Koi Japanese Restaurant In Los Angeles & Asking Questions In Restaruants...

[i-miss-cookie-dough]

hey gang -

heading out for a fancy schmancy

going away dinner for a friend tonight

at koi in LA.

i will probably just stick to sushi & rice

with no soy sauce.

but they have a spicy tuna with crispy rice

dish which is to die for!

does anyone know if this is gluten free?

i am thinking the crispy rice may be fried?

what about miso soup?

i need to get more confident in

questioning restaurants about

what is in their food...

just gets tough when in a big group.

feel like i am making a scene.

and also - hard

to believe that even a little gluten

can be harmful to me...

any thoughts would be appreciated!

[confusedks]

I don't know about the gluten-free status of the foods you are asking about, but I have been there and I had the water bowl thing with chicken where you dip it and cook it yourself. It's amazing! I just brought my own soy sauce (when I was eating soy) and they didn't have any problems with it.

Kassandra

[i-miss-cookie-dough]

i will have to check that out!

but doesn't soy sauce contain wheat?

i eat soy but i didn't think i could have

soy sauce b/c of the wheat?

[kbtoyssni]

i will have to check that out!

but doesn't soy sauce contain wheat?

i eat soy but i didn't think i could have

soy sauce b/c of the wheat?

Most brands contain wheat, but not all. La Choy is gluten-free. I think San-J is also.

[besttoro]

I haven't eaten there, but I did used to work at a fancy Japanese restaurant in L.A., so these are general tips. (I just realized your post says you're going tonight, so this may not help you tonight, but maybe for future reference.)

- Miso - you'd have to ask if there is any barley (mugi, or 麦) in it. Many good restaurants switch miso's depending what season it is and what ingredients are going into it. Most likely in winter it is shiro miso (white miso) they are using and chances are those don't contain barley, but it never hurts to ask. If you find that embarrassing, I'd avoid it.

- Soy sauce - bring your own wheat-free tamari. If you get to go to a place like Open Original Shared Link Marketplace, they probably sell a cute tiny container to take condiments in (though I can't guarantee) -- those can come in handy to go to restaurants. (Called shoyu-ire)

When you're eating sushi, you may want to avoid rolls made with Open Original Shared Link (smelt roe) on them -- it's often used as a garnish; like ikura, it's often cured with soy sauce, though not always.

You probably know to avoid ikura (salmon roe), tamago (egg omelet), unagi (eel), & anago (sea eel), as those are made with regular soy sauce with wheat in it... but mentioning just in case.

Really don't know about the tuna dish.

Have a good one,

Aya

[i-miss-cookie-dough]

thanks for the tips!

had some great stuff last night.

i actually got to

speak with the cute chef

who was SO nice

and accomadating

and gave me some

wheat free tamari sauce

for my sushi

and made me some

of my favorite

spice tuna crispy rice dish

using the tamari as well.

was DELISH!

was a great experience.

and speakin up wasn't

as hard as i thought it would BE!!

[besttoro]

That's so great! Nice to hear that Koi is up to speed on wheat-free tamari :-) Now I'm sooo tempted to go there when I'm in LA!

I'm learning to speak up myself, since I was just diagnosed this year, so I totally knew what you meant about feeling like you're making a scene. I guess if more of us speak up then people would be more aware and life would be ultimately easier.

Good for you for speaking up, and congrats for having a fab meal :-))))

Aya