LOCATIONIn the thriving new Acton precinct.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAIn Canberra there is no shortage of Chinese restaurants, however restaurants specialising in Sichuan cuisine are somewhat harder to find. Spicy Ginger Cafe in Acton is a new restaurant that is making this search easier by offering a comprehensive menu of Sichuan delights. The restaurant is located on the edge of the ANU campus, under the new Unilodge development. While the international student population of ANU is an obvious market for the restaurant, a quick glance at the lunchtime crowd will confirm that it is also immensely popular with the wider Canberra community. Indeed, with its larger-than-average capacity and new furnishings, the restaurant is both pleasing to the eye and conveniently located for anyone in Civic or on campus.
The menu at Spicy Ginger Cafe undeniably sets it apart from many other Asian restaurants in town. The menu is far more traditional than many and has few traces of Anglo-Chinese dishes which were synonymous with Chinese food in Australia for so long. In their place are dishes such as beer drunken duck, Sichuan double-cooked sliced pork belly and crisp fried golden sand corn kernels with duck egg yolk to name but a few. Adventurous diners and traditionalists can enjoy dishes such as pan-fried pork intestine with Sichuan dried bullet chillies, whereas diners on the other end of the spectrum will most certainly be satisfied with choices such as deep fried king prawn and prosciutto rolls or soft shell crab with Sichuan hot and spicy dried chilli. With a huge menu and welcoming environment, Spicy Ginger Cafe is guaranteed to become a staple choice for many Canberrans.
Elizabeth Hall, July 2010