Gingerboy
Phone +613 9662 4200
Gingerboy is Teage Ezard’s new baby, and the official public opening was, er, today! Inaugural customer status was granted as we were welcomed through the door and seated in the shiny new dining room. The design is quite impressive - the ceiling and one wall are completely lined in lacquered black bamboo, with lil’ lights making you feel like you’re looking up at a starry sky. Near the window a large red circular flapperish chandelier thingo hangs over six fluorescent Shanghai tables - I gather for drinks and snacks (although one has to walk through the dining room to get there!). A tan leather banquette runs the length of one wall, with the rest of the seating being of the clear plastic polycarbonate variety (perhaps Kartell/Starck?) - very funky though. Lots of attention to detail in the little things like stemware and silverware. And super-shiny ebony tables are fantastic to rest your elbows on (tsk tsk).
Dishes are designed for sharing, and come in small or large courses. The influence is South East Asian street food with hawker identity (or so the website says). Which basically means you are in for spicy, fragrant and interesting ride.
First small course off the rank was a traditional Thai dish of Son-in-law eggs with chilli jam and Asian herbs. Basically, soft boiled eggs are peeled and deep fried until golden brown / blistered and garnished with a piquant / sweet chilli paste and fresh herbage. All I can say is wow…this dish absolutely rocks. If you can imagine bursting the egg with your spoon, the soft creamy googy yolk oozing onto the plate, scooping it up with a bit of the mouth puckering chilli jam. Mmm.
Next small course was Green Papaya Salad with Fried Sticky Rice Balls. The one problem with this dish was there was no fried sticky rice balls. I only just realised that now as I write this blog entry (doh!). Alas, the salad was freshness personified. It was full of lively coriander and mint, julienned papaya, sweet cherry tomatoes, chiffonade of chilli, fish sauce and OJ (well I think it was anyway).
Another small dish was the wonderful Coconut Marinated Kingfish. Apparently this was meant to come with peanuts, pandan and roasted Chilli. I didn’t taste any peanuts (if it was there), but I did taste something rather spectacular and special. The pandan added an amazing fragrance to the coconut dressing, which had an almost clotted cream taste to it. Garnished with fried rice noodles and crispy chilli/coriander, it was a taste and texture sensation. EG voted this one his favourite.
We received the Crispy Chilli Salt Cuttlefish with Lemon and Roasted Sesame as a complimentary dish as we were such wonderful customers (ahem….in reality it was because the Stingray we had ordered as large course was not up to scratch as far as Teage was concerned, so we had to change our original order). Heck…how nice was that? The cuttlefish was sweet and tender and encased in a clean tasting crispy batter. The chilli salt could have been sprinkled a little more liberally though - I love it when your eyes water from that sodium overload. Alas, the lemon wedge was muslined for our convenience (…I just adore that), so all is forgiven Teage. And I really shouldn’t complain. It was free!
Our substitution for the large dish was Steamed Sea Bass with a soy, mirin and ginger dressing. The taste was there - it was delicate and aromatic, the waft of ginger / shallot / coriander just magnificent. The bass was flakily tender and infused with the sweetness of the mirin and herbs. But the dish was tepid :-(. It should have arrived at our table steaming hot! The one saving grace was a side of asian greens that had been given the breath of the wok. You just can’t create that depth of concentrated flavour and aroma at home. I am envious.
For dessert, who could pass up the Dessert Tasting Plate? Five tastes to ooh and ahh over, and all so very delicious. From the back we have a Baby Coconut Sorbet, which was a fresh none-too-sweet icy treat that had the taste of fresh coconut milk (…like from a real coconut, not the canned stuff!). Next to that was a Chinese Doughnut with Chilli Raspberry Jam. This was a little puff of doughnutty goodness, which is not too dissimilar from ones I’ve had elsewhere. So it didn’t break any ground as far as I’m concerned, especially as I didn’t get too much of the chilli hit in the raspberry jam. In the middle of the plate was the Steamed Pandan Dumpling in Spiced Gula Syrup, which I guess is the Ezard take on the golden syrup dumpling - a pandan-perfumed ball of steamed bun dough sitting in a cardamom rich sugar syrup. Uh huh…this one has got it going ON! Fourth taste on the plate was a creamy coconut-ty rice pudding-ish disc with mango cheek. It was so mango-ey (heh…like my descriptive use of wordage in this paragraph?!?), and surprisingly crunchy on top, yet creamy underneath. Last, and certainly not least (as this one really was the uberstar for me) was Coconut Caramelised Tom Kha Custard, which essentially tastes like a Laksa Creme Brulee. Stay with me here…I know this sound weird. But it was totally mindblowing! What an amazing taste sensation. I can’t describe how mindf*#ked I was over this - you could have stuck a bit of chicken and vermicelli in it and it wouldn’t have seemed strange (as far as flavour goes). But it was sweet, and most certainly a
dessert. Pure genius.
