Dimsum lunch at Koi Palace
There are a few unexpected things for me about Koi Palace. I didn’t expect it to be in the middle of PetSmart, Ross, 24 Hour Fitness, Outback, and CVS. Nor could I fathom why it was completely full at noon time on a Wednesday. People in Daly City don’t have to work on weekdays? What about schools? (plenty of school-age glanced at me mid-bites when I tried to spy the food on their table…) Inexplicable.
Perhaps the food here is really so good that work is meaningless without it? Among the things we got, a few really gave us that instant burst of satisfaction like when you pop a bubble-wrap bubble and made me forget work for a second. Such as the grilled chive and shrimp dumplings. Each ball plops into your mouth and fills the void so perfectly, you sink into a plump piece of shrimp every time you move your jaw. It takes some time to chew, and you kind of wish it would last even longer.
The espresso coffee ribs are another. You can definitely taste the coffee in that succulent, rich piece of meat. This is one of those examples of candied meat, an odd-sounding but undeniably addictive entanglements. If Koi Palace were a buffet, this would be what people pile on their plates.
Not all items were unanimously favorites, however. Most were oily, regrettably but not unexpectedly, such as the roast duck with the perfect-looking burnt orange glaze, the lo mai gai (sticky rice with dried scallop and lap cheong wrapped in lotus leaves), and the cheong fun with BBQ pork and crispy rice.
This cheong fun is interesting, though. The crispy rice part is some type of crispy rice noodle made into a mesh and deep-fried, then rolled next to typical Chinese red-and-sweet BBQ pork cubes inside thick sheets of rice noodle. Finally, the rolls are doused in a sweet soy sauce. We see that they’re trying to go for a soft-versus-crispy-versus-meaty (?) texture harmony thing, but the crispy rice couldn’t stay crispy very long. I like them still, but had I not been Vietnamese and a fan of the much-thinner-rice-roll banh cuon, I would have liked these more.
We always order xiao long bao as a standard measure of how good the dumplings are at dimsum houses. Unfortunately, the xiao long baos here are a bit of a disappointment compared to Shanghai Dumpling King’s (I’m convinced that Shanghai Dumpling King actually has the best Shanghai dumpling aka xiao long bao aka soup dumpling in the Bay Area). They’re not juicy enough. The stuffing is lackluster. They won’t be ordered again.
The remaining fares were neither dream nor embarrassment. There were the fairly commendable congee with pork and pidan, although I would prefer it 30% less thick, sliced jellyfish and green seaweed salad that got stuck in my teeth forever, really nutty gailan in oyster sauce, which was a nice break from all the meat, some Sichuan spicy seafood dumplings in red peanut sauce that looked like little green aliens but thankfully weren’t too spicy, and the unassuming but lovely Peking-style steamed chive and pork dumplings, which never go wrong.
Although the porridge was brought out near the beginning as it should be, the rest of the food arrived in no predictable order. Lo mai gai came first. Deep-fried sesame balls for desserts came at the same time as the green aliens, then they kept pouring in and dangerously took over our table. I stopped taking pictures at one point to start eating so that we could get rid of the plates…
Speaking of desserts, if there is one thing you should never get at Koi Palace, it’s Number 501 under “Sweet Heart” – “Grilled Black Sesame Filled Glutinous Cake”. They are deceptively cute – each is a little squishy ball coated with sesame seeds and contains a gooey black sesame core, kinda like the Sno Balls(*). They are death. Not in a good way, because they are so oily that you are afraid of swallowing, so you have to chew them to death. The problem is that the core is too little and the skin is too thick. If you want black-sesame dessert balls, go to Shanghai Dumpling King, they serve it boiled and full of sesame. On the other hand, the deep-fried balls with lotus and bean paste inside are actually good.
The take-away message: when you’re at Koi Palace, order “espresso coffee ribs” and “grilled chive & shrimp dumpling”. Do NOT order “Grilled Black Sesame Filled Glutinous Cake”.
Address: Koi Palace in Serramonte Plaza
365 Gellert Blvd, Daly City, CA 94015
koipalace.com
Foodnote:
(*) Sno Balls are the best American sweets ever invented.
(**) Photo credit: some photos were taken by bnibroc.
You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
1It’s really a nice and helpful piece of info. I am glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
2Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed! Extremely helpful info particularly the final section 🙂 I take care of such information a lot. I used to be seeking this particular information for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
3You can certainly see your skills in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.
