blue ginger

Saturday night my parents, T & I went to one of my favorite Boston-area restaurants, Blue Ginger, to celebrate my birthday a week early. Serving East-West cuisine in Wellesley, Ming Tsai has retained his restaurant's high ratings since opening in 1998. Ming Tsai really needs no introduction, with his numerous awards and honors (even including an Emmy award for his cooking show).

As a nice surprise, T had called ahead and ordered champagne for the table, so we skipped cocktails and went straight to appetizers. I started with my usual, the shiitake-leek springrolls with three chile dipping sauce, because it is too good to pass up.

T went with the charcuterie plate with duck prosciutto, foie gras torchon and country pâté. Meim went with the pork hot & sour soup with umami shrimp dumpling and chile oil and my dad chose the crispy fried calamari with thai dipping sauce (which were perfectly prepared and had a bit of a cheddary-taste in the breading which was a nice spin on typical fried calamari).

Next I again went with my old orders and got the fantastic famous garlic-black pepper lobster with lemongrass fried rice with a pea tendril salad and tamari-ginger vinaigrette. This dish is the reason I keep coming back, it is the perfect balance of every sense. Perfectly prepared, I have no problem finishing my portion. I also could have a salad of the pea tendrils on a daily basis and be pleasantly happy.

(With my recommendation), my dad chose the soft & delicious sake-miso marinated sablefish (a.k.a. Butterfish) with wasabi oil, soy-lime syrup and vegetarian soba noodle sushi. I ordered this on my first trip to Blue Ginger, and enjoyed the light and delicate flavors mixed with the unbelievably flavorful soba noodle sushi on the side.

T went with the rare grilled marinated hanger steak with spicy dan dan noodles, pickled mustard green salad, and hot mustard aioli, which T reported was the most perfectly-prepared steak he has encountered. Not being a big fan of rare meat, I stole a dan dan noodle which I can report was also a nice piece of the tasty puzzle.

After the entrees, waiting for dessert, Ming Tsai took the time to escape the kitchen to come over to our table to say hello. Being extremely friendly, personable, and down-to-earth, the meet and greet was a nice bonus during my birthday dinner!

The other food-reason that I continue to return to Blue Ginger is the fact that this is the home of my favorite non-chocolate dessert in the world. Every time I go I order the sesame macadamia caramel nut tart with toasted coconut ice cream and housemade hot fudge with rum caramel bananas. No pictures, as I was too excited to dig in.  Meim went with the five spice apple fritters with cider glaze, cinnamon ice cream, and a ginger apple compote, which she had no problem finishing, so I assume it was delicious as well.

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