Ginger Moon

Chinese - Khan Market, New Delhi - reviewed on 28th June 2008

A friend from out of the country wanted to eat what most self respecting Indians do when they come back to India after a long time - chinese, not just any chinese "punjabi chinese". We Indians have improvised on the cuisine consumed by a population larger than ours to our taste, it is the fusion of two of the worlds largest cuisines at it's best. 

When thinking of options after a bad movie we shortlisted 3, mainland china, the side wok at khan market and the newly opened ginger moon. For the sake of being adventurous we picked the new restaurant. We reached there around 8.30, after climbing up a flight of stairs to the first floor eatery (which is oh so khan market), we entered a tiny hole in the wall restaurant. Done up in regular manner, nothing extraordinary about it the meal started with ordering appetizers and soup. We had a tough table that night, of the four of us, one was a veggie, one did not eat seafood (except fish), one ate only seafood (no lamb or chicken) and I ate everything. Ordering was tough, a linear program was warranted but we made do without it. 

For the appetisers we ordered a portion of crispy fried mixed veggie and chicken in hunan sauce. The soups were varied - each portion was enough for an individual but could have been split for two people too. For the main course we kept it light and ordered veg fried rice and lamb in chili sauce and some veggies in soya sauce. On the whole the presentation was food was dismal if non existent, it seemed to be slopped on to plates right out of the wok. The food itself, soup was average but everything after that was downhill - the appetisers were soggy, the main course was anything but interesting. Ginger moon has taken the concept of Punjabi Chinese and stretched it to the extreme, so much so that the sliced lamb actually tastes like Rogan Josh ! Imagine having that with veg fried rice. It was adventurous for sure but not something that I had bargained for that night. 

The tables are also set too close for comfort (space constraint due to the 1,000 Rs. / sft rental I guess) and you are, whether you like it or not, part of the conversation of the next table where the girlfriend is complaining to the boyfriend that she got ready for ricks and they are here!

The total meal cost us Rs. 600 per head and was average in all regards. The smartest decision of the evening was to skip dessert at Ginger Moon and head downstairs to Big Chill for some ambrosiac desserts !

Overall Rating: 4/10

Ambience: 3/10

Food: 4/10

Service: 3/10

Value for Money: 4/10

Cost: Rs. 600/head (with no alcohol)

Repeatability: NO