The Small Household Food Exchange Group visited Koi for Chinese food Sunday night. (An attempt to go to Larsa’s didn’t work out, due to staffing issues there.)
Overall, the food wasn’t bad, but noticeably uneven. The primary part of the menu is organized by eight regions of China — Chuan, Hui, Yue, Xiang, Min, Zhe, Su and Lu.

We all agreed the best dish of the night was the
Lemon Chicken, Hiu cuisine from the Anhui region. Boneless chicken pieces were served in a lemon sauce with bits of apple, which helped offset the lemon’s acidity.

Coming in at second best, I described the
Braised Pork Belly (Zhe cuisine from the Zhejiang region) as “luxuriously fatty.” One less enthusiastic eater simply called it “fatty.” Bok Choy mitigated the fattiness a little.

Lu cuisine from the Shandong region gave us
Cumin Lamb. The reasonably tender lamb was served with lots of vegetables, and a bit of heat from chili oil.

I was disappointed with the
Seafood Combination, Min cuisine from the Fujian region. Normally I’m a big fan of seafood dishes, and, to be fair, all the different pieces of seafood were perfectly cooked, which can be tricky, because the shrimp (both breaded and sautéed), bay scallops and fish can cook at different rates. But what was described as a white wine-garlic sauce was very soy-forward, overwheming the delicate seafood flavors.
We’ve eaten at Koi, both dine-in and delivery, from time to time over the past few years, and will continue to do so occasionally. I’m hoping the Seafood Combination was just the result of an off night.