So, despite a few teething problems and first day jitters, I was quite impressed with Mr.Ezards’ efforts. Not sure how the dining room will feel full of people, as it is somewhat “cosy”. But it has a vibe going on, which I would love to experience come nightfall.
So in summary:
Pros
Creativity of the menu.
Finish of the dining room and attention to detail.
Shiny ebony tables.
Anything tossed in the wok.
Friggin kick arse laksa creme brulee.
Cons
Not pouring “wine by the glass” at the table.
Background music becoming too in-your-face foreground music (volume and the bizarre mix of hiphoppy jazz r&b funkster).
Disparity between the menu description and what’s on the plate.
Written by mellie on
October 26th, 2006 | Tags: restaurants | Category: Uncategorized
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October 27th, 2006 at 3:09 am
Nice blog Mellie, and great pics too! I really enjoyed Gingerboy. I’m really interested to see how it goes after a few months of service. Certainly it was a promising start, but good point about the papaya salad - I didn’t notice that it was missing the balls!! still, it was a eunich salad (somebody stop me). the Thai fish cakes masquerading as son-in-law eggs and laksa masquerading as creme brulee (I notice a pattern here) were superb, and I’m still tasting that kingfish!! the muslined lemon should be STANDARD for all restaurants!!! Many eyes could have been saved from the squirting from lemon juice and flying pith.
October 27th, 2006 at 3:10 am
also, I’m disappointed at not exacting revenge for Steve Irwin by eating the stingray. next time!
October 30th, 2006 at 3:02 am
Hey Mel, awesome review! I’m so jealous, I’ve been dying for this place to open. Those son-in-law eggs have me salivating. See you in class!
October 31st, 2006 at 3:08 am
I’ve only ever had pandan in desserts, so it seems like an interesting combination with the kingfish… Oh, and the Coconut Caramelised Tom Kha Custard sounds amazing
October 31st, 2006 at 10:35 am
whow..the food is described so wonderfully here.. i can taste the food with each word i read. the laksa creme brulee sounds really interesting, id love to be able to come to this place for a night out
October 31st, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Hmmm… I ate at Gingerboy last night and it was one of the most dissapointing dining experiences I have had in a long time. We also ordered the Crispy Chilli Salt Cuttlefish which I found to be overly oily and lacking somewhat in flavour although the batter was quite light. We also ordered the Green Curry Stingray. It was presented to us as “Your fish with greens”. We were upsold our rice to what was described as ‘yellow rice with nuts’ but in fact came out with prawns which my wife cannot eat. A pretty big oversite in the description if you ask me. Also at $13 compared to $6 quite a price difference. Perhaps something you may mention?
The service was generally poor (they cleared my wifes plate whilst I was still eating) and amazingly we had one of the managers ‘Gary’ eating at the table next to ours. Talking loudly so the whole restuarant could hear he proceded to make each waitress recite each ingedient of each dish that he was served. Highly unprofessional.
Overall very dissapointing from the same owners of Ezard.
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:43 am
Hello! Wow, this food sounds really weird/interesting but amazing, I’ll have to remember this place. Although that “foreground music” would irritate me!
November 4th, 2006 at 11:34 am
Hello to all! My apologies for the tardy reply. It has been one busy week!
ElegantGourmand (x) - yes, I was dissapointed we didn’t get to eat the stingray, although I’m glad Mr.Ezard decided to not serve it if the quality was suspect. I’d hate my first stingray experience to be a chewy and disgusting one
We’ll have to go back (in a couple of months perhaps) to give it try. Purely for research purposes of course!
