Red Ginger

[Glenndale]

Hi, my OH and myself are not really into spicy food but everyone on here seems to rave about RG.

Can people recommend dishes that are fairly mild but interesting, for the likes of us, as we would like to try it on our next cruise.

[Mura]

It's a year and a half since we were in Red Ginger (on Marina) and we did not find the food spicy -- which is how we like it. I did ask the waiter for the chef to heat it up which they did, but even so it wasn't really spicy. Not to my taste anyway.

 

Now, YOU might have thought so! But I did not. I don't think you'll have a problem ... and you can always tell the waiter that you prefer milder food as well just to be sure.

 

Mura

[digtexas]

I cannot eat spicy food and I had no problem at Red Ginger. One memorable dish was the miso glazed sea bass.

[Benita]

Chicken satay for appetizer. Sea bass or rack of lamb for entree. Michael and I had them last night.

[CintiPam]

The food served at Red Ginger certainly is not spicy, so nothing about which you need worry. Do not miss the fabulous duck and watermelon salad.

[LHT28]

Green Curry dish

 

On the menu you will see the little peppers next to the item (like the Chinese food menus at home)

just tell them you do not want it spicy

[Aruba]

Try the lobster pad thai -- delicious. And don't miss the ginger cake for dessert, my favorite.

[Ka Honu]

I had one of the best racks of lamb I've ever eaten and then did it again on the next visit. SWMBO loved the sea bass.

[oceansandseas]

After everyone on cc board raved about the duck and watermelon salad, I decided to try it. I did not like the taste at all. Don't remember the taste that I did not like, just remember that I did not like it.

 

I do not remember seeing the ginger cake. I am sure that I would have enjoyed that dessert.

[Jancruz]

I always suggest you go with at least 6 people and have food family style..that way you get to taste a lot of different selections from appetisers to dessert....I dont eat anything spicy and we loved the food..

Jancruz1

[Glenndale]

Thanks for all of your replies, seeing the word 'chilli' liberally sprinkled through the menu I expected 'hot'. We can do well seasoned and tasty food.

[Caroldoll]

And stir fried seafood isn't really stir fried. It is super delicious. Have been there twice and no spicy food! Enjoy.

[Mura]

In general, I would be surprised to find super "hot" food on a cruise ship. First, this is Asian Fusion, not Szechuan. But besides that, given the demographics of cruisers my guess is that the average passenger would be averse to super spicy food. That's not to say that an occasional dish may be what *I* prefer (as a fan for spicy food), but my guess would be that most are not.

 

In fact, when we first went to Red Ginger we assumed that we would have to ask them to heat it up, not the other way around.

 

Mura

[Emperor Norton]

In general, I would be surprised to find super "hot" food on a cruise ship. First, this is Asian Fusion, not Szechuan. But besides that, given the demographics of cruisers my guess is that the average passenger would be averse to super spicy food. That's not to say that an occasional dish may be what *I* prefer (as a fan for spicy food), but my guess would be that most are not.

 

In fact, when we first went to Red Ginger we assumed that we would have to ask them to heat it up, not the other way around.

 

Mura

 

How hot will they go. On scale of 1-10 I like 18+.

[Mura]

How hot will they go. On scale of 1-10 I like 18+.

 

 

Then we definitely should be at the same table!!!! All I know is that when I asked them to hotten up the dish, they did -- but I could have used more!

 

I remember the owner of a Szechuan restaurant that we regularly patronized back in the 1970s in NYC's Chinatown who said that it was difficult because it was quite common for people to ask for spicy food and then complain that it was TOO spicy.

 

Mura

[ksps cruise fan]

Then we definitely should be at the same table!!!! All I know is that when I asked them to hotten up the dish, they did -- but I could have used more!

 

I remember the owner of a Szechuan restaurant that we regularly patronized back in the 1970s in NYC's Chinatown who said that it was difficult because it was quite common for people to ask for spicy food and then complain that it was TOO spicy.

 

Mura

 

So true. I find I have to visit a restaurant several times and establish a rapport with the waiter before I get food spiced the way I like it. That's not going to happen on a cruise.

 

Red Ginger was my least favorite of all the Marina restaurants. Even when I asked for the condiment tray, typically an easy way for a restaurant to meet the preferences of chile-heads among the diners, the condiments themselves were dumbed down. There was nothing I could do to get the food to a more authentic level of spiciness.

 

Frankly, since we live in an area loaded with authentic Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, I'm not inclined to endure lackluster meals to educate the kitchen to my preferences. I'd much rather eat Jacques' far more successful French food and Toscana's far more successful Italian food.

[Mura]

I completely agree. The four of us were disappointed with Red Ginger, and we'd expected to love it. The restaurant will do just fine without our presence, however!

