Ginger Tree

 Well, not having lived in this area long enough to comment on how much
 better everything was before ;-) I'll just comment on the
 original post...

 I've been to Ginger Tree twice and really liked it both times.  The
 first time we had the Pu-Pu platter.  Your typical fried appetizers, but
 still pretty good.  They were tasty and the batter didn't seem too
 heavy.  I had shrimp and scallops in white wine sauce.  I wouldn't really
 call it a white wine sauce, more of a white sauce.  A liitle too bland
 for my taste, but the seafood was well prepared.  My boyfriend Greg had (I
 can't remember the name of the dish) pork with green beans.  Delicious.
 In both cases, we were impressed with the preparation.  With some
 restaurants, it seems that everything is cooked together so that the
 vegetables end up soggy and drowned in sauce.  Here, it ssemed that both
 had been prepared separately and combined at the last minute so that
 nothing was overcooked or soggy.

 I had my heart set on fried ice cream for dessert.  I've always felt
 rushed at the end of a meal at Chinese restaurants and this was no
 exception.  The waiter brought the check right away, and was a bit taken
 aback when I asked for ice cream.  I know that they are trying to turn
 tables quickly, but almost every time this has happened to me the restaurant
 was nowhere near full.  Anyway, the dessert was fair but not exceptional.

 We went again last night.  Started with sizzling rice soup for 2. Tasty
 but a little bland.  A bit of soy sauce perked it up.  I had Chicken
 Chow Foon and Greg had something like Four Seasons delight -vegetarian
 dish with snow peas, mushrooms, lotus root (I think), ginger and
 scallion with a brown sauce.  I really liked the Chow Foon, but as this
 was the first time I had tried Chow Foon, I have no base of comparison.
 The noodles were perfectly chewy, the chicken tender and the vegetables
 very tasty.  The Vegetarian dish was really good as well.  We both loved the
 sauce.  Also, this time (as opposed to the first) both dishes came with
 a small bowl of white rice on the side.  It's a personal pet peeve of
 mine to have to pay for rice and I appreciated it.  It did take a while
 for the Chow Foon to show up... we were halfway through Greg's dish
 before it came.  I suppose I'd rather do it that way then to get food
 that has been sitting under a heat lamp for ten minutes while other
 dishes are being finished.

 Overall, my impression of the food is that it is well prepared and
 delicately flavored.  The flavors of the food really come through.
 Occasionally, the effect is of blandness.  Next time, we're going to try
 more spicy foods to see how well they are treated.  Service is friendly
 and efficient.  I sneaked peeks at other people's food and everything
 was well presented and I heard other people commenting on how much they
 liked everything.  Pricing is very reasonable and portions are large
 enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

 I'd go here before Noble House any day.  The service at Noble House has
 never impressed me.  Last time we went for lunch we were the only ones
 in the restaurant and we still had to wait 15 minutes after finishing
 before we saw any wait staff.  When our waiter finally came, he reeked
 of cigarette smoke.  The food was OK, I'll admit I really like the fried
 rice, but overall, I wouldn't go back.

 A side note about Ginger Tree- we really liked the fact that the drink
 list was quite extensive and listed prices.  I had a pina colada-
 nothing extremely special.  But I like to know what my choices are and,
 more importantly, how much it will cost before I order.

 :) Chris

 I tried it last week. Had their szechuan dumplings, which were really
 wonton in a spicy peanut sauce. Ok. the sauce wasn't as good as Mary
 Chung's DunDun sauce (no I'm not a Mary's fanatic, although it's still
 the only place for Suan)

 The only entree I had was tangerine chicken. Not bad,not awesome. I'll
 certainly go back to try it again since it's local to me and so far
 better than anything else I've tried in Coolidge Corner, except perhaps
 Noble House which is more expensive.

 Someone wrote:
 >
 >Has anyone tried The Ginger Tree restaurant in Coolidge Corner, where
 >Beijing III used to be?  If so, how was the food?  How did it compare to
 >good places in Chinatown such as Chau Chow?
 >
 >Thanks,
 >
 >Diane Franklin
 >--
 >======================================================================
 >Diane Franklin
 >[email removed]