Red Lotus

Loved the chili shrimp. Red Lotus offers a unique fresh and tasty alternative to the standard burger and pizza fare. Yum!

Beautifully decorated with the hand painted dragon mural. The food was extraordinary! Authentic dishes with a contemporary twist… I didn’t think I would like it but the tongue dish was tender and flavorful. I don’t think you could go wrong with any dish. Billy out did himself again.
UPDATE: This good thing didn’t last. Sorry to see it go.

We had plans to go to another restaurant in Sac, but we saw that this was close to the concert venue we were going to that night, so we decided to try it.
We came in during happy hour and got insane deals on drinks and food.
Everything was delicious and came out expediently. I had a crab linguine that was killer.
Great for a bite before a show at Harlow’s.

Red Lotus = Asian-​American infused perfection. Never have I had pork belly fried rice so good, and I have my friends and fellow foodies Chris C and Jessica T to thank for that.
The ambiance and staff here are impeccable. On both my visits, the wait service had us turning our heads to share a smile of approval. The only downside was the loud thump of dance music from Harlow’s next door, but even on a Friday night that was hardly enough to subtract a star.
But wait. Did I mention the pork fried rice? It’s that good. And the dumplings? Anything with shrimp is worth it. How about the squash blossoms? The meal of choice for any vegetarians in your party. And the pork fried rice? Yeah, tasty. Okay, one more time. The pork fried rice is really that good.
Sadly, I hear they just closed their doors. Hopefully this isn’t permanent, and hopefully this 5-​star review serves as encouragement to not give up on what I could only imagine would become a downtown staple!

I wanted to try some of their dim sum dishes but one of my friends doesn’t eat beef/​pork while the other one doesn’t like shrimp. I looked at the other sections of the menu instead.
Silken Organic Tofu– This was my favorite dish that I’ve eaten here. The waitress told us to mash it up in order to combine all the ingredients together. The tofu was soft and creamy while the other ingredients added a lot of texture and flavors to the dish. The ingredients were great when combined but at the same time, I wish I was able to taste all of them separately to appreciate what each bought to the plate.
Spicy Crab and Lemongrass Chow Fun– It was spicy due to the Serrano chilies. Other than that it wasn’t memorable.
House Made Kimchee Fried Rice– I love the big sunny side up duck egg! It took up my whole plate. The kimchee fried rice wasn’t spicy like how I would’ve liked it to be. I had to ask for Sriracha sauce. One of my friends thought the rice was too salty.
Happy hour is Monday-​Saturday 3 – 7. $ 5 plates.
I’ve tried the chicken potstickers, Chinese broccoli, spicy tuna spring rolls, and the salt and pepper calamari. I liked the calamari the best.
I hate how there were flies flying around when I was trying to eat. On a previous occasion, I’ve seen the owner swatting flies. Not exactly what you want to see at a restaurant.

Went here for happy hour — they have some good food and drink specials.
When we got here it was slow, our server took extremely long and somehow got our order mixed up with someone else. It was nice that he told us, but c’mon… The drinks weren’t bad at all. The calamari was just alright, not the best; I did like the dipping sauce though (is it bad that I liked the dipping sauce more than the food item?). Also got to try the Chinese broccoli. Now tell me why I thought they were literally broccoli even though it said «Chinese»? Anyway,. the dish was good and had a spicy sauce over the broccoli.
I’d probably come here again and try something new.

Happy Hour Review:
It was decent. Not the best I’ve been to, not the worst. Their drink specials are pretty good, and food is so-​so.
I stuck with cheapo Bud Light and lime, and ordered the pot stickers.
The pot stickers were a full portion, but appeared to be filled with some sort of chicken meat paste? I get that they’re trying to do upscale Asian flare or whatever, but why mess with the classics? They came with three sauces, and were soaked with something similar to ponzu. I ate 4 of the 6 and called it good.
Service was decent, but my friend knew the bartender so…
I would go back if I was invited, but probably not of my own accord.

Thank goodness I’m not Muslim, I would had committed a horrendous sin that night.
Because the pork belly here is UHH– MAY– ZING. I learned of this tasty delight from going to Kru. Once I found out Red Lotus was owned by the same owner, I said to myself, OH HELL YEAH, the food is going to be GOOD.
The garlic broccoli greens were cooked as if I did it at home. I forget what cocktail we had, but it was lemonade-​ish, that was on the happy hour menu.
Came in around 3 pm on a weekday. Empty as far as patrons, but that did not discourage us, so the service was attentive.
I just tried to find a website with the menu so I could have actual names of the dishes I ate/​drinks I had, and could not find one. Maybe the owners can get on that ASAP.

