Family food

WASILLA — While Wasilla may still be getting used to the cuisine at Basil Ginger, the Kuang family is no stranger to restaurants.

Gino Kuang opened Basil Ginger on August 15 and has seen rapid success since opening. Kuang was born into the restaurant business. Kuang’s uncle had two restaurants in Connecticut. His Father owned a pair as well. Kuang picked up the recipe for his Mongolian Beef, the hottest selling item at Basil Ginger, from his Father 20 years ago. His father picked it up from his uncle 30 years ago. Years after getting his start in kitchens with his family on the East coast and then moving to Alaska, Kuang’s kitchen is still a family affair.

“My family put our heart and soul into it. We’re not just here to kill time. We cook with our soul that’s a fact,” said Kuang.

Kuang employs his mother Mei and son Tony and says he is very lucky with his staff. He cooks with many handed down family recipes, including sauce his mother cooks that she still won’t give up the recipe for. No pre-made sauces come through Basil Ginger, everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients.

“I’m very proud of the quality we use. We chose to use the higher end qualities that most restaurants don’t do. We choose quality because people like to put quality food in their stomach and they don’t mind paying a little extra. We don’t buy anything premade. We don’t buy sauce in a bottle. We make everything from scratch here,” said Kuang.

Large statues in the entryway separate two dining rooms. A smaller dining room in front of the sushi bar looks out over Pioneer Peak. The larger dining room sits in front of a fireplace with large photos and paintings on the wall. Kuang keeps his kitchen and dining room spotlessly clean.

“Cleanliness is next to godliness. You’ve got to be clean,” said Kuang.

Kuang moved to Alaska in 1995. He started two restaurants in Juneau — Zen and the Canton House. He moved to Wasilla two years ago. The Basil Ginger menu features classics like General Tsao’s Chicken, Lo Mein, Teriyaki Chicken and Fried Rice. Sushi choices range from ‘Da Bomb’ which mixes eel, salmon skin and avocado, to an Alaskan roll with crab and spicy salmon.

“You’ve got to have pride put your soul into it if you do doesn’t matter how small or how big if it doesn’t work out you're not going to question yourself if you gave it enough or not because you know you gave it 110 % and you can move on. It doesn’t matter what it is, marriage, family, business, I live by that,” said Kuang.