Blue Koi, Kansas City
May 2020
Along bustling 39th street, Blue Koi retains a loyal following, even in these unprecedented times. Brother and sister Scott and Jane Chang opened this midtown restaurant in 2002 and their Kansas location in 2007. As a testament to their culinary prowess, they’ve been featured twice on Food Network’s, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”, most recently, last year. The Changs are grateful for their devoted following.
Culinary genes run in the family. The Chang’s parents, who trained with some of China’s best chefs, immigrated from Taiwan in 1979 and opened their first Kansas City restaurant in 1985. Scott, Jane and Mindy, who passed away five years ago, grew up eating the cuisine of their heritage. Jane and her mother created Blue Koi’s menu using family recipes as well as new ones. She described the menu as Taiwanese-Chinese comfort food.
“Blue Koi is like eating at our family table,” says Jane. “Our mother grew up in a tropical climate where they served rice and sweeter sauces with a Japanese influence and using fresh ingredients. And our father came from northern China where they ate wheat noodles every day and dumplings for special occasions.”
Given the restrictions at the time of our visit, my husband and I carried out and feasted around our kitchen table. The restaurant’s signature from-scratch dumplings and noodles are made daily, and we savored the satisfying goodness of pan-fried chicken dumplings. The celebrated chili pepper wontons delivered a mild kick with an infusion of garlic, ginger and house-made hot oil, topped with chopped scallions. We dipped pillows of crispy organic tofu in the accompanying spicy awesome sauce, a sublime cilantro-infused concoction.
For entrees, the ever-popular black bean sauce with chicken, which can be ordered with shrimp or organic tofu, contained chunks of portabella mushrooms, red and green peppers and optional jalapeno slices. As a lighter compliment, the delicious sautéed almond chicken asparagus featured chicken marinated in a garlic mayonnaise sauce, fresh asparagus cuts and sun-dried tomatoes, all over brown rice. Dishes can be customized for a variety of needs, such as low sodium or gluten free.
Blue Koi’s crave-worthy Taiwanese bubble tea comes in approximately 20 flavors including my favorite, almond joy. The optional “bubbles” are wonderfully chewy tapioca pearls. It can be served iced, warm, smoothie-style or amped-up with a kick of rum, vodka or Kahlúa from the full bar.
Visit www.bluekoi.net for more information.