Rianna - the son in law eggs were just amazing. It is interesting to have that yolky creamy mouthfeel / taste, juxtaposed with a fresh hit of coriander, fish sauce and chilli. I’d have to say this would be a “must have” on the menu. Ohh…and how sad, our class is now finished
I will certainly miss it. It has been a blast!
Jen - yes, I was surprised with the pandan infused coconut dressing on the kingfish. It added a lovely sweet fragrance to the sashimi/ceviche style dish. And I’m still salivating about that tom kha custard. Brilliant.
Akki - Thanks for your lovely words. I like to write down what I eat - more so that I can relive the experience again and again
Are you in Melbourne at the moment?
BB - Thanks for posting (and qualifying) your thoughts on Gingerboy. Overall I had a rather pleasant experience, but as I pointed out in my blog entry, I did take issue with menu descriptions, food temperature and front of house professionalism. Generally the service was pretty good (but then we were the inaugural customers ;)). Like you, they whipped my plate away before my partner had finished his dish, which is a real pet hate of mine. But they were knowledgeable on the menu items, and were good at suggesting matching dishes/wines. I just hope these are teething problems; being under the mantle of Ezard one would bloody hope so! By the way, what did you think of the Stingray (aka. fish ;))?
Belinda - it is certainly worth going, but perhaps give it a month or so to settle in. By then they should have ironed out most of the supply/staff problems, and changed that godawful soundtrack. Oh…welcome back from your European Vacation
Over and out,
Mellie
November 10th, 2006 at 3:30 am
Hi.
The stingray was OK but nothing spectacular. Unfortunately the whole meal was a bit like that. Coupled with the poor service and annoying neighbour unfortunately the whole experience was soured.
Just as a follow on we wrote a letter to them about our experience which they did respond saying they would take on board. Seemed to take it seriously which is a positive sign.
Personally it will be a long time before I return but for others perhaps give it a month or so then let us know!
November 11th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Good to read a review so soon after opening. I have been eyeing Teage Ezard’s new cookbook for a while now and might take the opportunity to drop in and try the food rather than tackling the recipes myself!
November 13th, 2006 at 5:26 am
Thanks for your thoughts BB. It is good that you let them know how you felt they performed. And if they know what’s good for them, they’ll hopefully action it!
Hi there Plum - yes, I was anticipating its opening, so jumped at the chance when my partner suggested we go for lunch (it’s not far from where we both work). To be fair though, I think one has to give a little in a review whilst teething problems are ironed out. It will be interesting to see how it performs in a couple of months though! Some of the food I had was just friggin amazing!
November 15th, 2006 at 12:30 am
I have been waiting eagerly for Teage Ezard’s Gingerboy to open ever since I read about it a month or so ago. I must say, my dining experience was exemplary. The food at Gingerboy was delicious and beautifully presented. I particularly enjoyed the salt and pepper chicken. Have you guys seen the Gingerboy website (www.gingerboy.com.au)? - It’s quite groovy.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:45 am
I have yet to go to Gingerboy – but I had a peek through the windows last week and the interior looks really cool, I love lamp!! That furniture is awesome and very unique to Gingerboy!
November 15th, 2006 at 3:26 am
My boyfriend and I are planning to head to Gingerboy this weekend, I hadn’t realised it had opened yet! I am a big fan of Ezard’s work and recently bought his book, Lotus – which contains some truly fabulous experiences! The photos of the Gingerboy dishes make my mouth water! I hope I don’t get any chili caught in my moustache! LOL!
November 15th, 2006 at 6:56 am
Wow, I just had a look at the Gingerboy website – there is an initial photo of a spring roll that is maddening me with hunger! Does anyone know which dish it is that’s on the ‘enquire’ section? It looks like a lychee, or something similar – not really sure, but it definitely looks interesting!
November 16th, 2006 at 7:18 am
Is it just me or do I detect something a little fishy about the last four comments? Is someone trying to do some stealth marketing on my blog? If so, then I’m not friggin happy about it! My bullshit detector is going right off.
November 21st, 2006 at 12:13 am
I had dinner at Gingerboy last night, I wanted to love it but I was really disappointed. Everything was particulary average (the service was below average!) and the food was boring and uninspired. Teage was having dinner in the bar when I left, perhaps he should have been cooking or overseeing his staff!
