Koi Palace Contempo — Restaurant in Cupertino

So let’s go start to finish. If you don’t show up early you could be waiting a while to get seated. On a Saturday we showed up at 5:00 on the dot for dinner but they were still prepping. Doors opened at 5:30 and the restaurant was filled up immediately. And that first round of service probably goes 2-2.5 hours long so people waiting to get in in the second round aren’t getting seated til 8.

Once inside there are beautifully designed mosaic tile floors and brass chain curtains. The plates and chopsticks are very elegant and well balanced. Tea comes out, and is placed over a tiny candle to maintain its warmth. They’re all nice subtle touches you don’t see at every Chinese banquet style hall.

Now I know it’s just Day 2 of them being opened but not having the Peking Duck on the menu for dinner service was really disappointing. I don’t want to dock them for it but I mean, gotta have something if that stature on the menu available, I don’t think it should all sell out at lunch or straight up not be available.

The food was really good. What can you say you have to simply try it. Every bite was very tasty, using elevated ingredients or finer techniques. I especially enjoyed the lobster har gow and the abalone Siu mai. But our favorites were the wagyu potstickers and of course the fried garlic Dungeness crab.

Everything was super tasty. I’m glad to have tried it. The restaurant isn’t particularly large and the items are a little more expensive than other Koi Palace locations so overall I’d say it’s...

I've been a fan of koi palace for quite sometime so when I heard they opened a new variant in Cupertino, I had to try it. Granted, I went on the 2nd day of them being opened but I was really hoping that given the koi palace reputation, it wouldn't disappoint. Turns out, my hopes went and died in that restaurant on that day.

To start off, I went by myself and ordered 4 dishes. Since I was eating alone I was relegated to their communal table but I didn't mind it in the end as I was sat next to 2 couples and we openly communicated our disapproval of the various dim sum and entrees that were given to us.

I ordered the shrimp dumplings, the fried corn stick, lava buns, chicken feet. The shrimp dumplings were alright though I've noticed lately they've become more doughy. The most disappointing thing was the corn stick; it was basically a corn on the cob but cut into 8 pieces, sprinkled with some grated cheese; All in all, you're far better off buying elote somewhere else as it'll be tastier and far cheaper. The chicken feet were disappointing too as the best part of that dish was the kabocha pumpkin underneath as all the flavor leached out and went into the pumpkin. The lava buns were the only highlight of that meal. The 2 other couples got that duck fried rice with truffles; it would've been more easily believable if it were just egg fried rice with truffles as both of them couldn't...

Went to Koi Palace Contempo in Cupertino for dinner with friends this weekend. We were actually planning to go somewhere else, but they had a new menu, and my friend’s kid wanted some soup dumplings, so we decided to give it a try. Surprisingly, it wasn’t crowded, and we got seated right away. The service was great—our tea was refilled often, and the food came out fast. We ordered the steamed sea bass, and it was super fresh and tender.

The roast duck was better than I remembered, even my picky foreign friend loved it. We only ordered half a duck, but it wasn’t enough, so we’re planning to order takeout tomorrow! Their signature dishes like steamed chicken feet and soup dumplings were still as good as ever.

The new crispy beef brisket was a pleasant surprise—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. We devoured it in no time. We also ordered a sole fish rice dish for my foreign friend, and it came with five fish fillets! I heard some people say the portions are small, but this time it felt like they were bigger. The server mentioned they’ve increased the portion sizes, added new dishes, and even lowered the prices. Seems like competition in the Bay Area is heating up! Overall, a very satisfying meal, and I’ll definitely be...