Blue Ginger, Balmain
What we tried: Entree: Blue Ginger Sampler platter for 2 ($24) which contained two chicken rice paper rolls, two fish cakes, two skewered lemongrass prawns, and two vegetable spring rolls.
Mains: Five spice braised chicken and XO sauce seafood, fried rice
The presentation was fantastic. The restaurant is modern and trendy, and intimately lit, with a long communal table running along the centre of the room. It’s extremely busy on a Saturday night, so bookings are recommended. Perhaps that’s why the staff were hasty in taking our orders as soon as my guest arrived.The entree platter is a great way to sample different entrees, however I found it a bit pricey for the 8 morsels it contained. Servings (mains) are generous and look great, however the chicken was very salty, and the stir fried seafood contained only 3 prawns and lots of calamari and baby corn. The dish was too hot for my companion but it was the perfect heat for me – enough to make me need water but no tears). The fried rice barely had the chinese sausage that it promised, but was generous in the char siu (BBQ pork) and fluffy egg.
Blue Ginger, 241 Darling Street, Balmain
Parking – ample metered street parking.
* In the entertainment book!