restaurant review: blue ginger in wellesely, massachusetts

Blue Ginger.

While on a work-related road trip around the country, Mr. Sazy Rock and I decided to check out Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA. It is a restaurant owned by renowned celebrity chef, Ming Tsai. I've always admired Chef Tsai primarily because of his very informative cooking show on PBS, a public television network. So, I admittedly came in with very high expectations.


The Scene

I made reservations for 6:30 pm via Open Table about two nights before, and didn't have any problems making the booking. When we arrived around 6-ish pm for dinner, I was pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant fairly buzzing at such an early hour. By 7 pm, all the tables in our dining area were already occupied. 

The Food

My dining companions and I did a bit of sharing so, for the most part, I tasted all the food below.

• Fried Calamari - this appeared to be a standard dish and nothing about it stood out other than the fact that it came with fish sauce. Although the squid rings were perfectly fried and battered, I thought that the distinctive saltiness of the sauce didn't quite go well them.

Calamari (sorry so blurry).

• Bigeye Tuna Poke - the tuna was fresh and tasty, and came with crisp rice at the bottom. It was an enjoyable dish.

Poke.

• Foie Gras Shiitake Shumai - the preparation was fun and different, but the foie gras did not stand out as the star of the show. Instead, the taste of the dumpling dominated the dish.

Siu mai.

• Shiitake Leek Spring Rolls - the spring rolls were nice and crisp.

Spring rolls.

• Fried Salmon - I didn't try this dish but our dining companions opined that it was too salty.

Salmon.

• Pork Porterhouse - the quality of the pork was high but it was overcooked (it was supposed to be cooked medium). It was also a bit salty.

Pork.

• Lobster with Lemongrass Fried Rice - the lobster was cooked well - it had that sweetness and beautiful snap. Unfortunately, the sauce that was poured over the lobster and rice was also too salty for me (and my other dining companions).

Lobster.

The Service

The servers were friendly but distant (in that they appeared to be very busy and not as attentive as other restaurants that charge at the same price range). They also seemed too quick to kick us out. The server handed us our check while one of our dining companions was still half way through her dessert. I would not have normally minded getting the check mid-meal in a casual chain restaurant, but I thought a higher level of restaurant, such as Blue Ginger, would have allowed their diners to enjoy their meal until the very end without having to be rushed into looking at a check. (What if we decided that we wanted more desserts? Or coffee? Or whatever else?)

The Price

While they offered a prix fixe menu for $39.99 that included an appetizer (such as the spring rolls and the calamari), a main course (such as the salmon) and a dessert, I didn't find the selection all that engaging. So, Mr. SR and I opted to order off the regular menu (the poke, shumai, pork porterhouse and lobster). Two of our dining companions took advantage of the prix fixe menu. With two cocktails (my old fashioned was too sweet for my liking) and a glass of wine, our bill - excluding tip - came around to about $250.

The Verdict

I expected to really like this meal. Sadly, I left disappointed. Less heavy handed-ness with the salt would have made the dishes a lot more palatable. 


Have you dined at Blue Ginger? If so, what are your thoughts?