Ginger Hop: Pt. 2

Given my previous excitement about Ginger Hop, I had the notion that I HAD to take as many people there, and as SOON as possible! See, when I get excited, I want to share that with everyone else. Not always so endearing though, trust me. So, my victim (Mr. H) and I found ourselfs there on a chilly, sleepy Monday evening.

This time around, I was eager to try an entree. We agreed to get a few appetizers, and share one entree. As always, with no further ado!

Cream Cheese Wontons:

(god bless Mr. H's good quality cell phone camera)

I found these to be quite good. One gripe I have with wontons is that they can be too crunchy, ruffin' up me mouth faster than 2 bowls of Cap N Crunch. These were still crunchy, but still soft enough not to hurt the mouth. And when you get to that bomb of cheese in the center, it's cream cheese bliss, as a cheese wonton should be. The dipping sauce was again, a winner. It was sweet and spicy and just perfect. My only gripes are that they came out quite lukewarm, and that they were a tad greasy. Which brings me to the next appetizer!

The Walleye Satay:

This was a very good satay, though nothing asian about it at all. The taste of the true walleye really popped here, and it was soft and delicate. However, it too was a tad greasy (i know thats what you get with fried food - but I napkin'd it up even more than I usually do) and also kind of lukewarm. This came with a wasabi mayo, and was again a winner, with very delicate hints of wasabi. For $2 apiece, these are awesome little nibblers when with friends, or just a simple companion to an entree.

For the entree, we decided on the Almond Chicken Stir Fry:

Unfortunately, I have more bad than good to say about this. First off, the rice portion was small, especially for 2 people who are going to share. The rice came tented under a small square plate, and was just very...meager looking. I found this dish overall to be bland. They do give you a spice rack (with thai chilies, crushed reds, sriracha sauce etc) so you can spice it up. However, I found the flavor really lacking. Maybe some more garlic? Ginger? Basil? Definitley needed more spice, more savory, more substance period. The chicken was in larger chunks than I like. This dish was also served to us lukewarm, and the rice was downright hard and cold by mid-meal. On the plus side, there were plenty of water chestnuts in the dish.

I am hoping to attribute this to simply being brand new. I was hesistant at first about whether or not to attend such a brand new restaraunt, without knowing why. Now I know why. My enthusiasm hasn't totally dimmed for Ginger Hop, and their appetizers and sauces are winners in my book. I am hoping to visit this place in a few months and find some of these kinks worked out.

Still no website for Ginger Hop.