Posts Tagged ‘Chinese’

Koi Sushi

Sunday, July 30th, 2017

20170706_112748Koi Sushi, like its sister restaurant Chili King, combines multiple cuisine types into one menu. Thus, you’ll see a variety of lunch specials, teriyaki dishes, tempura dishes, “American” Chinese dishes and of course, sushi.

Sushi choices are comprised of regular rolls (e.g. California roll), sushi/sashimi (e.g. yellowtail), assorted platters and special rolls. The Crazy Roll ($12.99) has a good crunch from the shrimp tempura, creaminess from the avocado and a little kick from the spicy tuna. It’s all wrapped together in pink soy paper and drizzled with eel sauce.

The Godzilla roll ($14.99) is similarly large and decorative. You can really discern all the components, including the eel, cream cheese and tempura batter; other ingredients include crab and white fish. The spicy sauce and eel sauce combine to add more flavor than heat. Other rolls in this category include the Golden Dragon (salmon and white tuna, $15.95) and the Black Thunder (shrimp tempura and spicy tuna, $15.95).

20170706_113143As previously mentioned, the rest of the menu presents a robust selection from which to choose.

Hot appetizers include gyoza ($6.95) and beef nagimaki (thinly sliced beef with green onions, $8.95). The tempura squid ($8.95) is a nice alternative to fried calamari. You get giant chunks of squid that are not overly battered and go well with a little soy sauce. The dish also comes with tempura veggies.

Based on their size, the entrees are really meant for sharing, which means you should order several items for communal eating. Under the Famous Sauteed section, I got the spicy fried eggs ($9.99), which are simple but satisfying. It’s a heaping plate of scrambled eggs mixed with sauteed peppers, including jalapenos that give this dish some heat.

You can read about other entrees in my Chili King review (they have similar menus).

Koi Sushi is open every day for lunch and dinner.

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See more photos in our Koi Sushi Flickr album.

Koi Sushi Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Chili King

Sunday, June 18th, 2017

20170616_123552There is no shortage of Asian cuisine on South Park Street, and new to the arena is Chili King. It replaces the short-lived Angkor-wat, which replaced Inka Heritage.

Chili King has an enormously long menu, spanning cold and hot appetizers, rice dishes, noodle dishes, various types of entrees, “famous sauteed,” lunch specials and even sushi. My normal tactic is to try a cross-section, and here is what I have to report:

“American” appetizers include egg rolls and crab rangoon. The other apps, such as the sliced pork stomach ($7.99), are typically not found on an Americanized Chinese menu. The strips of pork stomach weren’t too chewy but essentially had no flavor other than the bit of chili sauce on top, so you may need to add more sauce like soy sauce. The portion size is enough to feed 2-3 people with an entrée.

I didn’t expect the lamb with fish in creamy sauce ($14.99) to be served as a soup. Fortunately, you get a generous portion of both–the lamb came in bite-sized pieces, and the fish was very tender and absorbed some of the broth flavor well. Other similarly categorized entrees include the hot & spicy solo fish fillet ($13.99) and dried string bean with pork ($11.99).

20170614_122549The Singapore noodles ($13.45) is a heaping plate of noodles with the right amount of curry seasoning, plus giant chunks of chicken, lots of shrimp and an over-abundance of vegetables. It’s good as-is and even better with a little Sriracha on top.

You will find a section of the menu called “boiled/casserole” comprised of hot pots. I tried a dry pot instead; specifically, the turnip & twice-cooked pork dry pot ($15.99). A pleasant surprise, the pork came in the form of thinly sliced pork belly, mixed with both crunchy and tender vegetables. I appreciated the perfect amount in of heat from the chili peppers.

Of note, there is a fairly extensive array of vegetarian dishes as well.

Chili King is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout. Delivery is available.

Chili King Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

ZenZen Taste

Sunday, February 19th, 2017

20170208_120315Next time you’re at Woodman’s on the west side, see if you can spot ZenZen Taste across the street. It’s a hidden gem for Chinese food adjacent to an Asian grocery store called J&P Market. If you can forgive the service, it’s worth a trip for the large portions and unique cuisines.

On the latter point, it’s nice to see items you wouldn’t find at other Chinese restaurants. For example, there’s pot chicken with bamboo ($12.95), Hunan fish head ($32.95), roasted pork chop with honey ($12.95) and boiled beef in spicy sauce ($10.95). Unfortunately, there are no descriptions of the menu items, and only some of them have a photo.

The egg drop corn soup ($4.95) is a safe bet and a bargain. I had three bowls from the serving bowl, and there was still enough for at least another serving. The soup has a delicate flavor, having the right amount of egg and corn.

On the opposite end of the spectrum for your tastebuds is the dongbo pork elbow ($16.95). If you like pig hocks, you’ll like this meatier version. It’s tender and very flavorful, but it’s salty, so you will need some rice with each bite to tone it down.

20170214_115315The century eggs ($6.95) were some of the best I’ve ever had. Perfect gelatinous texture of the whites, paired with the creaminess of the yolk, mixed with the spiciness of peppers, makes for a satisfying appetizer.

The roasted Peking duck ($58.95 whole, $38.95 half) is served in two parts. The first is moo shu-style, with super tender sliced duck combining with the crunch from the julienne onions and cucumbers you can add to a Mandarin pancake. Much to my surprise, this huge meal also comes with a pot of soup, containing the rest of the duck (on bone). You can easily share this large spread with 1-2 people.

While I enjoyed the food here, service needs improvement, as the restaurant is understaffed. There’s always just one server, and one time I had to walk into the kitchen to get served by one of the cooks, as no one was in the dining room.

ZenZen Taste is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout.

ZenZen Taste Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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