My best friend from high school suggested a meetup as we haven’t seen each other for a very long time. After changing venues about three times, we finally settled to have our lunch date at the Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City. The question remained: where to eat? Power Plant Mall houses a lot of exquisite restaurants at the lower ground level, yet it took me only a few minutes to choose Wild Ginger. Deciding factors were the type of cuisine and the unique presence of the restaurant in the city. 🙂
As far as I’ve observed, Wild Ginger has only one branch, and I wonder why it has not spread out to more all these years when it serves really diverse Southeast Asian food that’s good both to the eyes and the palate. I thought this restaurant is a must-try. It aims to take customers on a taste trip through lands as mystic as India, as exotic as Thailand, and as familiar as the Philippines.
Review of Wild Ginger (Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati)
Ambiance: ★★★★☆
With minimal decor, the interior was nothing fancy. If there’s anything worth to highlight, it’s the light-colored theme that gives a cool and relaxing vibe. A major plus has to be the cleanliness of the restaurant. Outdoor seating is also available and is good for those who enjoy watching mall-goers walk by.
Compared to the other restaurants on the same floor, there wasn’t a huge crowd of diners at the time we came. This made me appreciate the quietness more, since we had to talk a lot to catch up on updates in life while eating.
Service: ★★★★★
Staffs were humble and helpful throughout our dining experience. There wasn’t any rushing involved even if we stayed for about two hours in Wild Ginger. Our glasses were quickly refilled with water and requests were granted promptly. The bill also came out in an appropriate time frame as asked.
Food: ★★★★☆
Nasi Goreng (PhP 235) was a recommended dish by the restaurant manager. It’s a complete meal with Indonesian fried rice, egg and chicken satay skewers. Having tried several versions of Nasi Goreng from other restaurants, I found that this one is a good contender. The missing ingredient I was looking forward to taste was coconut in the rice and maybe sambal chili. 😛
With the Curry Laksa Seafood (PhP 265), all I needed actually was a soup spoon to scoop up all the goodness in the bowl. The curry soup was made with coconut curry that’s thick, creamy and mildly spicy that didn’t upset the stomach. It had an ample portion of egg noodles mixed with tofu, vegetables, juicy prawns, fish balls, other seafood and spices. The balance of flavors was spot-on. I particularly liked the densely rich flavor of laksa with a slightly gritty texture. Fragrance was very stimulating, indeed.
Price for Value: ★★★★☆
This probably isn’t the kind of place I’d want to eat at on a regular basis, but the menu itself is good enough to bring me in. Wild Ginger features Southeast Asian food that can be playful and nicely presented. Part of the lure is the good mixture of influences—aboriginal, colonial, and modern international. Counting on the quality and authenticity of the food tastes, I’m quite sold that the price for value is fair.
About Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco
Health and technology freak. Food and lifestyle blogger with a large appetite for food and travel.
I love asian food but it must look attractive too.The Curry Laksa Seafood looks very tempting! I’d love to try if I visit this restaurant someday.
I had a good feeling that Wild Ginger would be our kind of place just because it mainly serves Southeast Asian food. The Curry Laksa is a winner! Try it.
I’ve got to get to you neck of the world. All the restaurants you review – even the ones with a bad rating – look AMAZING.
Haha thanks, Melissa. Come try them out soon! All of them seem dedicated to the craft of making food and serving the customers. There are hits and misses out of all my restaurant visits but most of the ones I’ve stumbled upon are okay. Let me put it this way: I appreciate their reasoning for opening a restaurant. 😛
How nice to be able to meet up! The good looks delicious too, now I’m hungry!
Yeah, it’s hard to meet up these days as we have different schedules and availability. The food was really good. 🙂
Wow. What a gorgeous place. You always go to the best restaurants.
I’ve yet to cover the best of the best. 🙂 Glad I have the chances to try them one at a time.
I see what you mean about the simplicity. I think I would still enjoy dining there too, and the food looks delish!
