A Night Out at Sweet Ginger with Serve and a Chance to Win!

Because I'm constantly cooking and blogging, we don't get to go out to restaurants very often. So it's always a nice treat to try someplace new. Craig and I walk by Sweet Ginger in Union Square when going about our errands and had always wanted to give it a try. We love Thai food and had yet to find our go-to Thai place since moving to Somerville in August. I also feel strongly, especially during this time of year, to support as many local businesses as I can. It was also the perfect time to try out the new Serve program from American Express. Serve is a digital payment platform that allows you to send and receive funds from your mobile device. Dining out in groups can be tricky, especially when some people are paying with cards and others with cash. Serve eliminates all these issues by allowing account holders to just transfer money from their phones or computers instantly, thus  making splitting a check so much easier. Serve asked some food blogger to test out the service, so I signed up and decided to give it a try. 

The best part of this: my readers are now eligible to win a $100 Serve credit just for commenting on this post! So comment often in the next 7 days and you can win!!!

Signing up for the account was simple, I was initially wary, but once I learned that Serve uses American Express security, data protection and technology, I felt so much better. I signed up, linked my Serve account to my debit card so I could send funds, and a few days later I received my serve card. It works sort of like a gift card, I can use it wherever American Express is accepted. I planned on paying with my Serve card and having everyone else just transfer their portion into my Serve account. 

More after the jump

So, to test drive Serve, I got a group together to go out to Sweet Ginger for some yummy Thai food. I figured the best test audiences are diverse, so I invited myself and Craig (20 something professionals), my brother Jeff and his friend Greg (college students) and my mom. The five of us all have different ideas/feelings about technology, so I thought it would be fun to see what everyone thought. The overall consensus was that it was very easy to set up the account. My mom has an iPhone and she just downloaded the Serve app. So easy.

Dinner was great, we started with some tasty Singha beers and then ordered a whole bunch of appetizers. We enjoyed fresh rolls, thai rolls, tempura, satay and the house specialty, crab rangoon. I am not normally a fan of crab rangoon, but at Sweet Ginger they are filled with real crab, fresh veggies and curry in addition to the traditional cream cheese. Served with sweet pineapple sauce, they were a highlight of the evening.

For entrees, we ordered pad thai, pad see ew, drunken chicken, the house duck and mango fried rice. The drunken chicken was my particular favorite. Chicken, hot peppers, string beans and cashews in a spicy sauce. So filling and so amazing. I am inspired to create this at home. I also LOVE mango fried rice, it's one of my go to Thai takeout orders. At Sweet Ginger, they let me substitute brown rice, so it was healthier as well.

I found the service to be absolutely excellent. We were a demanding party and kept asking to add new dishes and try new things. Everyone there was so kind and helpful, making suggestions as to house specialties. The restaurant is small and has limited seating, but is lovely and well decorated. As we were walking home, Craig and I were so ecstatic that we finally found "our" neighborhood Thai restaurant. We look forward to trying everything on the menu!

When the meal was over, I went to pay using the Serve card I had received in the mail. Turns out, the restaurant doesn't take American Express. Yikes. I should have checked first. But it was no problem. Serve is such a versatile service that we were able to easily pay anyway. Craig paid and the rest of us just transferred our share to his serve account. Using her Serve app, my mom was able to do it at the table! So simple. So the lesson learned is that even if the restaurant does take AmEx, or even if they are cash only, you can still easily and successfully use Serve to split the bill hassle free with your friends.

Greg and Linda

Jeff, in dire need of a haircut

Restaurant Info:

Sweet Ginger Thai Cuisine
22 Bow St.
Somerville, MA
http://www.sweetgingerunionsq.com/

I participated in testing and reviewing Serve as party of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. I received a stipend from American Express. If you sign up for Serve, you receive a $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below within the next 7 days for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your Serve account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found here.