If you’ve NEVER tried Red Lotus before, I would NOT recommend coming here for brunch between the hours of 10am-​3pm on Saturday & Sunday.
It was my first time here this past weekend, and we didn’t realize that you can’t order anything aside from the $ 15 All you can eat brunch during the hours of 10am-​3pm. I was so disappointed because we purposely came to try to Kimchee Fried Rice and Chili Shrimp! But we decided to stay and give it a shot… Bad idea!
There was nothing special about their brunch– food was mediocre. It included: Tofu and Mushroom Fried Rice, Chow Mein, Fried Tofu, Chicken Wings, Chinese Broccoli, Garden Salad, Potstickers and whatever else they forgot to serve us. I think Har Gow was supposed to be included, but they never brought it out to us. They stop bringing out food to you after the first round of dishes and forget to check on you to see if you need anything else. The chow mein was so bland that I had to dump hella sriracha on it. The Garden Salad was salty?! I could have made all those dishes at home and have it taste a lot better.
After that experience, we knew we had to come back during dinner to order things off the menu. I’m so glad we did. The food was delicious! We ordered the Kimchee Fried Rice, Soft Shell Crab, Chili Shrimp and Shui Mai. Everything was so tasty! I think the Shui Mai is one of the best i’ve tasted! I love mushrooms, and you get a taste of mushroom in every bite! I recommend asking for the Kimchee Fried Rice to be spicer though if you like spice!
For drinks, I recommend trying the Huckleberry Cider. So tasty!
The vibe of this place is nice. The interior décor is well very done as well. I won’t ever come back for their $ 15 AYCE brunch, but I’ll definitely be back for their Happy Hour and dinner!

While I haven’t eaten here, I have spend numerous evenings enjoying the various libations they deliciously craft at Red Lotus. Simply put, I used to love Shady Lady, now I get my cocktail fix at Red Lotus. Why you ask? The cocktails are larger, tastier and the service is more prompt and responsive. Did I mention they have a nice little diverse selection of draft beer, because they do!
Anyway, back to the cocktails. The Diablo is probably one of my all-​time favorite mixed drinks. House made ginger syrup, tequila and crème de cassis make for a crazy delicious and refreshing beverage on a hot day, or spicy ginger-​blackberry belly warmer for those cooler nights.
Lastly, these folks whip up one hell of a white linen, and while many of the drinks might appear to be a little pricey… they are topped off in a nice tall glass for your extended sipping enjoyment.

Granted I probably couldn’t eat here regularly based on the fact that I’d probably pig out on the dim sum every time and end up with a huge bill and an even bigger waistline, but that said, food here is tasty, and the happy hour food ($ 5 plates) and drinks ($ 3 well drinks, among others) are well within my budget.
The restaurant’s atmosphere is comfortable and classy without oozing pretentiousness. I really like that I feel at home regardless of whether it’s a full-​on food experience or if we’re just there for some drinks.
Staff was friendly, open and quick to explain the textures and flavors of each dish to a dim sum noob like me.
What we had:
*Hot buttered rum — Handmade and perfect for a cold winter’s evening
*Pan roasted duck — Came with two buns and four pieces of duck. Small? Yes. But delicious nonetheless
*Mushroom dumplings — The truffle sauce for these was amazing. I wanted to lick the plate
*Kimchee rice — We ordered the «serves 1−2» portion, and this easily could have satiated us for the evening
*Salt and pepper calamari — these came in carrot-​stick sized strips and were delicately seasoned enough that it complemented the calamari instead of overpowering it
*Sparkling sake — a new, flavorful addition to the happy hour menu. The boyfriend deemed it girly (even the green tea flavor, which he ordered), but I liked it so I guess that means it’s true. ;-)

This restaurant is gorgeous. A very cosmopolitan feel to it. The staff was attentive, but they didn’t hover at all.
The food is family style. Go with a group and you can share soup, noodle dishes, dumplings and egg rolls for about $ 13 a person. Although, with so many dishes the table did get rather crowded.
If you search online you can get a $ 5-​off coupon. A good deal, but be sure to print and bring it along. They wouldn’t accept me showing them the electronic copy on my phone. Pffft.

My friends and I were craving something sweet, and somehow Unilocal pointed out that Red Lotus was a good place for desserts so we ended up here… weird… because I don’t think it’s meant to be a dessert place, per se, but thankfully the kind waitress didn’t mind and happily served us.
Anyway, amongst the four of us, we split the trio ice cream and the flash-​fried pastries. Let me start out by saying the ice cream was sooooo damn good!!! MmMmm… Lychee flavored ice cream won my heart, taro was meh, but that’s because I don’t like taro, and red bean was scrumptious! I highly recommend the ice cream for a nice treat after your meal. I wasn’t too impressed with the flash-​fried pastries, though… I’ve had something similar for way cheaper. It was cutely presented, though, with a take-​out box. Also, the waitress was super nice and added an extra donut since there were four of us!
Props for awesome decorations and nice ambiance. I definitely want to come back to try the food and drinks!