Yeah, either one sets the tone for the rest of the meal. And honestly, all you really need is a great and authentic tasting meal to be satisfied. 🙂
Looks like a lovely place to eat. That seafood soup looks and sound delicious!
Yeah the soup may not look light much but it was really great.
Spicy food not for me, just a natural way of cooking. The place looks clean and tidy.
Spicy food is for me. Haha I guess we’re total opposites on that instance then. 😛
No wonder I haven’t heard of this because it’s only located in Power Plant Mall (a place I haven’t been to!). I have tasted Nasi Migoreng and I love it. I’m now curious of how it tastes like with them. Are the meals pricey? Because it if its, I guess it’s one of the reasons why they do not have other branches.
Personally, I don’t think other Pinoys (masses) would try this out and would return once in a while. Makati is, I believe, the best location for it has a market financially capable dining in this kind of place plus there are a diversity of nationalities in Makati 🙂
I also don’t go to Power Plant Mall often, so I made sure to try dining at a restaurant that I don’t find elsewhere.
The food prices seem to be fair and have good value. Other restaurants serve more expensive food yet they have more than three branches. I guess it’s just the management or the restauranteur who decides whether or not to expand the business. Or, who knows? Maybe they have opened in another location but with a different branding and slighter a different set of food on the menu. 🙂
I wish I could experiment with as many restaurants as you do. You’re always trying something tasty!
Yup, it’s just the weekend when I have the time to explore like this. 🙂 Weekdays are crazy busy with gazillion of work load haha. Not that I’m complaining.
This place sounds lovely! I also love the name.
I was curious how the name was thought of. It wasn’t mentioned on their website either.
This place looks beautiful! I love how the interior design of this place is simple yet elegant! And the food, ugh, makes me hungry!
I like the place for its chill vibe. It’s almost like not housed in a busy mall at lunchtime.
Oh my gosh the food looks so delish!!! The place looks wonderful!
Everything we had here was great, and a lot of fun to eat and discuss.
Sure looks like a lovely place – I like that you can try specialties from the South East Asian region at one cafe!
Ling Tan
Yup, I like the concept, too. You can either order a dish you haven’t tried or sounds kinda alien to you or one that you’re very familiar already. Either way, you’re going to be happy with your decision. 🙂
curry laksa seems like a penang dish 😉 glad you liked them
Yeah, it has always been one of my food favorites. 🙂
The wicker chairs outside reminds me of my childhood but I really prefer dining inside than on a mall lobby. I like quiet restos like this though where I can take time to eat and have a conversation.
This was one of the rare instances when I was pleasantly surprised to have wound up at a restaurant that hasn’t received much fanfare, but we have a good meal.
Look like a nice place to eat and relax after shopping. Food looks good.
Interesting flavor and texture combinations litter a menu of impressive Southeast Asian food hits at Wild Ginger.
I love South Asian Food! The decor of the restaurant looks very chic and cozy
Yup, it’s an unassuming restaurant, but one that prides itself on good service, good ambiance and also good food.
It’s nice that you didn’t feel rushed. I also like that the bill came in time… I hate when that part is neglected.
When the bill part is neglected, might as well walk out of the restaurant and ignore them as they’ve ignored you, right? Haha. Kidding. With sarcasm.
Wow, so they serve food from all over southeast asia? That’s a pretty cool concept! It’s the first time I’ve heard about a restaurant with that type of menu (that’s not a buffet of course). The place looks pretty cool. Thanks for the review!
You’re welcome. Come check this out soon! You’ll also love the minimal decors all around. It almost feels like you’re in a rich person’s dining area inside an upstate escape house. 😛
The laksa look so good ! I find it quite often that restaurants with minimal decor seem to plate up the best food ….maybe it’s because they put a lot of their love into the food instead ? 🙂
Yes, maybe. But it’s not always like that. 😛 There are also those who don’t focus on anything. I guess it all depends on the preference of the diners on the taste of food and the overall feel of the restuarant.