November 22nd, 2006 at 11:32 am
Hey there Jack! Damn…looks like things really aren’t picking up. You would have thought they may have settled into a groove by now. But, obviously not! I walked by at lunch time just a few days ago, and it was looking very quiet. They’ve also done a little interior redesigning. They’ve removed about four of the flouro shanghai tables in the front window, and they tied up the big red thread chandelier. Which means they’ve either tried to cram in a few more tables, or they’ve spaced out their existing table layout, which was tight to say the least.
I wonder what’s going on with Teage? He is usually so spot on with his service (well…at Ezards anyway). What’s happening at Gingerboy?
Also of note is that we haven’t had any of the big guns (epicure etc.) review it as yet. It’s all been rather quiet on the media front.
November 23rd, 2006 at 12:51 am
Hi Mellie
From Lethleans comments in Espresso this week I can only assume he has been in (and knowing how these things work, he will dine about 4 times before he reviews for Epicure). Lethlean can be particularly generous when it comes to ’star’ chefs and will probably forcast that it has potiential…
The service was the thing that annoyed me the most. The host was plainly stern and uptight, our waiter kept topping up mineral water with tap water (the funny thing about that though was that we where only offered when we sat down, ’still or sparkling’), he forgot dishes and we had to ask if they where coming and then left us with empty wine and water glasses and when we asked for more of each we where told our wine was finished, though I could plainly see it sitting on the station (not many people drink Albarino…)and could not be bothered arguing, and our mineral water, well he looked at the station with several bottles on it couldn’t work out which was ours and just brought one over.
I come from a restaurant background and felt awkward about it but for the first time in a very long time I did not tip.
We left and went to movida to finish the night -always fabulous.
Such a same, my industry friends are telling similar stories as well about the service and one dimensional, over priced food.
Jack
November 23rd, 2006 at 5:35 am
Hi again Jack - yeah, you are not the only one whom I’ve heard bad front of house comments from. I guess we struck it lucky being the “inaugural” customers - we were lavished with attention! The comments I have been hearing suggest they have really scraped the bottom of the waitstaff barrel - perhaps Rockpool snaffled all the good help?
His food for me on the day was more than one dimensional though - he has some amazing tastes going on that really were a pleasant surprise. He did not follow what was listed on the menu though, and there was a problem with temperature and cold plates (pet peeve). I can still taste those son-in-law eggs, coconut marinated kingfish and the tom kha custard - really outstanding.
It has promise though. It just needs to get off its high horse and not ride on its star chef. They need to be exemplary in service to compete with the likes of Longrain and Oyster, which aren’t even a stones throw away (…and cheaper to boot!).
November 28th, 2006 at 12:02 am
I dined at Gingerboy on Saturday (25th Nov) evening with some interstate guests. The food was very good (the deep fried oysters were sensational – crispy on the outside, warm but raw on the inside), if a little overpriced (especially the desert platter). We thought the staff were pretty good/knowledgeable. A couple of things – seating was very cramped, it was difficult to get in and out of our chairs when the table behind us was occupied. Also, one of our guests was allergic to prawns (poor dear) and the menu did not point out that the green papaya salad (that we ordered as entrée and came with the pork belly) contained them (probably shrimp paste). When we pointed this out the waiter happily took away our pork belly and replaced it with one without shrimp paste/prawns - always with a smile. - Mark
November 28th, 2006 at 8:15 am
Hi there Mark. Glad you had a good experience at Gingerboy. Uh huh…I thought it would be *very* cramped when full. Just because the chairs are see-through doesn’t mean they are not there!
November 30th, 2006 at 3:33 am
I went 29/11/2006.
Food is nice, and original BUT: some are too salty, and it’s overpriced
Atmosphere is nice BUT:
1) music is too loud and not appropriate (if I want that sort of music I’ll go to a nightclub)
2) ventilation is poor (air fills with smoke, and your clothes are oily by the end of your dinner)
Worth a try once, but they’d better up their game. It’s got great potential. I hope they don’t waste it.
