Tapas of a Geisha

9 Jul 2009

Last night Ruth, Sindy and I had the pleasure of testing out the new Winter Wellness menu at the trendy Geisha Wok and Noodle Bar in Greenpoint. Irish chef, Conrad Gallagher has put together a menu that is delightfully light in comparison to the usual heavy winter dishes. And by usual, I mean my mothers roast beef, potatoes, diced carrot and turnip, cauliflower, 2 kinds of gravy and, just in case you weren't full, a rather sloppy yorkshire pudding - type of winter meal. And I wonder why my girth has suddenly expanded. The great thing about this menu, is that it is a) delicious, and b) healthy. It isn't laden with rich sauce and starchy side dishes...ie. It doesn't come with chips.

Freshly made smoothies were first up - a zingy apple and ginger, an earthy beetroot and coriander and a very creamy avocado and coriander. I must admit, I wasn't that impressed - but then, I hate smoothies. Ruth and Sindy fell in love with the apple and ginger which was fresh and tasty and even I liked it. What I could appreciate in all three was that you could taste the different distinct flavours. To be honest though I prefer the taste of fermented grapes- so we ordered a bottle of wine which was much more to my taste. We were also encouraged to take small sips of water between mouthfuls rather than glugging it down.

We then sampled a portion of salmon and tuna sashimi - a favourite of mine as well as a trio of dim sum. The sashimi was DELICIOUS, I mean, there can't be a whole lot you can do to raw fish, but this was sumptuous. I'm a bit of a sushi whore, well, I've been around, and this to me was fabulous. The dim sum was interesting with innovative fillings- spicy crab; spinach and shitake mushroom. The spinach was definitely a winner. Oh, I almost forgot there there were also oysters for starters! I chickened out on the offer of oysters, but Ruth and Sindy both agreed that they were delicious. Clearly my libido doesn't need boosting.

For mains there was bamboo steamed free range chicken in a light pepper broth with lightly wok seared okra bean-sprouts, boc choy, corn, Chinese cabbage with coriander, mint and radish & whole-wheat soba noodles. It left the tongue pleasantly tingling, but wasn't too hot. There was also wok seared sesame crusted yellow fin tuna with bamboo steamed Asian lettuces, okra, Chinese mushrooms and butternut in a light coconut chilli and ginger broth. It was a true winner amongst us three and will be something I would definitely order again. For the animal lovers out there udon noodles were prepared with soya beans and a lemon grass broth with sugar snaps, baby corn, peppers, Chinese broccoli and topped with grilled tofu and peanuts. I'm not one for tofu, but the udon noodles were amazing. I kept dipping my chopsticks back in for another, erm...stickfull.

Now don't get me wrong, earlier I said this was a light menu; the dishes and flavours were light but they were also satisfyingly filling. We had to have a break before sampling the dessert of marinated fresh mango with orange blossom and green chili which surrounded a toasted coconut incrusted lime sorbet. I thought this was quite a summery choice for a winter dessert, but enjoyed the twist with the coconut and marinated mango. It was light on the palette but punchy on flavour, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Perhaps I should start introducing Asian fusion to my mother... though I'm not sure that roast beef with bamboo steamed Asian lettuce, udon noodles and coconut covered yorkshire puddings would make it to 5 star cuisine.

Geisha Wok and Noodle Bar, Cape Royale, 47 Main Road, Green Point