This looks like a beautiful place to eat indeed. I love the decor which is gorgeous. The food sounds like looks so good. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! I don’t expect everyone to agree with me that Wild Ginger serves one of the best laksa I’ve tried so far in the Philippines (but they do). 😛 Try it!
The food in the pics looks & sounds so good. Looks like a good place to try. Asian cuisine is so yum!
Asian food = textures and flavors of all kinds. <3
Oh I’ve tried Wild Ginger before.. I really love the ambiance. I thought they served European food at first but was surprised when I looked at the menu and served Asian dishes. But we had fun and love the taste!
I had the same assumption. It was because of the design of the exterior. 🙂
This place looks great inside, I really like the look of it. And the Curry Laksa Seafood, yummy! I love curry!
Ohh if you’re really into curry laksa, this one will have you hallucinating in no time! 😛 So good.
This looks like such a lovely place to eat. Delicious looking food too!
Wild Ginger is one restaurant I’m looking forward to come back for when in Rockwell.
I like that the place is not too crowded and the decors are light on the eyes and simple. The food also looks great.
It’s a fine restaurant. The decor is minimal, but it’s got great menu selection and good vibe.
This place looks really nice. And the food looks delicious!
Yup, what’s also noteworthy was that we didn’t have to wait long for the food. 😉
Wouldn’t there be a Banana Leaf near this one? So there will be more known competition it has to contend with. I do not like too spicy so your description is encouraging to me.
I remember seeing Banana Leaf on the same floor though I’m not sure if it’s close to Wild Ginger. For the curry laksa, you can actually request it to be either mildly spicy or really spicy. Level depends on the customer. 🙂
I like the interiors a lot! Comfy wooden furniture and bright paintings!
The environment theme was pleasing to the eyes. It’s not enough though as basis to be deciding to eat here. I came mostly for their food and glad I didn’t regret it. 🙂
I never got the chance to visit the Power Plant Mall when we were in Manila. I hope we get to visit it next time and I hope we get to check Wild Ginger as well. Those look good!
There will be plenty of restaurant options in the mall so it’s okay if you don’t go with Wild Ginger. I’m not saying that this is not a good choice but when in Manila and especially if you only have a limited time, it’s always better to try and opt for the local Filipino cuisine. 🙂
I love chicken satay so I would want to try their Nasi Goreng. It looks and sounds real good. =)
The nasi goreng is a must-order at Wild Ginger. 🙂 Order it if you’re unsure with the other items on the menu.
Looks like very not usual dining spot considering it’s not-so-crowded. But at times, it’s considered a very good spot especially with the worth-the-price food and service as well.
Yeah I think it has to do with the branding/marketing of the restaurant. Since many along the same floor are commercialized and have very good publicity all around offline and online channels, they are more favored and entered by patrons. This one may be simple and silent but nevertheless a good one, too.
oh my roch!!! nasi goreng and laksa!!! Now I ak missing Sg ^_^… didn’t notice this resto when i was in Rockwell last month… maybe it is worth a try hehehehe… btw your site is back!!! Yahooo!
These are the top two dishes actually that I crave for often since I was back in Manila. Fortunately, we have restaurants such as Wild Ginger that bring me back to my second home through taste. 🙂 Yup, it’s worth a try! Cheers to the return of my site haha.
I actually frequent Rockwell, but it is my first time to hear about this restaurant! Next time I’m craving for Thai food, I’m definitely stopping by.
Oh really? Wow! Haha this restaurant should really increase its presence either by social media marketing or word-of-mouth marketing. 😛
I like the layout of the cafe, it’s brightly lit, good for photography etc. Food wise, I wouldn’t know until I taste it!
If you’re into Southeast Asian food, you’ll like the tastes. 🙂
It looks bright and elegant and the food looked welcoming. I noticed the African art. Kudos. I love restaurants that display art and have a cozy feel too.
Oh I didn’t know it’s African art. I just appreciate that the blend of colors make a good complement as a backdrop. 🙂
First time dining here tonight. Had Vietnamese spring rolls and beef rendang. Enjoyed both so looked at reviews on the net. I thoroughly enjoyed reading yours.