Eating at Jinga is as close as you're going to get to a vacation in the South Seas without taking a plane trip. Mai tais win out over margaritas, green curry tops green chile. The décor of dark woods and vivid tropical colors further the beach holiday feel but it's the food that really makes you feel like you've escaped. The pan-Asian menu
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offers something of a greatest hits of Asian cooking, from pad Thai to teriyaki chicken to kung pao chicken and Malay coconut soup. The chicken udon soup is chicken noodle with a serious kick; you won't normally be this enthused about broth and the noodles are thick, chewy and slurpable. The appetizers continue the skipping across the continent with Japanese crabcakes, Vietnamese spring rolls and imperial lettuce wraps that combine hot and cold, tangy and spicy, crisp and smooth all in one dish of chopped, well-flavored chicken scooped into fresh lettuce and doused with a sweet chile sauce. Bon voyage!
510 North Guadalupe, 982-4321. Lunch and dinner daily. $.
SFR Pick:
Tropical cocktails, chicken satay salad.
