Dining Out: Wild Ginger full of flavors from the Far East

By Carol Brock

Wild Ginger

48 Great Neck Road
Great Neck
516 487-8288/1148

The very name Wild Ginger (inspired by a thriving Seattle – restaurant) excites. I know I thrilled each time I passed by it in Great Neck’s Garden Shopping Center. I wasn’t the only one. There were lots of peeping toms. As Wild Ginger neared completion, they clamored, “When is it going to open?”

Now the grand opening sign hangs out front. And it’s been open a month to a terrific response.

Its striking decor is best described as trendy Oriental. For starters you can have drinks outside between the palm trees on the covered patio or step inside and be seated at the cozy bar or beside the water curtain.

A huge palm tree is planted in the 140-seat dining room, dead center. The overall lighting is just right for dining, and at each table a tall votive candle holder is covered with Japanese rice paper. It’s all plush with two dramatic, mammoth silk hangings completely covering one long side wall. They were painted in China in Qixian (and if they’re painted there, they can hang anywhere) by the chef’s artist friend. The chef’s “dream kitchen” (semi open, adjoining the dining room), is super clean, ultra bright and cheerful. Three large round tables, the chefs tables, are alongside.

Allan Lee, chef/owner, was born in Singapore where his father had a restaurant. Allan apprenticed there as a teenager but his formal training was at the CIA. Wild Ginger’s cuisine is Pan-Asian, an amalgam of Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and China. Add to that a good dollop of French. It is very Western-dining friendly and exquisitely presented.

The list of drinks is a fun thing. Wild Ginger tea is the signature drink, served in a martini glass. It goes down very smoothly. There’s the apple martini, the big number in Manhattan hotels and Sex on the Beach. (My dining companion quipped, “It must be hot where the wild ginger grows.)

The grand opening menu (to be changed when the weather changes) is divided into appetizers, salads, “Mee and Noodles” and “Wok ‘n’ grille.” To begin there’s Thai spring rolls, Vietnamese summer rolls, Thai crabcakes with pineapple salsa, tempura shrimp with lemon creme dressing and chicken pot stickers with ginger soy cilantro. Steamed chicken dumplings were our thing with ginger cilantro soy. There were six plump ones and we were given two plates for sharing.

A crisp calamari salad came next served in a big white bowl. Fried calamari rings were added to a mix of salad greens and jicama in slender matchsticks with a wonderful lime-miso vinaigrette. I could eat this one for breakfast lunch and dinner — and all in the same day. Calamari never tasted so great and the vinaigrette was superb.

Thai coconut curry casserole was set down on the table between us. “Hot, very hot,” our waiter cautioned as he lifted off the pointed cover. We heard, and saw, the bubbling curry mixture. When it quieted down, we spooned out the chicken and shrimp spiced with lemongrass and Thai basil. A petite scoop of rice was on a side dish. Every last smidgen of curry sauce disappeared.

My dining companion’s wok-grilled garlic shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, roasted garlic, scallion and watercress dish appeared and was eagerly shared as well.

Wild Ginger looks to the West at dessert time. A dessert pastry is served in high style with a sorbet selected to compliment the flavor. Choose from New York, New York (lemon sponge with berry syrup, fresh berries — the mousse is cream cheese) Mont St. Michelle (mango mousse, passion fruit mousse, gingery raspberries, coconut dacquoise covered in meringue,) Louvre (chocolate mousse, hazelnut mousse, hazelnut dacquoise and a crunchy wafer) and Manhasset (black currant/passion fruit mousse, creamy raspberry gelee, short crust cookie). We went for the Mont St. Michelle and Louvre. They looked striking set on a long white plate. The pastry chef is a lady who studied with noted Payard. At a customer’s request, the search is on for the perfect rice pudding to add to the dessert menu. Espresso and cappuccino are now being served and soon Vietnamese coffee will be as well.

Allan Lee resides in Cannon, Conn., has been 15 years in the restaurant business and has four restaurants in Connecticut. Welcome to the other side of the sound.

The Bottom Line

Wildly wonderful. Trendy Oriental decor. Pan-Asian/Western menu. Professional service. Very French desserts. Drinks indoors beside the water curtain or on the front patio between the palm trees. Bright, semi-open, dream kitchen.

Chef’s Choice

Vietnamese Summer Rolls (plum sauce)…$7

Vietnamese Salad (jicama, peanut, jalapeno, cilantro)…$6.95

Soba Noodles (buckwheat noodles, chicken, beef, shrimp or vegetable)…$12.95

Duck Fajitas Asian Style (pancake wraps, shiitake, chives, scallion)…$18.95

Crisp Red Snapper (caramelized soy syrup, rice wine vinaigrette, Penang curry)…$17.95

Fire Wok (shrimp, lobster tail, sea scallops, lemongrass, lime leaf, Thai curry)…$18.95

Mont St. Michelle (mango mousse, passion fruit mousse, gingered raspberries, coconut dacquoise covered in meringue)…$8

Louvre (chocolate mousse, hazelnut mousse, hazelnut dacquoise, crunchy wafer)…$8

Cuisine: Pan-Asian

Setting: Trendy oriental

Service: Professional