Friday Night at Tei Kei's

Tei Kei's has had a hard time finding its niche in the admittedly over-saturated Tulsa dining market but if Friday night was any indicator, it has settled in and found a loyal customer base.

Friday night at 6:00 P.M. the place was nearly full.  There were only one or two empty tables in our section and the nearby meeting room was hosting a large party.  The crowd was quite diverse. There were a couple of attractive twenty something girls in very brief running outfits sitting at a table near the bar. There were a lot of casually dressed thirty something to middle aged couples obviously doing their Friday date night ritual. There were a few families and a smattering of young ladies in dressy dresses and heels who were obviously on their way to something else.

The service was superb.  Melanie our server was bright, cheerful, prompt and efficient.  Even though she was also handling a large party in the nearby meeting room, she managed to be in place at the right times and handle our order perfectly.  The last time we were in, there were annoying service problems.  At one point, Sheila got up and poured herself a glass of water from the serving station. Granted, we were there late and only a skeleton crew was there to close up but there were also only half a dozen people in the restaurant.  But, that problem has apparently been addressed because this crew had the place humming and they were doing it with a smile.

Tei Kei's menu shows a lot of careful thought.  It is Asian Fusion, so what you see are the chef's interpretation of classic Asian dishes and combinations of Asian and other influences.  That is probably more information that most diners need.  The food is good.  I have eaten at Tei Kei's many times and never had a bad meal. There may have been another issue or two but the food was always top notch.

This evening, Sheila had a Schezuan noodle bowl and I had a Kung Pao Chicken rice bowl.  The noodles were done to perfection and quite spicy even to Sheila's jalapeno loving taste buds.  She enjoyed her entree thoroughly but observed that if she ever ordered it again, she would probably ask the chef to leave out a pepper or two.   My entree was tempura chicken bits served with Asian vegetables in a spicy sauce over rice.  You have to remind yourself that you are eating fusion not classic oriental dishes. With that in mind it was wonderful entree. Everything was perfectly cooked, the serving was generous and the spices were almost perfectly balanced for American tastes.  A lot of thought and planning has obviously gone into these recipes.

We finished the meal by sharing a serving of Tei Kei's legendary bread pudding.  Just about every restaurant

that offers bread pudding labels it "legendary" even though the final product often doesn't live up to the description.  Tei Kei's does.  It is simple, rich and perfectly executed.  Do not leave the building without tasting it even if you just order one serving for the table and pass it around.  This is what bread pudding is supposed to be.

Tei Kei's is owned by a prominent local family and managed by Chef Damon Holdeman. Damon came out to the table and visited with us for a few minutes while we ate.  Among other things, we discussed their new menu.  I was particularly pleased to see a couple of gourmet Asian influenced burgers added to the lunch menu.  Tei Kei's has always been a good place for a quiet business lunch.  The lunch menu is quite good and you can even have a drink or two if you want. The addition of the burgers should allow you to bring those difficult parties that always have one person that says they will not eat "Chinese" no matter how good it is and won't believe you when say that the Korean style pork tacos are the best taco you will ever taste.

Tei Kei's offers a casual but slightly sophisticated atmosphere. There is a full service bar.  The menu would be at home in any major city in the world.  There are a number of excellent choices including very good sushi and sashimi.  There should be something there to please just about any palate.  But the bottom line is that the food is good.  As I said before, I've never had a bad dish at Tei Kei's.