanied by a "Duck Confit Johnnycake" (basically a patty of shredded duck confit) and a grilled salad of apricots and green beans. It was like getting two duck dishes for the price of one. I totally cleaned my plate :)
Tamara had the New Zealand rack of organic lamb with three-mustard sauce. When they asked how she wanted the lamb, she said her usual "As rare as you can make it without being bloody". The waiter responded that if she asked for that it would be cool inside.... "Well, maybe not that rare". Since most restaurants overcook meat, Tam usually has to emphasize that she really wants it rare. I give the waiter major props for knowing how the kitchen does things and helping her order it just the way she wanted it... and the lamb came out exactly the way she likes it. Like the duck, it came out wonderfully tender and flavorful, and the sauce was a nice bold accompaniment. Accompanying the lamb was a sauteed spring vegetable medley and minted champagne mangos. Tam really liked the mangos, which surprised me -- normally she hates sweet things in savory dishes, but in this case the sweetness was beautifully controlled and she was raving :)
For dessert I had the bittersweet chocolate cake... and it really lived up to its name. Very chocolatey, and very intense. Complementing the cake was a little scoop of cardamom ice cream and a canelle of whipped cream covered in chocolate ganache. Again, each of these provided a different balance to the deep flavor of the cake. I, for one, would enjoy the cardamom ice cream all by itself. Tam didn't like it so much by itself but she liked what it did with the chocolate.
Tam's dessert was the creme fraiche cheesecake. It came as a small round on a wafer, accompanied by a bing cherry sorbet and a cherry compote. Again, it was all to die for. The cheesecake itself was light in texture but very rich, and the sorbet/compote balanced it very nicely. Again, I would enjoy the sorbet just by itself.
If there was one overriding theme to all the dishes, I'd have to say it's bold flavors. There were lots of intense flavors in every dish, all beautifully blanced. Depending on which part or combination of the dish you put in your mouth, different flavors would come to the fore. I liken it to a symphony, where there are lots of different sounds happening at once, but all controlled and balanced with different ones coming to the fore at different times.
By the time we left the place was totally packed, and we didn't realize how noisy it was until we stepped outside. One thing that we noticed was how (relatively) quickly most patrons ate and how fast the tables turned over. The tables on either side of us both turned over completely while we were there. We weren't exactly dawdling, but we were savoring and enjoying our meals. I just can't imagine eating this kind of food that fast...
All in all, one of the very best meals I've had in a long time.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 03:26 am (UTC)I wouldn't say it was once-in-a-lifetime but it was definitely Worth It.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-16 02:15 am (UTC)