29084 Fri Apr 30 14:47:23 -0700 2004 12 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 122472 Any recommendations for what to order for dinner at Koi Palace? Thanks Fri Apr 30 14:47:23 -0700 2004 0 sarah 1 122473 "Budda jumps wall" Fri Apr 30 14:52:36 -0700 2004 122472 0 MM 2 122485 One must add the caveat that this is very expensive. In fact, any seasonal priced dish (fresh seafood) will be pretty expensive. But that is what Koi Palace specializes in. Fri Apr 30 16:41:38 -0700 2004 122473 0 Peter 1 122482 To expand on the original question, how is the hot pot compared to the merely acceptable versions at places like Coriya? Fri Apr 30 16:14:14 -0700 2004 122472 0 ma la 2 122491 WE haven't tried it yet, but it's bound to be several notches above Coriya's. Their menu is posted on the web site (see below). A lot of high-end hot pot fodder, and I would guess their reputation would demand that it be fresh (at least the local stuff). That, and the dipping sauces, what more can you ask? (I'll refrain from quoting Bill Murray here.) I don't think it's AYCE, but I'm sure they'll give you plenty. We miss the great seafood hot pot at the defunct Happy Valley (Levi's plaza) and at the not-quite-so good but cheaper AYCE at Heavenly Hot on Geary (also gone). Coriya doesn't really sepcialize in seafood, and they tend to cut corners. Still fun, though. Link: http://www.koipalace.com/menu/hotmenu1.html Fri Apr 30 17:40:13 -0700 2004 122482 0 Gary Soup 3 122510 Willy Ng, who made Happy Valley a success is the owner of Koi Palace. It's been a while since I had hot pot at KP, but it's as close as you'll find to Happy Valley's. Fri Apr 30 20:12:15 -0700 2004 122491 0 Melanie Wong 4 122531 That's news to me, and interesting. As I was looking over KP's Hot Pot menu, I was pondering its similarity to Happpy Valley's. Happy Valley was a great place, with excellent food in an equally nice facility, at once urban and at the same time almost bucolic. We once had the Hot Pot at one of their outdoor tables on a balmy evening. It's ironic that Ng had to go to a Daly City shoppping mall for the "location, location, location" that brought him his due fame. Sat May 01 00:23:18 -0700 2004 122510 0 Gary Soup 5 122568 Also notice the varathaned decorated table tops...Willy saved a ton of money avoiding use of table cloths whenever possible at HV and KP. I was not a happy camper when Willy et al bought the original Happy Valley on Lombard in the Marina district from Henry. It had been my most frequented Chinese restaurant in SF and my parents loved going there whenever they were visiting the City. But soon I got comfortable with Willy's crew at both locations. We hosted a few wine dinners at Lombard, taking over the whole place and his staff did a fantastic job reflecting the jubilant energy in the room. When Lombard shifted to all hot pots, both my sister and I shifted to Levi Plaza for several large functions and got to know Willy quite well. One year, I organized a combo Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year's Eve dinner for 50 for my employer for our families and sweethearts. Unbeknownst to me, my staff had hired a couple of belly dancers who made a surprise appearance in the dining room. Willy and his servers took it all in stride and said we should always have entertainers at our dinners! One of our senior managers was grousing about the expense of such an elaborate banquet with employees' kids in tow - I loved it when the CFO showed him the bill which came to less than $20 per person inclusive. Probably due to their location, both Happy Valley restaurants catered to a non-Chinese clientele. Because of this, I think the service was much better than the typical Chinese restaurant at that price point. At Koi Palace, the crowd is mostly Chinese, and management hasn't put as much emphasis on service. I hope that with KP's increasing reputation among non-Chinese that service improvements will follow to match the quality of the cooking and attract this clientele. Sat May 01 15:27:58 -0700 2004 122531 0 Melanie Wong 1 122484 I am a big fan of their Peking Duck family dinner ($55 total), for which you get Peking duck three ways (duck, soup, and claypot); soup dumplings; steamed crab with those delicious little bundles of noodles; and steamed fish. It feeds 4 to the gills, and up to 6 if you add a dish or two. Other favorites: geoduck sashimi, and that whole coconut dessert where you can scrape the meat off the sides (needs to be ordered at the beginning of the meal). Fri Apr 30 16:30:00 -0700 2004 122472 0 AppleSister 1 122492 I agree with AppleSister on the Peking Duck family meal. I think we added one dish for five people and it was plenty. The only negative is that the xiaolong bao was a pretty inept rendition when I had it. Since they include it with most of their dinner sets, including the Hot Pot(!), they ought to do a better job or come up with an alternative. Fri Apr 30 17:45:19 -0700 2004 122472 0 Gary Soup 2 122497 Is there a wait for dinner at Koi Palace like there is for dim sum? Fri Apr 30 18:49:35 -0700 2004 122492 0 Wendy-san 3 122509 Not when I've been there. We typically eat early-ish (6:00 or so). Fri Apr 30 20:03:41 -0700 2004 122497 0 Gary Soup 3 122511 You can make reservations for dinner, so no need to wait. Don't forget to order the roast suckling piglet. Fri Apr 30 20:13:49 -0700 2004 122497 0 Melanie Wong