Restaurant Review: The Wild Ginger

Let's go get some pan-Asian cuisine! Can't get enough of it these days? Obviously you all can't, as this town seems to be spawning another PF Chang's or Pei Wei or Nit Noi or So Very Tall Rockets Player Restaurant every 15 seconds. If you find yourself trapped in Sugar Land looking for some safe and non-intimidating Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese food, though, perhaps you should drop by The Wild Ginger for a slightly fresher take on the genre.

Having opened very recently and located in an awkward corner of a shopping center, the place doesn't exactly have a problem with overcrowding--a nice little oasis from the First Colonist mobs of the nearby Fake Downtown. This fact was accented by the decor and arrangement of the place: large, modern, and sparse, with an ever-watchful but refreshingly spiffy Buddha painting. If you're as lucky as we were, King Kong will be playing on a big LCD television inexplicably tucked into a corner of the restaurant (Naomi Watts makes a nice distraction during the lulls of a conversation).

Sitting down and looking through the appetizers, you'll find some of the usual suspects, such as an order of grilled pork tender spring rolls (three for $6). They aren't terribly exciting, but as the menu mentions, they are accompanied by a "house pecial fish sauce", a lighter alternative to the often strong and syrupy sauces given in other restaurants for spring rolls.

A similar minimalism graces the entrees of the menu, especially in the case of the ginger mussels ($10) swimming in a garlic and ginger sauce that's light enough to allow the fresh taste of the mussels to dominate ("Delicous", proclaims the menu). The red curry shrimp with pineapple, on the other hand, is a tad muddied in its sauce, though the actual curry-ness of the dish is tame enough to be mistaken for cinnamon. Those we dined with found it a quite pleasing arrangement. Likewise the Mongolian beef ($7) with its subtle oyster sauce and the lightly gingered Beef Pathai ($9) neither offend nor astound. The tastes of the entrees match up to the laid-back pace of the restaurant, perhaps having something to do with the lack of alcoholic drinks and the bumps in getting a place up and running (the restaurant couldn't serve us a couple of items found on the menu).

In all, the upside of The Wild Ginger lies in avoiding the typically cloying efforts of most Americanized pan-Asian food. If you're a serious, die hard fan of Thai or Vietnamese food then look elsewhere, but check this place out if you're close by and in need of an uncomplicated and honest alternative to the likes of Pei Wei. Please, we beg you to stop going to Pei Wei.

The Wild Ginger
2735 Town Center Blvd
281-313-0881

Photo: homestarrunner.com