Bistro Ginger in Shanghai has found its own place in the competitive market for the dishes with influences of various countries.(Photo provided to China Daily)
Her lifelong passion for food, and spices in particular, was sparked by the home cooking of her childhood. Ng opened the chic-yet-cozy bistro in a refurbished villa with a spacious terrace, and she has built on the concept of sharing and recreating the food that impresses her while traveling, which she makes time to do four times a year.
A recently inspired and "very un-normal" dish, for example, is chicken tagine, an aromatic gift from her trip to Marrakech in Morocco last summer. The slow-braised saffron chicken paired with couscous is particularly tender and juicy and whets the appetite for North African cuisines and the countries that produce such foods.
The Asian dips, as starters, are the collected memories of Ng's experiences in the continent.
While the sticks of cucumbers and carrots and the rice crackers are generally fresh, the laksa pesto, among all three sauces, is a star that convinces diners that Southeast Asia is a spice paradise.
