Monday, March 14, 2016

Memphis Nosh: Red Koi Japanese Cuisine

You know when you find a restaurant, and you realize it's been there for awhile, and you think "what kind of friends do I have that haven't told me about this place before?!?"

Yeah, that's Red Koi.

To be fair, people had mentioned it to me. Several times. But no one had physically dragged me into the small, not very exciting looking place in the Ridgeway Target strip mall area.

And I may never have made it if it weren't for one night when I had to go to Best Buy (my own personal hell, but Target didn't have the thing I needed) and got out of my car and smelled...nirvana.

So I immediately dragged my friend Ashley. 

And then Sloan.

And then my friend Catherine.

And have eaten there twice in one weekend more than once since.

It's that good.

Inside the strip mall is a very chic, very clean, very delicious restaurant.

It's family owned, and has been in business since 2012, winning a ton of awards and basically being an awesome local establishment.



As you can see from their menu, they have a MASSIVE selection of rolls, fried rice, hibachi, apps, and specials. 

The first night we got to go from Red Koi, we just got the Red Koi's Special Fried Rice and the chicken yakisoba. Both of which were fantastic, but that fried rice changed my life - hands down, best fried rice I've ever had.

Since then, we've ordered probably half the menu.

The 3 Roll Special, which is way too much food for one person, but is so good you can't not:


See?


Great wine selection, including Kung Fu Girl Riesling, one of my favorites.


The 2 roll - more manageable.


(My two faves: the spicy crab tempura roll and the crispy salmon roll - on special, $9.95 for all this! Also, that honey sauce is INSANE.)

My favorite crazy roll, the Rolling Stone Roll:


(Crabstick, Avocado, Cucumber, deep-fried and top with baked spicy crab and Red Koi's Special Sauce)

Also, every table gets free spring rolls as soon as you sit down! And that dipping sauce is magical.


The Tempura veggies are great - they prompted me to say, "god fried is the best way to eat vegetables" - much to the delight of my friends.


The hibachi is not the normal "show" hibachi, but is really good, and the fried rice can't be beat. It's not crazy expensive, the staff is really nice and helpful, the service is fast and friendly, and it's in a great location. 

I'm in love.


3 comments:

  1. Thank you for the nice and detail review. Do you mind if we post this in Red Koi Facebook page?

    Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
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