Koi Fine Asian Cuisine & Lounge Review – Authentic Pan-Asian in Evanston

Don’t let the trendy décor or downtown Evanston location of Koi Fine Asian Cuisine & Lounge fool you. The restaurant’s authentic Chinese cuisine would be right at home in Chinatown. But there’s no need to travel to the always crowded streets of Chinatown when this pan-Asian gem can be found in Evanston, Chicago’s low-key little sister. If you arrive early enough on a weekend evening or if you roll in on a weekday, you might be lucky enough to snag a table in the sunny front dining room, where tranquil taupe walls meet rich wooden window screens and a few carefully chosen pieces of modern art.

Koi Fine Asian Cuisine & Lounge’s menu advises diners that its menu is geared toward communal dining, and dishes are served in family-sized portions. Its dinner menu is comprised of selections from the eight distinct regional cuisines of China—Chuan Cuisine (Sichuan Region), Yue Cuisine (Cantonese Region), Xiang Cuisine (Hunan Region), Min Cuisine (Fujian Region), Zhe Cuisine (Zhejiang Region), Su Cuisine (Huaiyang Region), and Lu Cuisine (Shandong Region). Koi also features a Chinatown Menu, which highlights the restaurant’s most authentic Chinese cuisine. In addition to Chinese food, Koi also offers a wide selection of impeccably fresh sushi, including nigiri and sashimi, as well as both classic and signature maki.

The Edamame, or slightly salted boiled soy bean pods, are a lovely light starter—Japan’s answer to bar peanuts. The salt on the outside of the pod sticks to your lips and seasons the soybeans inside as you squeeze them out with your teeth.

While you could make an entire meal out of the selection of sushi at Koi, a signature roll or two also make a lovely introduction to your authentic, pan-Asian meal. The Dragon Fire Maki is an enticing combination of shrimp tempura, salmon, super white tuna (a rich and fatty favorite), tobiko (fish roe), green onion, spicy mayo, and unagi sauce, all baked together and served warm. The Dragon Fire Maki is a feast for the eyes.

The Xiaolong Bao, or steamed soup dumplings, take a bit longer to prepare (about 15 minutes), but the wait is most definitely worth it. When you carefully pick up these small dumplings with your chopsticks, bite carefully to release a hot flood of rich broth, cooked and contained within the dumpling seemingly by magic.

Upon first inspection of the menu, the Crispy Duck, found in the Xiang Cuisine section, is a tempting choice. However, should your savvy waiter steer you toward the Roasted Duck, found in the Yue Cuisine section of the menu, take heed. The bone-in roasted duck with soy sauce, salt, sugar, ginger, five spice powder, and bean sauce is gloriously crispy. If there is one dish you should not take home in a doggy bag, it is this one. Enjoy the crispy skin fresh and at its best.

The Zhe Cuisine section of the menu received high marks from this diner for its focus on pork fat. The Braised Pork Belly with baby bok choy, cilantro, soy, sugar, rice wine, sesame oil, and mushroom oil looked extremely tempting, but the promised flavors of the Pig Shank with star anise, peppercorn, bok choy, and soy won me over. Rich with collagen, the pork skin is cooked down until it is pleasingly soft and becomes a velvety foil to the fork-tender meat underneath. The braising liquid is similarly rich, and I found myself scooping more and more over my small bowl of rice.

Don’t be intimidated by Koi’s Chinatown Menu! The Cumin Lamb is a spicy and wonderful choice. With lamb, green and red pepper, green onion, cumin seeds, and spicy chili, the Cumin Lamb is not overpowered by the spice it is named for. The floral scent of the cumin plays gracefully with the sweet and spicy sauce. It is an extremely flavorful dish that will have you dipping your chopsticks in for another bite well after you think you’ve finished.

Even if you didn’t mean to save room, eating dessert at Koi should be no problem. While the dessert menu does feature pan-Asian favorites like mochi, the American and fusion items are also delightful. The Chocolate Lava Cake is decadent and topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Also served with ice cream, the Tempura Banana is an Asian-fusion take on bananas foster, and the combination of cool, melty ice cream with the crisp exterior of the fried bananas is intoxicating.

 

Service at Koi Fine Asian Cuisine & Lounge is gracious and patient, and you can feel comfortable asking your server for suggestions to find truly exciting dishes to try. Koi is located at 624 Davis Street in Evanston and is open for lunch Monday through Friday, brunch Saturday and Sunday, and dinner seven days a week.

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