Back  to the wonderful neighborhood of Anna's Oven, this time to visit Blue Koi.   Blue Koi was a delightful little restaurant, the seating inside was comfortable and the noise level was low enough so that we could visit with each other.   Thanks to Josh, we were able to try a couple of appetizers, though I don't know how well he learned his lesson since his Grandpa paid for them (boo, hiss).  Josh order dumplings and tofu with awesome sauce.  I had a pork dumpling, it was fair, but  not great.  However, that said, the tofu and awesome sauce, was pretty awesome.  The tofu was lightly fried and the dipping sauce was very tasty.   I ordered Almond Shrimp with Asparagus, and a glass of Plum wine.   The Almond Shrimp, was sweet, yet spicy.   I really enjoyed the sweet/spicy combination.  There were plenty of almonds, but the dish could have used mored asparagus.  The wine, was good, but even a little too sweet for me.   I also tried Josh's duck and Justin's noodles.   The duck, even though it was supposed to be very spicy, was not as spicy as my Almond Shrimp.  Justin's noodles were very good.   I enjoyed the Blue Koi and rate it 4.25/5, and look forward to going back some day.

Fusion Smushion--it's Chinese Isn't it?

Blue Koi restaurant sounds like it should be a sophisticated respite on the "right" side of the tracks. This Westport location felt more like a neighborhood hangout that was boisterous and teeming with an energetic, younger crowd.  (Younger than Mr. Ref, anyway--I don't know about me.)  Exposed brick walls,  geraniums on the window sill, and original art don't exactly scream Chinese American restaurant; more like Very Casual Bistro.  Just the kind of place you can feel comfortable and kick back for a satisfying meal that won't pinch the pocket book.  The meals are large enough to save half for your lunch the next day!

I chose the chicken with bean sauce that was served with chunky stir-fried bell peppers and mushrooms with a side of sticky white rice.  Every item on the brief menu piqued my interest.  I was willing to try just about any of the dishes listed, and enjoyed tasting several of my tablemates dishes.  Maybe it wasn't authentic Chinese/Asian/Fusion; but the entrees were full of sugar & spice &  everything nice.  The food was well prepared, tasty, and served hot and fresh at a reasonable price.  As a bonus, the friendly waiter sure made our GAS Club outing was a pleasure.  He indulged every question with a thoughtful answer and never seemed as if he was rushed or irritated.  He seemed to genuinely enjoy serving us and this certainly added to my enjoyment of the evening. 
Rating 4 of 5
P.S.  The leftovers in my lunch tasted just as good the next day!

The Blue Koi Experience

Mr. Ref here, well I did not do a very good job this time of selecting my meal.  I usually do, because I am very cautious and a little picky.  I am more of a meat & potatoes kind of guy.  I had the Seafood Noodle Soup and personally, I would not recommend it.  My problem was when I read the menu and looked at the description was it did not sound like a soup and I thought the noodles would be large noodles.  The noodles were like very tiny spaghetti and there was a lot of onions in the soup and I do not like onions that have a strong taste.  This flavor also, for me, made all of the seafood not taste very good.  I will say that everyone else's meals looked very good and I think I would have enjoyed their meal much more than mine.  I am not going to say I would never go back there, but I definitely would not order the Seafood Noodle Soup.  Because of my poor selection and the fact everyone else's looked good I ended up giving a 2 out of 5 rating.  If I ever go back and try something else I will try and remember to update this blog hopefully with a better experience.

Happy Birthday, GAS Club!

Yesterday marked our little club's first birthday. Like any one-year old, it's nice to reflect on that first year:

- We grew: Wonderful new people joined the club. All the original members are still members.
- We explored: A year and a day ago, we had our first gathering at Sung Son Vietnamese Bistro. To date, we've been to 12 restaurants (every month except February) across our fair city.
- We got clever: We added the blog last September so that we can share our experiences with you.
- We got sophisticated: The original 5-star rating system remains, but we've added some new rules, like the appetizer of shame (see explanation at right).
- We shared: Twelve meals, twelve sets of reviews, sampling oxtail, eating without utensils, sweating over our Jamaican food with no AC during an July heat wave, suspecting a lamb dish is actually made of goat, shouting to our waitress over the live blues music--all these experiences will be great memories for years to come.

Thanks for following the blog, and we hope you continue to read about our group's adventures in the coming years.

Chinese... ? Japanese...? Blue Koi!

So after messing up and telling Erin that we hadnt been to Sung Son and her scrambling to find some where else to eat, I can proudly say I am happy she found this place so quickly because it was definitally worthy of the gassies!

