The ambiance inspires edacious and evocative emotions. Blue ginger, or ming tsai, otherwise known as galanga or galangal, is an Asian cousin of the common ginger. It is related and resembles ginger, but there is little similarity in the relish. The Japanese rock or zen gardens are nowhere to be found. I searched for the tatami mats in vain. Alas, there are no tatami flooring in Blue Ginger. But then the restaurant is not exclusively Japanese. It is a delicious blend of Asian — primarily Japanese, but with a touch of Thai and a faint whiff of Vietnamese. Blue Ginger accepted our bookings — Queen Tiye and Platinum Blonde reserved two different tables — over the course of the meal, the latter sadly accrued innumerable accolades for her aptitude and penetration. Platinum Blonde was in platform boots. “Darling, it just doesn't look ladylike,” Queen Tiye huffed and puffed. “Does it matter, sweetie pie,” Platinum Blonde fired back. “I am not afraid of bling. I'll wear one of my jewel colour dresses for New Year's Eve,” she chuckled nonchalantly. Queen Tiye in Christmas crimson, scarlet stilettos and ruby statement earrings is a stickler for party dress codes. “I should have come in my kimono,” she giggled. Platinum Blonde is notorious for her profligacy with her charms, a character trait Queen Tiye does not quite approve of. “This is no chashitsu, Japanese teahouse,” snapped the queen. “Nor are we about to celebrate a tea ceremony, chanoyu,” she chose her words deliberately and with a certain conclusiveness. The Teppanyaki table is full of promise. The signature Makimono rolls matched the mock Japanese garden bridge in the heart of Blue Ginger. The open sushi kitchen is a delight to watch. The sushi set platters, notably tempting, come in a variety of sizes. The maki counter is equally captivating. Ravenous as wolves we knew that sushi would not suffice. Most main dishes, in particular the green and red Thai curries, come with the most delicately perfumed jasmine rice. I couldn't resist the julienne of lamb loin and Asian spices with a potent lemon zest. Redhead opted for odon noodles and stir-fried seafood. Platinum Blonde's seafood and glass noodle salad with squid, shrimp and mussel topped with a green chili sauce — that combustible concoction was her entrée. Her main course consisted of a Herculean platter of char grilled lobster and jumbo prawns with wakame cucumber salad. Redhead marvelled at Platinum Blonde's rapacious appetite. “Voracious vultures,” Queen Tiye shuddered in disgust as she watched in horror Platinum Blonde gulp down her golden shrimp tempura noodle soup — with noodles julienne of seaweed and was greedily eyeing my prawn gyoza — grilled prawn dumplings with delectable dipping sauces. “Insatiable sharks,” she howled. Queen Tiye's salmon shiyoyaki, wakame cucumber salad and wasabi potatoes were first class. Her miso, soybean soup, tofu and shitaake mushroom scrumptious. My beef tataki — seared sirloin, mushroom mustard and sprout salad drenched in ginger soy dressing. The Red Sea setting was breathtakingly beautiful. We were not particularly interested in getting to the finishing line quickly. Incidentally, Blue Ginger is not restricted to Asian cuisine. The celebrated Polish vodka Zoladkowa Gorzka, for instance, is flavoured with galanga. Blue Ginger The Ritz-Carlton, Sharm El-Sheikh
