Kat is in town and I was excited to meet up with her! Fooki has been open for a few years now and I’ve wanted to try it but I hardly come out west. I used this opportunity to try out some Taiwanese food and meet up with Kat! I will say, this restaurant is not hurting for business. Perhaps it was the day we chose but there was already a huge party waiting to get in when we got there before opening! It was a huge office event but there was also a bunch of tables that came in after us too. Luckily the waiter was smart and got our orders in before the big table started ordering.
Winter Melon Lemonade | $6.00
Ugh! Now I know why it was sour! I ordered a winter melon tea and they gave me the lemonade one. I really did not like this. I even had Kat try it not knowing! Lemonade and Winter Melon tea should not be mixed together. Period. Blah! I drank it because I am Chinese and will not waste.
MaLa Wonton | $14.00
House-made shrimp and pork wonton with water chestnut, shredded taro chips, cabbage, Sichuan peppercorns and Mala chili oil, spicy garlic sauce. (Numbing Spicy, Recommend to start with regular spicy)
Okay, reading this description and I am questioning where the shredded taro chips were? Huh? Like was it in the wontons? I wouldn’t call them chips if they are smoshed into the filling? Hah? Also, they did not ask us for spice level when ordering so I’m assuming we got regular spicy?
I was a bit thrown off by the raw looking cabbage, luckily Kat told me that it is actually parboiled and she is right! I don’t like the taste of raw cabbage too much. The wontons themselves are pretty okay, nothing special. Worth $14? I don’t know…
Beef Scallion Noodles | $18.00
Noodle mixed with fragrant scallion oil soy sauce, topped with braised shanks, fried taro chips, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, parsley, and green onion (No Soup)
A nice dish! Good cold noodle dish for a hot day. It had good flavors, the meat was seasoned nicely. Not a wow dish, but a nice dish!
LU ROU FAN (Taiwanese Pork Rice Bowl) | $15.00
Minced pork belly, garnished with pickled mustard, green onion, fried shallots, white rice, braised tofu and egg
Another dish Kat and I was excited to try. Her first comment? The rice was mushy. That’s one of the things I will never get! Asian restaurants who can’t cook rice right? She was right, it was a bit mushy. That’s hard to do especially for long grain rice?? The taste of the pork was good, the braised tofu was good and the pickles I liked. Not a huge fan of the egg, was a bit non-descript. What’s up with them saying there is fried stuff in every dish but I only saw it on the noodles? There was no fried shallots on this dish!
The food came out super fast. Like suspiciously fast. We ordered and I swear it took 5 minutes for ALL the dishes to come out. Perhaps they had them all made and just ready to serve out? I’m not sure. I think the prices are a bit high for the portions they serve. And just an FYI, they charge a credit card surcharge. I didn’t know this until after I saw my receipt. And another TMI FYI, I got a tummy ache that afternoon. 🙁 But perhaps that was just me. In the end, Fooki was a glad I tried but probably don’t plan to return restaurant.
