Great news for Japa-fornia culinary formula fans. Now you don’t have to wait till the sun sets behind Bangkok’s putrid haze to get your fix because leading exponent of the trendy genre, KOI, has started serving lunch.
Why’s that a big deal? Well, for one, it’s oddly economical for food invented by LA cool dude, Nick Haque, that fuses Japanese tradition and Californian free-basing techniques into a modern fine dining concept that found fans in A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Madonna and JLo.
With alluring Feng Shui inspired designs appended to its contemporary Japanese flavours inspired with Californian accents, the concept soon spawned branches in Las Vegas, New York and Abu Dhabi, besides Bangkok.
Spiking 39 stories from the city’s gnarly undergrowth, at the summit of Sathorn Square (BTS Chongnonsri), natural materials in dark shades and dragon-denoting plum red highlights comprise the sultry Zen-sensitive structure. With minimalist tables, plush leather chairs and banquette alcoves along the widescreen window, no squinting is necessary to scope the hazy firmament or marble-clad theatre kitchen-cum-sushi bar commotion.
Until recently, those pleasures were reserved for night owls, many moving on from dinner to the fabulous Club@Koi next door where up to 1000 dance music lovers have been known to party until the small hours. Meanwhile, KOI also built a solid meets-with-eats business on its audio-visual enabled private dining-cum-meeting rooms.
But as proven entrepreneurs, when office tenants in the building and neighbourhood started asking for lunch from them, they listened and launched.
Reaching out through the warren of offices both for eat-ins and take-aways proved successful even before PM25 descended on the city of asthmatic angels. The smog not only prompted a rash (sic) of ordering in, sometimes 40 bentos-a-pop, but the enclosed premises enjoying epic city views pulled ‘em in too.
The clincher, though, was the daring pricing. KOI has never been cheap, so the idea of its upscale teriyaki bentos going for 299++ seems absurd. Yet it’s true!
The lunch menu leads with bento boxes such as Australian Beef Steak/Garlic Soy Sauce (649), avocado crab salad, daily appetizer, snow shrimp tempura/spicy mayo, garlic egg fried rice. Regular beef is 399. Or choose from Charcoal Grilled Organic Chicken Teriyaki (349), Sautéed Snowfish/Tiger Prawn (549), Grilled Salmon (399); Ushi & Sashimi (599); and J (vegetarian) (349). The Chicken and beef sets have even been discounted to 299++ each. All sets are served with miso soup, fruit, hot or cold green tea and a ginger, cucumber and lemon tea digestif.
Sushi Lunch Sets range Salmon Ikura Don (499), salmon sashimi and caviar on sushi rice, to Koi Sushi Lunch (469), seven kinds of nigiri sushi & California roll.
Kitchen Lunch Sets include Una Ju Box (649) grilled eel/unagi sauce/ rice; and Kurobuta Tonkatsu (369), deep-fried pork cutlet/rice.
Then there’s the a la carte flipside. Soup & Salad & Appetizers range Tofu & Wakame Miso Soup (70), Edamame/sea salt (90), Toban Yaki Gyoza, and a very palatable Japanese ceviche: Salmon Tataki with ponzu sauce.
Four soba and ramen noodle bowls include Zaru Cha Soba with Tempura (290), and Koi Miso Ramen (250).
Twelve different sushi rolls in two sizes range from 350 for eel and avocado to 80. Plus 14 kinds of Sushi & Sashimi from crab sticks to finest toro.
Simple desserts include ice cream green tea/coffee and fresh fruit.
Order a wholesome Cloudy Almond Mocktail (orange, cranberry, lime, orange) (110) to go with the weather.
Reinforcing the DNA of the project, the original Executive Manager from its Sukhumvit Days, 40-year-experienced Vitttorio Bertini, is back at the helm.
Spend 500 baht and get a 380 baht drink voucher for evenings.
KOI is open Monday to Saturday for lunch and every day for dinner. Club@Koi is open from 6PM until late.
http://koirestaurantbkk.com
Tel. 080-3535-197