 

Mura

[2kiwis]

I cannot eat spicy food and I had no problem at Red Ginger. One memorable dish was the miso glazed sea bass.

 

Try the duck and watermelon salad and the miso glazed seabass they are fantastic !!!!!!!!!

[capecodder2]

If you are lucky enough to live in an area with excellent Asian restaurants, you will probably not be as thrilled with RG as those of us who are not so fortunate. Our home selection of Asian restaurants (never mind good ones) is almost non-existent so we look forward to RG and going to big cities where such choices are more abundant. My guess is that those who disparage RG live in areas where they have access to good Asian restauants. We all should know that when you have 1200 people to satisfy, you won't find really spicy food, but it is wonderful to have the opportunity to taste those lovely Asian flavors to those of us who are denied such pleasures at home. We have 2 lovely French restaurants here, so perhaps that is why Jacques' is my least favorite.

[Mura]

Capecodder,

 

I know for myself that your assertion is correct and I have acknowledged this fact before (although not in my most recent posts about RG). In NYC we have wonderful Asian food and so we were somewhat disappointed with RG after all the rave reviews we'd read. That doesn't mean we had a "bad" meal, because that wasn't true either.

 

And there are certainly many areas in the U.S. (not to mention other countries) where good Chinese, etc., is difficult to find.

 

Mura

[LewiLewi]

Red Ginger was our favorite restaurant; we dined there 4 times during our TA cruise on the Riviera this past Nov. Everything that we and our family ordered was delicious, especially the lobster roll, sea bass, rack of lamb, and the three gelato dessert. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

[Ka Honu]

If you are lucky enough to live in an area with excellent Asian restaurants, you will probably not be as thrilled with RG as those of us who are not so fortunate.

 

Not at all. We live on Oahu where we have (and eat) more great Asian food than almost anywhere else. For one thing, there is really no such thing as an "Asian restaurant;" they are almost invariably single (or occasionally dual) culture establishments (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc.). Some people seem to expect Red Ginger to be all of those at once (pan-Asian?) rather than what it really is - a "fusion" (for want of a better term) restaurant with Asian accents. We found them excellent at what they did but would never expect to have an "Asian meal" there.

[ksps cruise fan]

...For one thing, there is really no such thing as an "Asian restaurant;" they are almost invariably single (or occasionally dual) culture establishments (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc.). Some people seem to expect Red Ginger to be all of those at once (pan-Asian?) rather than what it really is - a "fusion" (for want of a better term) restaurant with Asian accents. We found them excellent at what they did but would never expect to have an "Asian meal" there.

 

The marketing text on Oceania's web site describes Red Ginger as follows: "noted for its contemporary interpretations of Asian classics." In contrast, the marketing text for Toscana emphasizes authenticity: "Tuscan cuisine evolved from rich family traditions, epitomized within Toscana, where many of our recipes originated with the grandmothers and mothers of our own Italian culinary staff..." According to the text, Jacques seems to fall somewhere in between, although having eaten there I can't recall an example of a dish that didn't taste like classic rather than a modern revision: "Chef Pépin has taken the classics, deconstructed them, and then ingeniously re-created each remarkable dish."

 

My quarrel with Red Ginger is that the food is bland generic Asia. Why use the name of an actual dish only to deliver a vague Asian-esque plate of food? Why further disappoint diners when the items on the condiment tray are similarly dumbed down? No one would ask for the condiment tray unless he/she were hoping to raise the chile heat level -- only to be frustrated.

 

For the many cruisers who are averse to spicy foods, there is a huge and wonderful world of Hong Kong-style cooking that can satisfy them on Red Ginger's menu. But when the menu starts naming dishes that authentically have a degree of heat, I expect Red Ginger to offer a version that has a greater nod to reality.

 

I have no quarrel against fusion food but I want it to be stellar. Wolfgang Puck's restaurant The Source in Washington, DC and its sibling in Los Angeles, Chinois, are the perfect examples of what Red Ginger can and should be. Certainly, Oceania's talented chefs are capable of such cooking. Clearly, Oceania's management takes justifiable pride in it over-all cuisine.

 

I'd be very curious to understand the thinking behind the Red Ginger menu decisions.

[ohmark]

after everyone on cc board raved about the duck and watermelon salad, i decided to try it. I did not like the taste at all.

+1.

[Ka Honu]

... Red Ginger as follows: "noted for its contemporary interpretations of Asian classics." In contrast, the marketing text for Toscana emphasizes authenticity.

 

... which pretty much tells me that I shouldn't expect Red Ginger to serve authentic/classic preparations as I would Toscana. If you don't like the food because of the way it tastes, that's a legitimate opinion (and I agree that they should offer some spicier preparations). If, on the other hand, you don't like the food because it's exactly what they say it is and not what you want it to be, that's a totally different issue.