Yes. For the first time, I had disappointing Chinese food in San Francisco. 😦
In the past, this restaurant, known as Koi Palace, was one of the best Chinese restaurants on this side of town.
I used to drive 40 minutes and then wait another 40 minutes with friends or family (this was WITH a reservation) just to get a table in this restaurant. Koi Palace was THAT good. And we didn’t mind the wait– neither did the rest of the Chinese community with a penchant for authentic Chinese cuisine in the Bay.
But last night, we ate dinner there to celebrate the birthday of DH’s uncle. We were all expecting that same excellent food (and lousy service– yes, service had been consistently lousy hahaha), but yikes, we were all surprisingly disappointed. Apparently, Koi Palace had briefly closed for a time *this is unconfirmed, but I was told this by a local* (I don’t know if it was for a renovation, or change in management/ ownership, or perhaps even for expansion). But I guess if they did close briefly, quality went downhill after they reopened.
The thing is, they are still full as always (I’m sure they have some good dishes for diners to still want to come back), though no more of those crazy long waits when we dined there.
The tanks filled with the freshest seafood were still all there. Seafood remains a forte in this restaurant.
Abalone!
I’m thinking dimsum is still good, but the ones we ordered for dinner were very lackluster and borderline disastrous.
Except for the boneless porkchops, and the fish. Very tender pork. (sorry about the fish in the background. We attacked it hahaha– the fish was fresh– it ought to be, because it was fresh from their tanks!)
Scallops, Celeries, and Cashew nuts. Very bland 😦
Fried Rice. Very bland 😦
Braised sea cucumbers and abalone mushrooms. Very bland 😦
This egg drop soup with seafood had some kind of flavor, but salt is obviously missing!! I felt like I was drinking hot water with a ruined poached egg… yep, that bad 😦 I am a soup- lover and soup drinker, so if the soup is bad, everything else good might just not make up for the bad soup. (Soup Snob Alert)
Is it possible the chef forgot to sprinkle these dishes with salt?! Or has salt become so expensive of late that the kitchen was told by management to start scrimping??
Doubt I’ll ever go back to Koi Palace for dinner. I can go back there to try their dimsum which is something I’d like to do on this trip (if I wake up early enough hahaha), and maybe give this restaurant a second chance after this bad gastronomic experience. But I welcome dining experiences of other readers who have dined at Koi Palace in the year 2009. I hope thy didn’t have the lousy soup we had 😀
Koi Palace is on 365 Gellert Blvd. Daly City (650) 992-9000. They have a website, http://www.koipalace.com *which incidentally has a “great review” made by a writer from the SF Gate some 7 years ago*
On a lighter note, one more day and it’s Christmas eve! Just to let our Fabella donors know, our total donation of 339K++ has grown to Php 440,000 from an anonymous donor 🙂 So as of last December 18, I have already turned over the full amount of Php 440,000 to Rea Harrow of Moms for Moms for her to make the purchase of 1 micro- infusion pump and 1 oxymeter 🙂 She has already placed the order for these 2 pieces of equipment, and hopefully we will get them in 60 days *long time, but I guess the medical supplies company also had to place an order for these*. Will keep you peeps posted 🙂
x
Mrs. T
tresormakati 