Wild Ginger (Bellevue)

Hubby and I had a lunch date today at Wild Ginger in Bravern. I remember years ago when Wild Ginger first opened in Seattle, it was so popular, it took me awhile to get the reservation. However, when I tried the place, it wasn't bad or anything, I just didn't understand the hype. Last weekend, hubby, the kids, and I stopped by Wild Ginger for happy hour, I was pleasantly surprised. That raised my expectation of Wild Ginger again.

We started with a Hanoi spring roll and a marinated pork skewer. The spring roll was supposed to be crispy, filled with crab, shrimp and pork, bean thread noodles, wood ear mushroom, carrot and jicama. The outside was crispy, sure, how many deep fried things are not?! But the inside, it was all mushy. I couldn't taste anything distinctively. The Vietnamese dipping sauce was OK, but nothing that could save the spring roll. The Snake River farms Kurobuta pork satay was a little bland and a bit overcooked. It was rather tough to eat. What a shame! It also had no sauce, aren't most satays served with a peanut sauce or something?! The Cambodian cabbage salad along side of the pork skewer was probably the best part of our appetizers with the red and green cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and peanuts in a refreshing dressing.

My Phoenix and Dragon, a prawns and scallops green curry with lime leaves and lemongrass, was just average. Hubby's Beef Rendang, the brisket was supposedly slow cooked in a coconut reduction and the meat was supposed to be able to melt in your mouth. The carrots and potatoes were just fine, but the meat was nowhere near "melt in your mouth". This dish was, again, like an average home cooked meal. The only upside of the two dishes was the green beans, they were cooked perfectly al dente.

We got one order of Chinese Almond Cookies, and one Rolled Truffle Duo. The almond cookies were very plain cookies with one almond in the center. And the two truffles, one bittersweet chocolate rolled in walnuts, one cardamom milk chocolate rolled in shredded coconut, they were good, but small and not as decadent as some others I've had.

I was thoroughly disappointed. It felt like Wild Ginger simply picked a few items from their menu that would add up to $15, so that they could participate in the Seattle Restaurant Week, they weren't trying to impress the diners. Similar to ART, I couldn't taste their sincerity or devotion in the food. If you'd like to go to Wild Ginger, their happy hour offers much better food at much better price.

Wild Ginger
11020 NE 6th St. Ste 90, Bellevue, WA 98004
(425)495-8889