After 12 successful years in a larger space in Edgemont Village, Ming’s Garden has moved, setting up shop in a tiny, free-standing boîte on Marine Drive, just west of Capilano Mall.
The move initially struck me as odd. In addition to being miniscule, the new space seems less likely to attract vital walk-in traffic and its parking infrastructure is not intuitive (your best bet is to head south on Mackay Road and hang a left at Churchill Crescent, where you will find parking behind the neighbouring strip of businesses on Marine Drive, as well as access to Ming’s own driveway, with two dedicated parking stalls).
After my recent meal in the diminutive space, however, the explanation for the move became clear: Ming’s is a thriving take-out restaurant. If the incessantly ringing phone was any indication, the restaurant’s bricks and mortar geography has little bearing on its core dining traffic, and patrons already familiar with the takeout menu will be wholly unphased by the move.
The interior of the restaurant is pleasant; it is clean, bright and boasts capacity for about 25 people. A round table in the centre of the room accommodates larger parties and features a giant lazy Susan, a vital tool in facilitating Cantonese family-style meals in which everyone samples a few bites from a variety of dishes.
I have often wondered how the kitchens of Cantonese restaurants stay on top of food inventory, as their menus are typically enormous. In the case of Ming’s Garden, there are 125 menu items, covering the gamut of conceivable proteins and carbs.
Even allowing for economies of scale achieved by similar preparations for different base ingredients (chicken, white fish, prawns, or squid prepared with salt and pepper, for example), there is still a staggering number of recipes to manage.
As an avid home cook I feel a stab of vicarious anxiety at the prospect of a room full of guests choosing dishes from a selection that big.
To whittle down my own dinner order, I opted for dishes labelled “new” on the recently revised menu that was launched to coincide with the restaurant’s big move.
I chose nine such dishes and on that basis feel confident proclaiming three things about Ming’s food: it does not often contain the sticky sauces and thickeners that can so often mar quick and affordable take-out; dishes described as hot (spicy) deliver on their promise by packing real chili heat; and vegetables, whether serving as principal ingredient or garnish, tend to retain a fresh crunch.
Of the dishes I sampled, Ming’s Mongolian Beef was the undisputed winner, featuring strips of lean flank steak stir-fried with heaps of onions and ribbons of potent ginger in a deep and spicy sauce.
The meat was tender and flavourful, greatly benefiting from the liberal use of fragrant ginger. A fiery dish of Salt and Pepper Cod was also very good, with generous nuggets of moist fish in a crispy golden batter, tossed with salt, garlic and potent rings of green chilies.
Next up was a mountain of crisp, whole snow peas simply pan-fried with garlic and subtly spiced.
The dish was fresh and light, a welcome contrast to the rich and heady flavours of the other dishes. Stir-fried Prawns in Black Bean Sauce with Broccoli followed, revealing Ming’s tendency to be generous with its portions; the dish contained an even dozen prawns and countless florets of crisp broccoli.
General Tso Chicken arrived next, featuring easily a pound of boneless, breaded strips of meat in crispy batter with a sweet, sour and spicy sauce. Vegetable Chow Mein, Chicken Fried Rice and Wonton Soup were all proficiently executed but were not particularly remarkable. I suspect they were simply overshadowed by the excellent beef and fish.
My broad sampling of Ming’s new menu was $89 before gratuity. Ming’s Garden is located at 965 Marine Dr. mingsgarden.ca 604-985-8115
• • •
A couple of recent developments on the local dining scene are also worth noting this week. First, to my dismay, I discovered that La Tasca Lounge on Lonsdale Avenue and Second Street, which was just reviewed in these pages in October of last year, has been boarded up. Close inspection reveals no signs of life inside. I reached out to chef and owner Giorgio Prego, whose warm hospitality and simple, home-style Italian cuisine made the tiny restaurant so charming, to find out what happened.
At the time of publication, I have not heard back from him. I sincerely hope to see another, more enduring effort from Prego in the future.
Meanwhile, my last foray into Tama Organic on Mackay Road revealed that soba wunderkind Takashi Koriyama, whose amazing, hand-milled buckwheat noodles in broth rivalled some of the best I’ve eaten in Tokyo, has moved on to new ventures elsewhere.
Tama Organic is still going strong with its grocery business and I notice that neighbour Ethical Kitchen, out of which Koriyama once served his soba, has added a selection of handmade ramen to its menu. More on this latter another time.
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
