I was on my way to another restaurant on Cleveland Ave when I saw the sign for Koi, a Chinese restaurant, where another Chinese restaurant, Shangri La, used to be (I went there once—it was unremarkable). This place couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old, so I thought it deserved a shot. Taking a quick glance at the menu, it appeared that it was the standard Chinese-American fare. Upon closer inspection, there was a small “authentic Chinese” part of the menu. The authentic Chinese dishes, often hidden on a Chinese menu, are always something to look for not only because of their uniqueness and difficult-to-findness, but also because it’s likely the chef is comfortable making these traditional dishes. The authentic section only contains ten items or so, and there’s surprisingly little gross factor offered on this part of the menu (the steamed monkfish liver and stir-fried jellyfish that one might find on a Chinese menu was not present). After consulting with the waiter, I decided to try the pork with chili pepper, the water spinach, and the mango chicken (a pretty unconventional Chinese-American offering). I was disappointed to hear that the fresh water spinach was in fact not on hand, and the best the waiter could do was offer stir-fried lettuce (an interesting but unappealing choice). I decided to take my chances with the ma po tofu, a standard among Chinese restaurants.
The pork with chili pepper stood out as the best dish, by far. A generous serving of skinny pork strips covered with bright green onions and sliced jalapenos, which lure the eater in with its appearance similar to green pepper (they’re sliced long ways, not the typical baseball nacho slice that one normally encounters). Considering that many of the jalapeno seeds are still evident within the dish, this was not a mild, gentle pork dish. It does a little more butt kicking than I expected. The dish maintains a nice crunch between the jalapenos and the green onions. It appeared— I might be wrong on this—that there were pea shoots in there, too. They didn’t add much, except to the overall greenness to the dish. Sliced garlic provided nice flavor and contrast from the spiciness.
The ma po tofu hit some of the right notes. Tofu was well cooked, silken and delicate in the slightly sweet ma po brown sauce which didn’t really make me want to eat more of it due to its odd aftertaste (no indication of fermented black beans in the sauce, either). The minced pork added texture, but wasn’t remarkable in any way. Where this dish was really lacking was the spice. It barely registered at all on the tongue, maybe a 1.5 on the 10 point spiciness scale. Unfortunately, the traditionally spicy Szechuan dish failed to deliver in this case.
The mango chicken was the last to come out. It was in a thick, bright sauce—never really a good sign. It would probably suffice to the person who appreciates a nice sweet and saucy orange chicken, but it didn’t appeal to me on this day. The consistency of the sauce mixed with the slices of mango approached mushy and grainy. It’s a good sign, however, that mango was in the dish, and not just in the syrupy sauce.
Koi is still very new onto the dining scene, and it shows—the barebones interior, Styrofoam plates, and plastic forks and knives all prove that the restaurant is getting its feet wet. But a limited Chinese menu and mediocre execution on a few dishes might indicate that the restaurant is just not where it should be. The pork with chili pepper comes recommended, but know that you might be taking a chance with one of Koi’s other dishes.
Koi
3754 Cleveland AveColumbus, OH 43224
614-471-5400