Yes, indeed, I am a fan.
I’ve gone for happy hour a few times now and every single time have had a great experience. The staff are always very nice, attentive, and speedy. Drinks are great, drink specials are even better.
The food is really interesting. I’ve tried a few things that kind of fall short of the expectations, but then again nothing has been terrible. Some of it is a little bit California foofy, in that you get somewhat small portions for the price. But, again, there are good deals to be had at happy hour.
The atmosphere is really great. Clean, calm, loads of seating, the booths are very comfy… it’s a great place to relax with friends after work.

We went back for a second try of this place late last summer, I know I know. I’m late in my update. I forgot.
We actually had the same server who was real nice.
We tried the tofu dish that everyone raves out; it just wasn’t my style. Served cold with lots of stuff on top. My dinner date liked it a lot though.
We also got the fried rice again (I think it’s waygu beef fried rice?) and it didn’t taste the same… We pointed it out to our server and he seemed semi-​concerned.
In the end, he did end up bringing us free lychee ice cream to share because he felt bad about our less than stellar feelings towards the whole meal.

I was expecting more but got less. As long as I remember, Chinese is meant to be served family style with sharing of dishes; so the «family style» concept that Red Lotus suggests is nothing new. Unfortunately with small plates, the concept doesn’t work except for two, three or four people. For our group of eight, we found that one plate was never enough. We needed to order multiple dishes to have enough to share.
The RL food was ok. It’s better than the old style chow suey, chow mein, sweet and sour pork, egg foo yung, and egg flower soup of old traditional chinese-​american restaurants. But it is not as good as the new Hong Kong style Chinese Restaurants where families can enjoy 8 — 10 course meals of truly great chinese cuisine, comparable to what you can get in China.
Go to New Canton, Macau, Hong Kong Wok, or Asia Pearl and order a family dinner for 8 to 10 to enjoy Chinese Family style dining at it’s best. If you spend $ 20+ per person, you’ll get a lot of delicious and unique dishes for the whole family at a great price.

I could take it or leave it. My friend moved out of town and I ended up here for her goodbye happy hour party. We mostly ordered drinks and small plates. All the food was good, I’d like to come back and try some of their main dishes some time.
Our waiter was rude and couldn’t bother to check on us even though he was just chit-​chatting with the bartender most of the time. We kept having to flag down other wait staff. There were six of us ordering drinks and food, he had the opportunity to make some pretty sweet tip money. I made a comment about him being a jerk within his hearing range (on accident, but whatever) and he changed his tune and was super nice for like the last twenty minutes. Nice try, but we were already annoyed.
I’m not super excited about Red Lotus, but I might be back for happy hour and some dinner.

