Koi Palace

Many bay area folks will tell you that Koi Palace is the best Chinese restaurant in the area. I know that will raise a ruckus amongst those who hate it because they don't think its worth the long wait or high prices. We've visited once before for dim sum a few years ago which was quite pricey but always wanted to come back to sample their dinner menu. We ended up surprising Chu-Toro for her birthday with a banquet style meal with both of our families. 

Suckling Pig BBQ combination appetizers

Although it took a little bit of time to get seated (30 minutes despite having a reservation), we got stuck in a smaller table and didn't get our food for a good thirty minutes after ordering, when we finally get our first plate, it was worth it. The char-siu was the best we had since being in Hong Kong. The crispy suckling pig skin was superb and roast duck delicious. There was nothing to complaint about other than I wish we had more of it.

Rice Paper Fresh Shrimp Roll

The next dish reminded me of fancy dim sum with a light airy crispy shell that wasn't too oily with a tasty shrimp interior. Pretty darn good and unique.

Shrimp ball stuffed with scallop

We were all wondering what the next dish was, appearing like a small crab cake. After the first bite, we learned that a shrimp meat ball with a scallop inside. Very interesting and another new unique bite.

Peking Roasted Duck

Peking Roasted Duck and Bun

The crispy skin hid the thick layer of fatty goodness on the roast duck. The bau was strangely a little too buttery but beautifully formed in visually appealing layers. This dish is always a fav of mine.

Abalone and Mustards Greens

Up to this point, every dish we had was different and unique in some way from the "normal" Chinese banquet dishes until we received the classic abalone and mustard greens. Nothing to complain about on this well cooked, good classic dish.

Golden fried crab

The golden fried crab was probably one off the most creative, distinctive Chinese dishes we'd ever had. We saw another table receive it twenty minutes before us and thought it looked a whole like potato salad topped with a raw egg. When it arrived at our table, everyone was curious and excited. The pile was actually egg whites and crab meat, a light fluffy, airy interesting dish. It reminded us of the contents of a crab fried rice without the rice. Visually appealing and picaresque.

Oven roasted chicken

The crispy chicken was boring and dry, really the only lackluster dish of the night.

Seafood imperial braised rice

We were all pretty stuffed at this point and most of us didn't finish our fried rice. The couple bites I had were pretty flavorful.

Steamed catch of the day

We barely touched the steamed catch of the day, two small carps because everyone was so full but the few bites I did have were excellent.

Mango and Almond jello

Everyone was very satisfied with all the dishes throughout the evening apart of the $488 set meal. Given that 11 people were stuffed and we had four boxes of leftovers, it turned out being a pretty reasonable dining experience for a large party. Its definitively not a weekly dining destination, but if you're looking for authentic Chinese flavors for a special occasion meal, this is a great choice if you live in the bay.

Overall 8.5/10

August 20, 2011