Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk a Bao

Ginger & Garlic

1138 Smith St.

(808) 537-3883

Daily 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Trust us, order the Xiao Long Bao

Word of Mouth (Max. 5 👄): 

Food: 👄 👄 👄 👄

Price: Reasonably Priced

Service: 👄 👄 👄 👄 

Ambiance: 👄 👄 👄 

Overall Value: 👄 👄 👄 👄 👄

Let’s keep this short, like the service. Chinese restaurants aren’t typically known for having outstanding service, and this place is no exception. Conversation is kept at a minimum, courteous yet blunt, not exceptionally friendly, but a slight smile keeps you content. Very quick, but we didn’t get the feeling that we were being rushed. A nice interior, everything was clean and aptly presented. Then, the cart came. 

Towers of steaming bamboo baskets that, when opened, wafted aromas of the Far East. Teasing and tantalizing our taste buds, it was hard to say no to any of it and so we did what any Real Big Mouths would do--one of each, please! A decision we happily made with no regrets.

Deep Fried Taro balls, siu mai, we just couldn’t get enough of all they had to offer. Pricing was quite simple: medium dim sum plates for $3.65, large dim sum plates for $4.95, and then a specialty menu of varying prices, but all very affordable and reasonable.

The star of the show is, by far, the hard-to-find Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, also known as soup dumplings. Ground pork pursed in a soft, chewy wrapper. Eat this guy from your soup spoon because once you break thru, warm and savory broth comes gushing out. Slurp it all up with some Chinese spiced vinegar, then devour the rest. 

We were so content with all that we had eaten, that when the waiter recommended one last item, the Snow Mountain Taro buns, we had to, shockingly, decline at first. But once she said our favorite words, “specialty” and “limited” we knew we had to make room for just one more morsel, and so glad that we did. A soft and sweet bun, filled with mashed taro, and a craquelin topping was the perfect demi-sweet end to our lunch. 

Just as unassuming as Xiao Long Bao, this quaint restaurant packs a flavorful and delicious punch. Be sure to check them out. There are many options for dim sum in Chinatown but Ginger & Garlic ranks for our Real Big Mouths.