Red Lotus is the latest Midtown venture of Kru chef Buu «Billy» Ngo, whose fascinating riffs on Japanese food have won him a not-​inconsiderable following at his J Street sushi joint. Red Lotus represents Ngo’s decison to apply his creative hand to dim-​sum, an Asian food genre that hasn’t quite managed to transcend the old carts-​and-​Cantonese-​verbal-​abuse dynamic. The menu features a bunch of old dim-​sum standbys updated for the late-​night hipster army, alongside some specifically Ngoesque dishes. The result is a fun and undeniably interesting evening out on the J street strip, albeit with the ambience of P. F Changs done through some sort of hipster filter. But it’s pretty.
Green papaya salad with ika, carrot, mint, water cress, and fish sauce (6.50) was the kitchen’s version of the dearly beloved som tum. It’s a lovely palate-​cleansing dish, but this ultra light version was barely there, both in terms of portion size and taste. I really do hate to use this phrase in polite company, but perhaps Red Lotus should contemplate kicking it up a notch. You know how we do.
Then we had the silken organic tofu with baby shrimp, avocado, snow crab, rice puffs, wasabi, sweet chili sauce, and a soy reduction (8.00)
Silken tofu doesn’t exactly get most folks palms sweaty, but this was the standout dish of the evening. The creamy block of tofu melded perfectly with the salty baby shrimp, the sweet snow crab, and the creamy avocado. The various sauces on offer mean that every bite of this «salad» is different from the next, producing a real adventure in texture and taste. The soy reduction sauce should rightly be sold in bottles so fans can spread it on anything they desire, from fairy cakes to pliable Argentinean pool boys. Delicious.
Spiced beef marrow bone with Chinese red vinegar, Sichuan pickles, mustard, and crispy five spice flatbread (11.00)
Marrow bones have experienced a helluva revival thanks to the ongoing Offal Revolution, and Red Lotus is serving up the tastiest version I’ve found in Sactown. The fatty, chunky interior is seasoned with five spice and cooked until bubbly and delicious, served with various accompaniments and condiments. You’re supposed to spread the marrow on the flatbread crackers and doctor it up with pickles, vinegar, and mustard, but I’m perfectly happy to denude these bad boys straight. You are doing it/​Red Lotus wrong if you fail to order this dish. (I’ll be in my bunk. With the marrow bones).
Salt and pepper soft shell crabs (11.00)
Salt and pepper soft shell crabs are beautifully presented in this dish, and they tasted pretty good too. Lightly fried and obviously fresh, I enjoyed the creamy and spicy sauce pool the little crustaceans were served in. They came out hot, which is the usual horrible and depressing downfall of soft-​shell crab dishes.
Chinese broccoli in garlic oyster sauce (7.00)
Chinese broccoli sounds fairly pedestrian but is among the foods closest to my heart. Red Lotus serves it up with a soulful and extremely strong house-​made garlic oyster sauce, and the result is pretty old-​school Chinese delicious. Avoid if you’re not the sort of person who does backflips for in-​your-​face servings of oyster sauce.
Mongolian glazed oxtail (7.00)
Oxtails are done beautifully in Chinese cooking, and these sweet-​glazed oxtails were a lovely specimen of a classic dish. Very rich and very meaty, these guys justify the foodie world’s recent and single-​minded allegiance to less-​charismatic animal parts. Tasty.
«Yee Sang» thinly sliced albacore with popcorn shoots, Chinkiang vinaigrette, and crispy garlic (12.00)
I think the Sacramento City Council actually shuts down your restaurant and breaks your knee caps if you fail to include at least one raw tuna dish on the menu. It’s true. This was a perfectly fine Raw Tuna dish, and the addition of popcorn shoots (whatever those are) lent it an interestingly grassy flavor-​kick. There’s more interesting stuff lurking on this menu, though.
Pork and shiitake dumplings «Siu Mai» with soy cured salmon roe (6.50)
We decided to have some siu mai for dessert, served in the traditional and adorable little bamboo steamer. The kitchen brings out vinegar and Chinese mustard in twee serving devices for these little guys, which tasted no different from other dim-​sum parlor siu mai I’ve had.
Billy Ngo has done a fine job of domesticating dim-​sum, turning China’s beloved Sunday morning-​scrum cuisine into refined bites suitable for both J Street-​crawling foodies and those hipster palates only slightly dimmed by endless, endless packs of Pall Malls. (If you’ve been to China, well, you’ve seen how they smoke). The menu is pretth interesting for Sacramento, and due to the restaurant’s extreme youth, will doubtless be changing in interesting ways over the next year or so. If Ngo’s creativity and competency at Kru is any indication of Red Lotus’s upcoming trajectory, the future is bright indeed.

Went here for drinks after my friend’s birthday dinner at Kru.
We were walking down the street and as we passed Red Lotus, it felt like the place was calling my name… so we had to go in for drinks ;)
Chris, our bartender, was fantastic! He recognized me from the last time I was in there and also for Unilocaling the place. He was very gracious.
This is now the third time I have been back at this place in the last 30 days or so and the service every time has been impeccable.

Billy has gone and done it again! As I am a huge fan of Kru, I had great expectations of Red Lotus. My mouth felt like it was in Disneyland!
And, I have now come to the conclusion that, if this will-​never-​get-​married-​again gal ever got married again… it would have to be Billy, or someone that could make his culinary masterpieces for me. Yes, I am in love. And, angels were singing in my ears as I dined on four spectacular small plates, and one dessert; this was enough for two of us.
If you like Kru’s non-​sushi dishes, you’ll love Red Lotus’ menu too. There’s a selection of Dim Sum, soups & salads, and sides (white rice, fried rice, veggies).
Love, love, love that they start you off with some lovely, crispy, lotus chips.
What we dined on… read it and weep (I am):
–Chili Shrimp: candied pistachios, thinly sliced Serrano chili, and a honey aioli… kind of like bionic walnut shrimp, with crack — tasty!
–Pork and Shitake dumplings: siu mai
–Silken organic tofu salad: snow crab, avocado, crispy baby shrimp, rice puffs, and THEE most amazing sweet soy reduction. I could drink a mug of that soy reduction; it would even work wonderfully in some kind of dessert too.
…And, on to something I’ve been wanting to try for years, but have never seen on any local menus:
–Spiced Beef Bone Marrow!: Chinese red wine vinegar (contained in the cutest little squeeze bottle), Sichuan quick pickles (kind of like sunamono), hot mustard, crispy five-​spiced flatbread, and a nice caveman-​like bone filled with a most wonderful gift from the heavens.
Dessert:
–Chinese «donuts» with a jackfruit sauce, and condensed milk. This dessert was presented in such a cute way; deep fried little dough balls spilling out of a Chinese take-​out box.
Actually, everything was plated meticulously… total eye-​candy overload!
I can’t wait to go back and drool all over my food again!