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It was a raw, rainy Tuesday night and Karma was hopping.
At 6:30, the new trendy Asian fusion hotspot on Thompson Street was about half full. My reservation was misplaced, but my dining companion and I were happy to sit at the bar.
A perk of sitting at the bar is the opportunity to watch (and chat with) the bartenders. A good bartender is like an artist and this guy didn’t disappoint.
He was very careful, new maybe, but it was his attention to detail and the concoctions he made that were fascinating. The frothy coffee colored drink that he poured into a black martini glass and topped with a dried lemon slice and swirls of some kind of red elixir looked like a yummy dark potion. In contrast, the tall cool drink of decidedly not water that was purple on top and garnished with a marigold was a thing of beauty.
I stuck with one glass of red wine since I was driving and my friend is not a drinker, but trying one of the many exotic looking drinks served up while we were dining is reason number 1 to come back.
Reason number two — soup dumplings! When seeking appetizers, I somehow missed the Xiao Long Bao, otherwise known as soup dumplings. They are a little tricky to eat, but oh so worth the possible splash down.
I missed them because Karma’s menu is both simple and a little complex. There are a lot of offerings, which sometimes stumps me — too much to choose from and it becomes overwhelming.
But the menu is infinitely readable and fascinating.
Sushi creations that include caviar or foie gras, sashimi with Japanese perch, rib eye with Yuzu honey truffle from the wok and clay pot black cod and shrimp scallop fried rice are some of the more exotic offerings. But mixed in with the sexy are old time favorites (likely with new twists) like General Gao’s chicken, beef and broccoli and lo mein.
Because they felt bad that our reservation was lost, we received a treat of hamachi Thai basil on a spoon. It was a cool, vinegary bite with a crunchy topping and a garlicky finish that sizzled in your mouth, but didn’t set it on fire. It was perfection on a spoon and if that was a taste of what was to come, we were in for a treat.
And we were.
After the hamachi, we started out with duck bao buns and tuna pizza. The bao buns are braised duck confit, cucumber and scallions tucked into amazingly soft, fluffy buns. They were so soft and the flavors so delicate, they were just a joy to eat. A bit of warm sweetness with the cool of the cucumber.
I very much recommend them.
That goes for the tuna pizza too. Tuna sashimi was topped with a little tomato, the thinnest slice of jalapeno and micro greens sitting on a wonton chip.
Truth be told, I’ll eat almost anything atop a wonton chip — but this little mouthful was exceptional. The jalapeno was just enough heat to mesh perfectly with the cool tuna and the crunch of the greens. Yum!
We followed appetizers up with two entrees — Pad Thai and pineapple shrimp. I love Pad Thai and I’ve had it in a lot of places — this was hands down the best.
Often, Pad Thai has a tendency to be dry. Or drier than I’d like. This was perfectly saucy — not swimming or even pooling, but far from dry. It was slightly sweet with plenty of chopped, crunchy peanuts and it came with both shrimp and acutely tender chicken.
The pineapple shrimp was also an excellent choice. Not to be dissing my more traditional Asian restaurants — I love you sweet and sour chicken — but the batter to shrimp ratio was perfection, as was the level of sweetness.
There was nothing cloying or sticky sweet about the pineapple shrimp, which came served on a bed of greens (baby spinach?) with cubes of (what else) pineapple and garnished with candied walnuts.
If I have any criticism about our dinner, and I feel like I should have at least one — it’s only this, lose the candied walnuts. They add nothing to the shrimp dish. If you need a garnish, maybe some toasted coconut or some or a pinch of those nice microgreens would work.
One could argue that our dinner choices were safe bets, but a lot can go wrong with any dish if the chef isn’t paying attention and from the presentations to the diaphanous flavors, this chef was clearly paying attention.
Also, Karma is pricey. That’s not a bad thing. I think they earn it. The staff is unfailingly charming and helpful, from the busboy to the manager.
The restaurant itself is a cozy yet sophisticated oasis (I really love the chicken print near the sushi bar) — or as my dining companion noted — it’s grown up, but this girl’s on a budget so we were practically adventurous.
If, however, you are not concerned about such things or you’re looking for a place to splurge, this is it! Either way, go. Have fun, have a dancing dragon and some soup dumplings.
You won’t be sorry.
Chris Stevens is an award-winning writer and editor. She spent more than 15 years in the restaurant industry before becoming a journalist, writing extensively on food and hospitality for Gannett Media as well as producing a weekly popular food column for the Lynn Item.
