Wild Ginger, Ridgewood

[menton1]

Wild Ginger has opened in Ridgewood. Most NJ-ites won't know Alan Lee. But if you happen over to Westchester or nearby Ct, Alan Lee rocks. A unique style of Pan Asian food, and a very favorable experience.

No, it's not "authentic". But it's creative, they use extremely fresh, wonderful ingredients, and it's a far cry from the ubiquitous New Jersey Chinese resto. It's not greasy, sticky, or sweet; it has a unique blend of flavors, spices, and ingredients to make for a mouth-watering dining experience.

The best dishes are the ones that you choose by sauce and meat (of seafood). The chef chooses the appropriate veggies to go along with the dish. The sushi bar is top notch, but it is the Pan Asian hot dishes that make the place shine.

Over in Westchester, they have Wild Ginger in Bronxville and WaterMoon in Rye. In Ct, they have Penang in Greenwich and Ching's Table in New Canaan. (Among others)

Welcome, Alan Lee, to New Jersey. If you haven't been to an Alan Lee place, you are in for a great experience.

[jon777]

They've opened a Wild Ginger in Hoboken as well -- while not a high end restaurant by any means, a nice alternative to the overly sweetened, corn starched Chinese that is predominant in Hoboken.

Have only gotten delivery once so far, dishes:

- Duck Dumplings -- very nice dumplings with a tasty filling, although the sauce that came with it was dissapointing -- appeared to just be a straight Hoisin sauce. Fine, but I was hoping for something a little more

- Grilled Lemongrass Shrimp. This was very good -- better than any other Asian dish I've had for delivery. Nice sized shrimp, not overcooked, good char grilled flavor, nice sauce (not too heavy) and good fresh vegetables.

- Ginger glazed chicken. This had good flavor, but the chicken was very tough. White meat sliced very thin -- was overcooked to the point of leather.

While not perfect, or haute-cusine, a nice alternative to the local Chinese...