November 30th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Hey Anon - uh huh, I certainly agree re: the music. It was hideously distracting when EG and I dined there as well. Too loud and too crap IMHO
November 30th, 2006 at 11:37 am
Finally got to go to dinner at Gingerboy this evening, and had an overall positive experience - the food was sensational, and lived up to my high expectations! The cucumber and lemongrass martini, son in law eggs, taro dumplings, vietnamese mint sorbet and tom kha creme brulee were the culinary highlights, and in contrast to other posts here we found the staff to be perfectly friendly (though we were at an early sitting - if the restaurant had been full they may not have been able to spend so much time with us.
However, we do have a few nitpicks…
1) I must agree with previous comments regarding the music - noticeably inappropriate hip hop followed by nouveau reggae beats (blech) - my dining companion, who had not seen this blog, commented to me that she felt the music really didn’t fit the mood of the place. Turn the volume down, fellas, and play music that’s not so look-at-me - we’re here to eat and enjoy our dining companions’ company, and don’t want our conversation drowned out by lame music…
2) Yes the food is served banquet style as and when it is ready, as the staff were at pains to explain, but the fact that four “small” dishes arrived simultaneously on plates that did not appear to have been pre-heated meant that some of the dishes were cold by the time we got around to eating them. Either the plates need to be a little warmer, or the staff need to use their discretion and if four small plates are ordered, try to stagger their arrival at the table somewhat.
3) Gingerboy needs to get over itself just a wee bit. The sample dessert plate was overpriced, and whilst the staff again went to great lengths to explain that Gingerboy doesn’t have “entree” and “main” dishes, but “small” and “large” dishes, I must point out that actually, guys, they’re the same bloody thing. Yes, I too agree that Ezard is a bit of a legend, but let’s not get too fatheaded about the whole thing.
Oh, and we thought the lemon wedge wrapped in muslin was totally wanky and pretentious. But other than that, we loved it, and will definitely be back, if only for the awesome cocktails and son in law eggs!
December 5th, 2006 at 9:44 am
Hi all
I feel like I should comment further on my previous comments about the disappointing food at Gingerboy and distracted service.
Though I understand and admit that the general populous will find the food at Gingerboy interesting, my point of contension is that it is not Asian Hawker food as it has widely been called. It is a populised version of this, with dumbed down chilli and spice aspects and over the top sweetness that can tend, to again dumb down the palate. I am aware that Teague has a tendancy to overcompensate for the popular opinion and not offer a truer version on the dishes he serves. Perhaps I am just mostly disappointed that with the amazing multicultural environment that we live in more people are not demanding the styles of food that you do eat on the streets in Asia…
In regards to the service, I have since read that the night I dined was the night that U2 had their after party at Gingerboy (hence Teague dining in the bar when I left), perhaps the staff where too anxious about the celebrities about to arrive and careless and frustated that they where doing an ‘early sitting’ prior to U2.
As follow up to this I ahve gotten past the fact that I felt I did not get value for money from my experience, especiallysince I have spoke with quite a few other industry friends that would also not go back for the ame reasons as mine.
Come on guys lets not settle for popular opinion, lets strive for what the web site says it offering, and lets not be satisfied paying over $30 for a main course costing about $5 to make (the stringray dish I had)
I reserve further judgement until Lethlean reviews, probabley very shortly…
Jack
December 12th, 2006 at 6:36 am
poor service
average rather than stunning food
mean serves - you would need at least two “large” dishes to feel satisifed
overpriced
too cramped
atrocious wine list
did I mention poor service?
3/10
won’t be back
February 13th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments. I am yet to eat in the dining room, but spent a couple of nights at the bar late last year for cocktails and, on one occasion, the dessert platter. While only one other entry has mentioned it, I was hugely put off by the lack of adequate ventilation in the kitchen, meaning that the bar area (at least) is filled with smoke, and strong ‘cooking’ smells. It was unpleasant while we were there, and also after I left and realised that I needed to dryclean my entire outfit to remove the strong lingering smell. I would be interested to know if this problem has been addressed in recent months.
March 3rd, 2007 at 8:44 am
Recently went to Gingerboy as a tourist. Food was OK - we were starving - but it wasn’t a revelation. My main complaint is the service. Server was quite rude and abrupt to me and my boyfriend. Perhaps he thought we were dumb Yanks (we’re dumb Canadians, actually)?