4Trying out pkr777login tonight. Hoping to find some good poker action and maybe win a few bucks. Let’s see if my poker face holds up online. pkr777login
5Yo, anyone play on ph898? What’s the vibe? Good selection of games? Payouts smooth?
6Looking to score the phl boss app download. Is it worth the space on my phone? Heard mixed things, so looking for some honest opinions.
7Very interesting points you have mentioned, appreciate it for posting.
8Some times its a pain in the ass to read what people wrote but this web site is very user friendly! .
9Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I’ll be grateful if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
10Well I really liked studying it. This post procured by you is very effective for good planning.
11Enjoyed looking at this, very good stuff, appreciate it.
12I haven’t checked in here for some time since I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
13You have brought up a very fantastic points, regards for the post.
14Hi , I do believe this is an excellent blog. I stumbled upon it on Yahoo , i will come back once again. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and help other people.
15Lovely blog! I am loving it!! Will come back again. I am bookmarking your feeds also.
16Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information. Your website is very useful. Thanks for sharing.
17It is best to take part in a contest for among the best blogs on the web. I’ll suggest this website!
18Hola! I’ve been reading your web site for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from New Caney Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the good work!
19you’re really a good webmaster. The website loading speed is incredible. It seems that you’re doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterwork. you have done a wonderful job on this topic!
20Real informative and wonderful complex body part of content, now that’s user pleasant (:.
21Wow! This can be one particular of the most beneficial blogs We’ve ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Great. I am also an expert in this topic so I can understand your hard work.
22Ice Water Hack Recipe
23Ice Water Hack Recipe
24Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing some research on that. And he just bought me lunch since I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
25Thanks so much for giving everyone such a pleasant chance to read articles and blog posts from this site. It is usually very sweet and full of a great time for me personally and my office colleagues to visit your website on the least 3 times every week to read the fresh tips you have got. And of course, we are certainly happy with the breathtaking principles you give. Some two points on this page are definitely the most efficient I’ve ever had.
26Glad to be one of several visitants on this awe inspiring site : D.
27Regards for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting info .
28Thank you for sharing with us, I believe this website really stands out :D.
29I went over this web site and I conceive you have a lot of good info , saved to my bookmarks (:.
30I have been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog posts on this sort of space . Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this website. Studying this information So i am happy to express that I have an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I such a lot certainly will make certain to don’t overlook this site and give it a glance regularly.
31There is obviously a lot to realize about this. I believe you made certain good points in features also.
32I am perpetually thought about this, thanks for posting.
33hello there and thank you for your information – I have certainly picked up something new from right here. I did however expertise some technical issues using this web site, as I experienced to reload the web site many times previous to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web host is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will very frequently affect your placement in google and can damage your high quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for a lot more of your respective interesting content. Ensure that you update this again soon..
34Hey There. I found your weblog the use of msn. This is an extremely smartly written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to learn extra of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I will definitely comeback.
35I view something genuinely interesting about your weblog so I saved to fav.
36Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
37A lot of thanks for every one of your hard work on this site. Debby really likes managing investigation and it’s easy to understand why. A lot of people know all regarding the compelling medium you deliver both useful and interesting secrets via the web site and in addition inspire contribution from visitors on the concept plus our princess is without question becoming educated a lot. Take pleasure in the remaining portion of the year. You have been doing a pretty cool job.
38I’ve read a few excellent stuff here. Certainly value bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot effort you set to create one of these wonderful informative site.
39Thanks for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do some research on this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more from this post. I’m very glad to see such wonderful information being shared freely out there.
40Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your web-site is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you have on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found simply the information I already searched all over the place and simply could not come across. What a perfect web site.
41That is very attention-grabbing, You’re an overly skilled blogger. I have joined your rss feed and stay up for in quest of extra of your fantastic post. Additionally, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!
42Horse Gelatin For Men
43GELATIN HORSE TRICK
44Real nice pattern and excellent content, practically nothing else we need :D.
45The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
46I genuinely enjoy looking through on this site, it holds excellent content. “Violence commands both literature and life, and violence is always crude and distorted.” by Ellen Glasgow.
47I really appreciate this post. I’ve been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve made my day! Thx again
48Can I just say what a relief to seek out somebody who actually is aware of what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know tips on how to bring an issue to light and make it important. Extra people need to learn this and understand this side of the story. I cant consider youre not more standard because you definitely have the gift.
49Jellyfil Supplement Reviews
50