RESTAURANTS: Comfy Gina’s does justice to Asian cuisine
By Jennifer Christman (Contact)
Hunan Shrimp at Gina’s Chinese Kitchen & Sushi Bar
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LITTLE ROCK — Usually we’re saddened when a restaurant we like moves farther away.
But in the case of Gina’s Chinese Kitchen & Sushi Bar, we were happy.
We’re glad that the congenial and capable restaurant - formerly concealed in a snug Ashley Square space, where we do a fair amount of business and could easily visit to dine in or take out - has relocated farther west to more swank, spacious digs in a newer Little Rock shopping center. Sure, it might not be our little secret anymore, but dining at Gina’s, run by Gina Wu, is still a cozy experience.
The clean interior features walls dressed with taupe paint, bamboo and a restrained amount of Asian art. Chairs are wooden with seat cushions wearing protective plastic wrap; there’s also sushi bar seating. Music (which on one occasion sounded neither Chinese, nor Japanese, but maybe Spanish) plays softly enough that diners seated near the entrance can hear the bubbling fountain. Servers are efficient and friendly.
Gina’s repertoire is expansive, with a full sushi menu of nigiri, rolls and dinners and a full Chinese menu of appetizers, soup and salad, assorted dinners and house specialties, as well as seafood, poultry, beef, pork and vegetarian dishes. Which means it’s a fine place to feast on raw fish while not alienating dining companions who cringe at the very idea and who consider Beef With Broccoli ($8.95) plenty exotic.
If the Chinese choices ($6.95 for fried rice, up to $20.95 for Szechuan Lobster) overwhelm, head to the “assorted dinner” section where, for $13.95, one selects from a limited list of entrees that come with soup and an appetizer trio of an egg roll, crab rangoon and a fried rice cake.
Of those entrees, the Twice Cooked Pork was not particularly spicy as the pepper on the menu indicated, but it was flavorful, with onions and peppers as the primary vegetables. The Szechuan Beef, featuring ribbons of steak and mixed vegetables like onions carrots and green onions, also was not that spicy and a little slick but satisfying. On a subsequent visit, requesting that the Hunan Shrimp be made spicy (“American-spicy or Chinese-spicy?” our waiter asked, to which we replied, “Somewhere in between”) resultedin a perfectly seasoned helping of saucy, chubby shrimp and mixed vegetables, mostly broccoli.
The egg drop soup was a soothing kind of salty. And the tasty hot and sour soup was plenty peppery, although not puckery. As for the fried appetizers, we preferred the rangoon, a crisp pocket of sweet cream cheese. The small egg roll was fine. We had forgotten what the third item - the fried rice cake - was supposed to be, so a friend labeled it a “mystery pod.” We think we’d appreciate it during a future visit now that we know what it is.
Sushi roll offerings range from classic - Crunchy Shrimp Roll ($4.95) and Spicy Tuna Roll ($4.95) - to creative - Snow White Roll ($8.95, a roll of salmon and cream cheese topped with white tuna) and Nemo Roll ($8.95, spicy crawfish topped with smoked salmon and fresh salmon). Of the specialty rolls, we’re partial to the Razorback Roll ($7.95), featuring tuna and avocado with spicy tuna andgreen onions on top.
An economical way to sample more basic rolls is selecting three types from the Dinner Roll Combo menu ($14.95, served with soup; we like the cloudy, savory miso). If some of the rolls seemed smaller in size than ones we receive at other restaurants, they offered a mouthful of taste, featuring fresh ingredients and often toasted sesame seeds, that made the flavors pop.
As for basic sushi nigiri, two pieces come per ala carte order ($3.50-$9.95). Sushi can also be ordered as a dinner with fouror six pieces, plus a roll, soup and salad ($11.95-$17.95), and a Sashimi Combo ($21.95) of 15 to 18 pieces is also available. Those feeling experimental might select Gina’s for Four, described as “Chef’s choice, The Works,” for $89.95.
Gina’s also serves Chinese ($5.95-$7.25) lunch specials with rice, soup and a chicken wing and egg roll, and sushi lunch specials ($8.50-$14.95) with miso or mushroom soup.
Dessert options include Japanese Ice Cream ($2.95), Fried Banana Tempura ($3.95), Tempura Cheesecake ($4.95) and Tempura Cheesecake & Banana ($6.95).
Gina’s Chinese Kitchen & Sushi Bar Address: 14524 Cantrell Road, Little Rock Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily Cuisine: Chinese, sushi Credit cards: V, MC, AE, D Alcoholic beverages: Beer, wine Reservations: Yes Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes and local delivery with $20 minimum purchase (501) 868-7775
This article was published Friday, June 6, 2008.
Weekend, Pages 63 on 06/06/2008