I start off by having to order apps due to my lack of timeliness in posting on our blog lucky my grandpa loves me so much that he picked up the bill on those I owe him one! I also ordered a Kiran beer and I must say it is my favorite japanese beer.

for appetizers i ordered dumplings and tofu with amazing sauce and let me tell you the dumplings were good but the tofu was amazing!!! I took a bite with the sauce and realized that I might soon become a vegiterian just so I can eat this every day!

I ordered the Flame Duck (hottest item on the menu well not really but its what it says) I liked this duck a lot however it was prob my least favorite of everything I tried. I overly enjoyed both mom and erins meals and Sara's Tofu was once again very good!

I really enjoyed this little place and would def come back for the food so I will give the Koi 4.0/5

Blue Koi... Awesome Sauce!

Is this tofu heaven? No, it's Blue Koi.

Now that Luke's done with the computer, it's my turn to blog about our dinner at Blue Koi. I liked it a lot. The place is hip and colorful, but very comfortable. There was a big selection of appetizers and dumplings. We enjoyed two courtesy of Josh's lazy blogging. The dumplings were OK but the fried tofu (served with awesome sauce) was, well, awesome.

I also tried my first bubble tea. I picked the craziest flavor I could find: sweet red bean. It was good. I probably wouldn't order it again (it was too sweet), but it's always fun to start your meal with dessert.

I ordered the tofu in black bean sauce with rice. It was great. Sweet but with a little kick, and the tofu was delicious. I tried Justin's noodles, and immediately kicked myself for not also getting noodles. It would be worth paying extra to substitute--that's how much I enjoyed them. The entree was $12, with leftovers that will make a fine lunch tomorrow.

I give Blue Koi 4/5 stars.

Happy babies like Blue Koi

Hey.

Yeah that's right, it's me Luke. I can't talk yet but thought I'd be the first to blog about our dinner at Blue Koi.

It was great. I especially like chewing on the chopsticks and playing with Great Grandpa's menu. I would have liked to try some of that tofu everyone seemed to be enjoying, but no one offered me any. So I kicked back and took a nap. I could see coming back to Blue Koi for a business lunch or a date, but I should probably learn to eat solid food first.

Better late than never!

So what can I say about my homie G's well lets say this I walked in and was a bit worried that we would all be disappointed no air conditioning, waiter not knowing the price and lets just be frank it was kind of dirty. However, I ordered my food which I got the Lamb and let me tell you the spice was just perfect for once! I didnt ask for too hot like normal but it was just the right amount of kick to it! it was tender and moist it was to die for. I tried everyones food and I tell you the lamb was amazing as was justins oxtale . The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the jerk chicken spice was perfect but the chicken was a little on the dry side. This is a place I would go back to for the food but not for the atmosphere! I give it a 3.5 oh and reggae on!

Thank you, Joshua.

It is 12 am, Thursday, August 2, 2012.  Josh has not posted.  APPETIZER OF SHAME!!!

G's Jamaican Quisine - yeah, that's G with a "G"

A few weeks ago we went to G's Jamaican Quisine at 79th and Troost.  It was pretty good.  It moonlights as a reggae club, so there was mainly open floor space, with tables spread about, a decent sized stage in the corner and some big speakers along the walls.  It also had some decent airbrushed murals on the walls and a beer stained pool table.  And a couple of big fans to fight the heat.  No A/C in the joint; G himself said it was being worked on, but that didn't help me - it's not fun when you go outside to cool off in July.

I like to think of myself as a goat connoisseur, as much as one can be in Kansas City.  When I go to a restaurant that has goat, I order it.  I am also a curry connoisseur. I like curry like Josh like's ketchup (3 likes in that sentence, for those of you keeping score at home).  I like it on everything. (friendly word of advice: don't add curry to your pregnant wife's scrambled eggs - trust me). If a restaurant has something curried, I order it.  G's has curried goat.  The holy grail.  I ordered oxtail.

I wanted the goat, but it was already well-represented in the group, so I went with oxtail, which I had never had before.  They also have cow feet on the menu, but I couldn't quite do it.  The oxtail was great.  It's like a very tender, fatty roast.  A little hard to eat, because you have to work around the tail bone, but you are rewarded with some tasty ox flesh in the end.

With the oxtail I had red beans and rice, which were possibly the best I ever had, and fried plantains, which were awesome.  They were like a banana crossed with a potato.  I purchased a plantain at the store the other day to try to fry one.  We'll see how it goes.

I did try the curried goat.  It was the shiznittlebitty, and tasty too.  I will order that if I make it back to G's, or more likely, for take-out. I will order the cow feet for Sara.  Curried cow feet, if she's pregnant.

I give G's a 3.2.