Spicy Ginger Asian Cafe
Hungry For Something Delicious?
I’ve been driving by the Spicy Ginger Asian Cafe (map)for months now and always reminding myself that I should try it. The location used to be (very briefly) a Dunn Bros. Coffee shop (which had excellent coffee), but shut suddenly. Tonight, while driving home, my wife and I were discussing dinner and decided we wanted none of the things we had at home. We called out a few things, but nothing was catching our fancy and suddenly, I remembered this little Asian cafe that I see almost daily, but have yet to visit.
Let me tell you, if you like Asian influenced menus, this is the place. It’s nothing super fancy inside, but it is clean and smells delicious as you walk through the door. The menu isn’t very large, but it did contain enough common elements from Thai, Chinese, and Vietnamese restaurants to satisfy most people. Not knowing what to choose, my wife and I eventually opted for two standards, both of which can determine which a restaurant is visited again or not. She chose a Fried Rice with Beef and I went for a Pad Thai. Having been a serious lover of Thai food for so long, I (actually we) can be very picky about Pad Thai (I usually opt for curries and they did have a Pa-Nang, one of my favorites, but I craved noodles). We threw in an order of Crispy House Rolls.
Wow. Wow. Let me reiterate…wow. Spicy Ginger Asian Cafe, to put it simply, is the first Asian restaurant in San Antonio that I am truly excited about. The hot mustard for the Crispy House Rolls was actually hot – the kind of burning hot you feel in the back of your nose (like Wasabi will do to you) and as I learned from a sign in the cafe, all of their sauces are homemade (score a few extra points for not handing me duck sauce and hot mustard in a ketchup sized package). The Crispy House Rolls were just that – crispy. Wrapped in spring roll wrappers (as opposed to egg rolls wrappers – which is a whole bone of contention with me at many restaurants) and full of vegetables, pork, and turkey they were everything I hoped for (and you get five good sized rolls for $4.95).
Where Spicy Ginger truly wins though is its Fried Rice and Pad Thai. Fried Rice in San Antonio (in my experience) has tended to be a bland experience with what amounts to frozen peas and carrots (like the mixed kind they served me in the cafeteria in middle school) and a few slivers of dried, tough beef, chicken or pork. Before tonight, the best Fried Rice I had found came from House Of Pizza of all places. Spicy Ginger’s Fried Rice has the one element that I seek in all Chinese cuisine – a certain burnt taste. Now I know the word “burnt” does not sound appetizing, but if you have ever tasted food out of a properly seasoned and heated wok, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s similar to the taste of a steak cooked over a charcoal grill versus a steak that’s been pan-fried. The beef wasn’t in large flat slices like it is typically, but in smaller chunks and it was absolutely the most melt-in-your-mouth beef I’ve ever had. I’d like to just order a plate of the beef to try out.
The Pad Thai was amazing as well – full of chicken and some delightfully surprising tasty tofu, which I find is usually a bit on the dry and flavorless side, but not here. Served with plenty of egg, just the right amount of peanuts, and two wedges of lime (a little splash changes this dish from delicious to out of this world). My wife and I were thrilled that we finally tested out the Spicy Ginger Asian Cafe and strongly recommend it to anyone traveling up Bandera Road in the 78250 zip code (just north of Guilbeau in the shopping center on your right at the next light) for a delicious lunch or dinner.
8806 Bandera Road, Suite 101
San Antonio TX 78250
(210) 521-6420
(210) 521-6422 (fax)
11AM – 3 PM and 5PM to 9PM
Saturday
11AM – 9PM
Closed Sunday
photo courtesy of vieux bandit
Disclosure: CMP.ly 0
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Comments
well im the coook im there Son as Well im 14 and work 4 my father i truly love it but there other Good chinese foods out there, But my Dad Has the Most common food such as seasme Chick,Beef,Shrimp,Even tofu, We have it in Corn Starch And Egg mix Deep Fried for a cris, All Restraunts do thing Diffrently Fried rice is Totally Diffrent it has ,eggs,choice of meat or veg,spicy or not,with a Spice that is secret like salt but Diffrent,Soysouce,white pepper,Seame Oil,With a Perfect timing of cook Too fast can make the Rice Harder,Too Slow it would be Dry My Boss Is Rely pick Do it Right Or Make Another Or He Would get All Cooks to Watch Him Do it the Right Way. Having a Family with a bussiness isnt eazy i see my father once a week/Half a Day for 3 hours and he go Buy supplies, But we have are laughs at Work 3 Cooks work together and Theres Always a smile on our faces Come and Try i Can Promise you That you will come back
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