Gingerboy

Intro: One thing’s for sure, no dish lacked the heat. Like a crazed fan, chilli stalked the tatstebuds

Details: 27-29 Crossley Street, Melbourne (03) 9662 4200

Surroundings: Dark black bamboo panels covers from wall to ceiling and micro spotlights create an amazing night sky effect.

Entrées: Spiced Swordfish Tataki– served with coconut cream and pickled cucumber best described as Japan meets Thailand. The infusion here works well- a thin crunchy satay exterior and a soft delicate centre. Forgive the photos- camera had died so had to use the mobile…

Green Papaya Salad- perhaps should have been called Green Chilli Salad. I love my chilli, but this was simply overkill. The poor papaya was overshadowed by way too much spice. Pass the damn water!!

Mains: Lime and Galangal basted Chicken: served with peanut tamarind caramel. Chicken was a little dry but being a huge fan of sweet Tamarind combined with chilli, this dish had some balls. Aye Curamba!

Sweet & Sour Pork Belly: with cherry tomato and peanut salad came well presented thinly sliced and ready for the taking. However, the dish was too small too share, sour/acidic and lacked the sweetness to help neutralise.

Just a like a blind date, it looked great on the surface and you saw some potential…only to sigh in disappointment.

Dessert: Spiced Pear and Tapioca Dumplings- oooooooh, these were  good. Luckily we had our own dessert each, otherwise we’d all be fighting over this one like seagulls to chip- I’d be all “Oh No you didn’t!” Favourite part of this finale, was the young coconut syrup combined with the coconut ice cream.

Bring a date here? Yep. Bringing the date to a place with a romantic sense of being under a night starry sky will only add to those brownie points for not doing the dishes during the past few weeks.

Night out with friends here? Yes, but book.

Service: Not the best. Also slow on clearing the tables with our entree dishes still left after the mains. I had hoped for something better from an establishment with this sort of  price tag on “hawker” style cuisine which I grew up eating.

$$$: Total 200.

Food Rehab Verdict: Still sane (good, not great but check it out if you’re in the area) – Orangelight

Times revisited: 0

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