| rev:text
| - Nice atmosphere, but TFC (The Filipino Channel) on the tube set on VERY LOUD quickly ruins the good vibes for me. I start to wonder what the non-Filipino customers think of the shows' quality, but then I recall Judge Judy, Montel, COPS, etc., that air on TV and I don't feel so embarrassed.
Food are set out buffet-style or "turo-turo" (you point at the food you want), and I quickly learn that the daily lunch specials' menu printed and displayed on an easel outdoors by the entrance doesn't accurately depict what you're going to find served indoors. Friday's menu listed a dish that wasn't offered bec. apparently it was served the day before and another dish was offered in its place. (Why even bother printing out a menu if you're not going to stick to it? Guess I better call ahead before making the trip from Laveen.) One dish stood out, and I asked the server if it contained any meat, to w/c he replied just "ginataang kalabasa" (aka squash simmered in coconut milk). I was starving, and aside from the "bistek" (pan-fried slices of beef steak) and "pritong tilapia at galungong" (fried tilapia and scad), nothing much interested me here. So for my lunch combo, I chose fried tilapia and rice w/ squash, green beans, and okra simmered in coconut milk for my veggies.
I was having a good time eating my lunch until I noticed that there were shrimp (allergy) in the squash dish... The server apparently was not aware it had meat in it, could not verify if it was shrimp, and had to ask the owner/cook to confirm. I thought this an unacceptable practice; it's a good thing for him that I am not a vegetarian, and a very good thing for the venue's cook/owner that I am not deathly allergic to shrimp, at least not yet.
The owner/cook gladly replaced the squash dish for beef steak (w/c tasted fine, albeit salty and VERY greasy), although my original buffet server was not pleased. This irked me- what does it matter to him that she replaced a dish bec, he was negligent of the original's ingredients? Perhaps he felt embarrassed that he couldn't even tell there was shrimp in it, but why show discontent? Oh, he really made my blood boil!
I'll try to visit again to try other lunch specials and see if the service improves. Otherwise, I may just spend my money at Jeepney Bistro and Lumpia Factory down the road (where my eardrums won't be tormented by untalented comics on "Wowowee"). I do have one positive thing to say about Gingerroot- its rice was whiter, fluffier, and better in quality than that of Lumpia Factory, w/c was yellowed, drier, and just plain sorry-looking enough for me not to take home to re-hash in "sinangag" (rice fried with garlic... yum!).
I do hope that the dinner service and menu are several times' better than that of lunch... Menu prices made me laugh... Gingerroot's ambience definitely places it at the top of the list of all the other Filipino venues in Chandler if you're on a date, but I'd very much dislike the experience if I'm forced to listen and watch TFC and have buffet food at those prices!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)