Wild Ginger
“Vietnamese summer roll was OK, my only complaints being the dipping sauce was a little oily and for $7 it was more than half the price of the entree ($13).”
“I had penang curry which is very nicely flavored, not overwhelming (which many Thai restaurants are guilty of).”
“The Roti Canai was warm and yummy.”
Wild Ginger
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
6 reviews
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This is a good Thai spot. The black spicy fried rice is my favorite dish. Their vegetarian dishes are also tasty & satisfying.
Great local Thai place. I haven't been to Thailand but this pretty much compares to any good basic Thai I've had in the city. The sauces and flavorings for the pad si ew were spot on and the fresh vegetables used in it were great: squash, water chestnuts, pea pods, peppers. Thai coconut water was sweet and delicious but not cloying. Vietnamese summer roll was OK, my only complaints being the dipping sauce was a little oily and for $7 it was more than half the price of the entree ($13). Solid 4 stars. Glad I checked it out despite some of the reviews that made mr doubtful.
A great little spot. It's a little tiny so there can be a wait at times, but it's worth it. The staff is friendly, the service is good and most importantly of all, the food is fantastic. In typical Thai fashion you get a lot of good, flavorful food for not much money. I went with the Tom Yum Noodle Soup and my wife had the Chicken Pad Thai. Both were very good and very filling. The key part of the Pad Thai was that it wasn't too "peanutty" as many restaurants often do. Having been to Thailand recently I can that this is staying very true to form both in flavor and in style. We started off with spring rolls which were nicely done and also had a young coconut drink which was very refreshing. It's a definite must go.
Pretty much the same sentiments from last review.
Not my fave Thai spot but don't mind having lunch there when I'm in the area.
Maplewood is a really cute little town in north central New Jersey. The town is a little upscale, and they have lots of cute restaurants with a variety of food types.
We chose Thai. Good thing too – this place was very good. The lunch menu is extremely limited, but you can order off of the dinner menu if you want. We wanted to keep the lunch relatively low cost, so we stuck with the lunch specials.
I had red curry and my colleague had pad thai. The food was served with either soup or an egg roll, and either white or brown rice. I had the egg roll which was about what I expected. My colleague had the Tom Yom Soup which he said was very good. The curry was good, but what really got me was the brown rice. It was a rich chocolate brown so I initially thought they brought me some kind of fried rice. But – no it was really a fine grade of brown rice – nutty and delicious.
This was a fine choice for lunch.
Sorry folks, this ain't even CLOSE to being Thai food.
Generally speaking, good Thai food is cooked and served by people of Thai descent. I've found that when the chef is Chinese, the food has a Chinese nuance, not Thai.
But you can also see it in the menu. Broccoli with Garlic Sauce? Szechuan Pepper Corn? Last I looked, the Szechuan province was in southwest China, not Thailand. General Tso's chicken? That's not even proper Chinese food… that's Chinese food invented in New York City. I've also found that if you see Chinese food on a Thai menu, the Thai food is not going to be Thai. Sure, you can CALL it Pad Thai, but is it REALLY Pad Thai? Methinks not.
Lastly, let me give you my spiel about what Thai food is all about. It's about interplay and contrast. On one hand, you have sour, which is produced by ingredients like lemongrass, kafir lime leaves, galangal, and limes. On the other hand, you have salt, which is produced by ingredients like bonito, nampla, and fish paste.
You see, the salty ingredients and sour ingredients hate each other. When you put them both onto a battlefield of noodles, or fish, or broth, they start to fight and eventually kill each other. What's left over on the battlefield is what we call "Thai Food". And let me tell you a secret. If you see, smell, taste, or hear anything about "Peanut Oil", it ain't Thai food.
All joking aside, this is an Asian fusion restaurant. The food is good, but it is NOT representative of quality Thai food in any way, shape, or form. Despite this fact, the food is still good, so I'm giving the restaurant 2 stars instead of 1.
We came on a very cold night, and the restaurant was chilly inside, despite the fact that there were about 25 people in the room and cooking in the back. Every time someone came in or out of the restaurant, there was a huge gust of cold that swept through the restaurant. The women in our group wore their coats, which they shouldn't have had to do.
Mind you, it's difficult finding good Thai food, even in NYC. The best Thai food I've had was in Japan and California, and they were about on par with each other. I'm on an eternal quest for good Thai food on the east coast. The best Thai food I've ever eaten since moving back to the east coast was cooked in my own kitchen…
Tom Kha: C-
I'm giving it a C-, not because it has no semblance of Tom Kha soup, but because I just didn't care for it as a soup in general. I found it watery, and the button mushrooms to be inharmonious with the other ingredients, like adding shitake mushrooms to eggs Benedict.
Vietnamese Summer Roll: A
Oddly enough, this was the shining star of my meal. Wonderfully crafted, it was delicious and refreshing. The peanut sauce was savory without being overpowering.
Thai Chicken Lettuce Wrap: A
This was another star of the meal. The chicken was absolutely phenomenal. Tasty and savory. Despite the fact that it's not seasoned like Thai food, it was absolutely delicious, so I'm going to give it an A. It would've been an A+, but the presentation was a little off. The lettuce leaves were ginormous in comparison to the chicken they give. They should find a way of presenting the meal in a way that doesn't look like a wall of lettuce. But it was so good, I'd order it a second time, and I rarely do that.
Red Curry with shrimp: B-
The shrimp were surprisingly large and tasty. Kudos for that. The red curry itself really only has a slight semblance to red curry in flavor. I expect two things from red curry: the flavor of red curry, and the spiciness of red curry. This sauce had neither, and it was a tad too sweet to boot. There was also too little sauce. I asked for more, and to the restaurant's credit, they were only too happy to provide, which was nice to see. Kudos to them.
Crispy Fish with Mango Sauce: B+
I'm not the biggest fan of sweet food, but if you like sweet entrees, then perhaps this would be an A- for you. The fish was very lightly fried, giving it a nice delicately crispy outside without being oily. Nice.
Buddha Salmon Curry: B-
Two major problems with this dish. First, the green curry wasn't green curry. Thai green curry has an almost Indian nuance to it, which was missing here. Secondly, the salmon was shamefully overcooked. Dude, you're supposed to light a match, and wave it gingerly over the salmon. You don't broil the heck out of it! If you're going to do that, use a different type of fish! I want to give this dish a C+, but the fact is, despite the disappointment in the curry and overdone salmon, it was still good, so I'm giving it a B-.
Thai Tea: C-
Thai Coffee: C-
Too much ice! Within 5 minutes, the ice diluted my drinks to the point of being sugary water. And you know… it's winter right now. And you keep your restaurant kind of chilly. If you want to give us so much ice, at least turn the heat up!