Lauren E.
Yelp
I wanted to love this experience so badly. I've been eyeing this restaurant for months but I never had a reason to spend $150/person on a meal until my brother came to visit to celebrate my belated birthday. I made a reservation two weeks in advance. There is only one seating per night at 6:30 pm. All of the details of the restaurant are sent out in advance via text, including how to enter the private parking lot behind the restaurant which is gated for security.
When we arrived, we were escorted through the kitchen into the front waiting room. The kitchen staff seemed genuinely happy to see us, which was really nice! The host in the front was super friendly and engaging. He served us welcome drink options of prosecco or hot jasmine tea. All 13 of the guests were asked to introduce themselves and we were given a question card from the game "We're Not Really Strangers" to ask the group. The host really emphasized that tonight we're not strangers and the dinner is about making new connections.
We were seated in the dining room at a large group table, which was a bunch of steel prep tables pushed together. They added a "Happy Birthday" decoration to the table in front of me, which was a nice touch! The host introduced all of the chefs and gave some background on each of them. He then began the meal using a gong.
There were 10 courses in total, with a few extra surprises from the chef. My favorites were:
- Fried Taro with Spicy Crabmeat Aioli: The taro was crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle, and the crabmeat was creamy and just a tiny bit spicy.
- Pork Belly with Yangmei Sauce: My favorite part of this dish was actually the pickled watermelon rinds that were served on the side! They were sweet, tangy and really cut through the richness of the pork belly.
- Rainbow Pepper Steamed Seabass: This dish was not a crazy innovation, but it was perfectly tender and seasoned so well. I absolutely love the broth that it came with paired with the saffron on top.
- Coco Lobster Puff: This was by far my favorite course! The puff looked like an adorable little mouse. The dough was made of mochi, so it was pleasantly chewy and a little bit crispy on the outside. The inside was a slightly sweet, creamy lobster filling. Coco should definitely create more courses!
Many plates were creative reimaginations of classic Chinese or dim sum dishes. Despite having a menu listing each course, I never knew what to expect. The presentation was absolutely gorgeous, and I love that they explained every ingredient on the plate, including the flowers! All of the dyes used in the foods were derived from natural sources, such as beets and charcoal, which was really neat.
However, as creative as the food was, overwhelmingly I found it to be under seasoned. Several of the dishes just seemed to be lacking salt. At this price point, I had very high expectations for the food, and I was quite disappointed. Almost every course left me with thoughts like "the pork belly should have been more tender" and "the skin on the peking duck should have been crispier."
At the end of the meal, they gave us a gift of a pair of chopsticks and a printed out thank you note and copy of the menu.
As far as tasting menus go, I liked the progression of the courses and the concept overall, but for $150 per person, I expect every dish to be on point. I would recommend this restaurant based on the experience alone, but I felt that the food was a little bit lacking.