Chinese in Kansas City

[ulterior epicure]

Inspired by my recent trip to China, I'm starting this thread to keep the food comin'. Now, I know I won't find anything like I had in China here in the Midwest, but I'll bet I can come pretty close. Would love to hear from all you adventurous eaters out there!

I'll get the party started with China Tom's. The following is cut-and-pasted from my latest blog entry.

The Tengs, friends of mine, own a small private farm in Richmond, Missouri. Tom's entire 25 acres is dedicated to Asian pears. He has about four or five different varieties. Tonight, we went to his restaurant, China Tom's, and got to try some of them. His wife brought out a platter with two different kinds - an Asian pear (a.k.a "Korean pears" or "Yali pears") which grows all throughout Eastern Asia and an American varietal, with a darker and thicker skin.

The Asian varietal is crisper and more juicy. The skin color ranges from a pale yellow to a butter yellow. The flavor starts off with a little tartness but is quickly chased away by intense sweetness. The American variatal, not surprisingly is pure sweetness from start to finish - geared toward our saccharine-cravin' palates. The American varietal is more dense, less crisp, and a tougher chew - in part because of the slightly thicker and more brownish skin.

Of course, though tempted, man does not live on pears alone. We ordered food - a very simple meal, but satisfying nonetheless. A successful farmer, Mr. Teng is also a worthy chef. Tonight he prepared one of my favorite dishes at his restaurant - huang gua tsao la pi (or huang gua tsao liang fun) - cucumber with mung bean noodle salad. The dressing is very spicy and garlicky - basically a mix of vinegar, garlick, a bit of salt and sugar, a few drops of rice wine, red chile flakes and chopped cilantro. Wow, is it good. The mung bean noodles (liang fun, or la pi - which literally translates to "pulled skin) are transluscent, broad and thin sheets of pasta - somewhat like spring roll wrappers or a large sheet of thick gelatin. Mr. Teng prefers using Korean mung bean broad noodles because they are sturdier and have a nice chew.

To make this dish, Mr. Teng first immerses the noodle sheets in boiling water. As soon as they are softened, he immediately cuts them into pieces. If you wait until the noodles go cold, they'll curl up and become difficut to cut. Working quickly, he tosses in sliced cucumbers (English or Asian) and mixes it with the dressing. What results is a garlicky and spicy noodle salad. Yum.

We also had a plate of stir-fried flounder slices ($10.95). The silver dollar-sized pieces of fish had been cooked with fermented soybeans (do ce), snow peas, cucumbers, and carrots. I dare any American chef to produce a plate of sliced fish as exquisitely tender and soft as Mr. Teng's.

A plate of chopped and stir-fried you tsai (a Chinese mustard green) ($7.50) and a big bowl of rice vermicelli (mi fun) and pickled greens (shien tsai) soup rounded out the meal.

If you're ever in the area, check out China Tom's. Order from the "Special Authentic Chinese Menu" for some more traditional food. Of course, if you want my favorite dish, huang gua tsao la pi, you might want to call ahead to make sure they can prepare it for you. To see all of the dishes from my meal, visit my flickr account.

China Tom's

Chef-Owner Tom Teng

2816 West 47th Avenue

Kansas City, Kansas 66103

913.432.1597

If you're interested in what other Chinese restaurants I'd recommend, check out this posting on my blog.

Cheers.

u.e.

[monkfish_103]

Inspired by my recent trip to China, I'm starting this thread to keep the food comin'.  Now, I know I won't find anything like I had in China here in the Midwest, but I'll bet I can come pretty close.  Would love to hear from all you adventurous eaters out there!

I'll get the party started with China Tom's.  The following is cut-and-pasted from my latest blog entry.

The Tengs, friends of mine, own a small private farm in Richmond, Missouri. Tom's entire 25 acres is dedicated to Asian pears. He has about four or five different varieties. Tonight, we went to his restaurant, China Tom's, and got to try some of them. His wife brought out a platter with two different kinds - an Asian pear (a.k.a "Korean pears" or "Yali pears") which grows all throughout Eastern Asia and an American varietal, with a darker and thicker skin.

The Asian varietal is crisper and more juicy. The skin color ranges from a pale yellow to a butter yellow. The flavor starts off with a little tartness but is quickly chased away by intense sweetness. The American variatal, not surprisingly is pure sweetness from start to finish - geared toward our saccharine-cravin' palates. The American varietal is more dense, less crisp, and a tougher chew - in part because of the slightly thicker and more brownish skin.

Of course, though tempted, man does not live on pears alone. We ordered food - a very simple meal, but satisfying nonetheless. A successful farmer, Mr. Teng is also a worthy chef. Tonight he prepared one of my favorite dishes at his restaurant - huang gua tsao la pi (or huang gua tsao liang fun) - cucumber with mung bean noodle salad. The dressing is very spicy and garlicky - basically a mix of vinegar, garlick, a bit of salt and sugar, a few drops of rice wine, red chile flakes and chopped cilantro. Wow, is it good. The mung bean noodles (liang fun, or la pi - which literally translates to "pulled skin) are transluscent, broad and thin sheets of pasta - somewhat like spring roll wrappers or a large sheet of thick gelatin. Mr. Teng prefers using Korean mung bean broad noodles because they are sturdier and have a nice chew.

To make this dish, Mr. Teng first immerses the noodle sheets in boiling water. As soon as they are softened, he immediately cuts them into pieces. If you wait until the noodles go cold, they'll curl up and become difficut to cut. Working quickly, he tosses in sliced cucumbers (English or Asian) and mixes it with the dressing. What results is a garlicky and spicy noodle salad. Yum.

We also had a plate of stir-fried flounder slices ($10.95). The silver dollar-sized pieces of fish had been cooked with fermented soybeans (do ce), snow peas, cucumbers, and carrots. I dare any American chef to produce a plate of sliced fish as exquisitely tender and soft as Mr. Teng's.

A plate of chopped and stir-fried you tsai (a Chinese mustard green) ($7.50) and a big bowl of rice vermicelli (mi fun) and pickled greens (shien tsai) soup rounded out the meal.

If you're ever in the area, check out China Tom's. Order from the "Special Authentic Chinese Menu" for some more traditional food. Of course, if you want my favorite dish, huang gua tsao la pi, you might want to call ahead to make sure they can prepare it for you. To see all of the dishes from my meal, visit my flickr account.

China Tom's

Chef-Owner Tom Teng

2816 West 47th Avenue

Kansas City, Kansas 66103

913.432.1597

If you're interested in what other Chinese restaurants I'd recommend, check out this posting on my blog.

Cheers.

u.e.

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Looks good! I'll have to give it a try. Are they open on Sundays? I haven't had good Chinese since I left Europe almost 20 years ago. I hate the Bo Bo place in Kansas City, now they got one movin to my neck of the woods down here.

[ulterior epicure]

I haven't had good Chinese since I left Europe...

And where would that be? I'm not trying to take a crack at Europeans or you, but honestly, I don't think of Europe as a good place for Chinese food...

To answer your question: Yes, China Tom's is open on Sundays - actually, 7 days a week from 11.00-22.00 M-Th, 11.00-22.30 F, 11.30-22.30 Sat, and 11.30-10.00 Sun. Don't ask me why the 1/2 hour differences that makes typing that schedule so difficult.

So Bo Ling's is opening a new space in Columbus Park?

u.e.

[joiei]

u.e., can you follow with a quick list of restaurants that serve dim sum? We only had one here and it changed owners and went downhill, sadly. THanks.

[ulterior epicure]

u.e., can you follow with a quick list of restaurants that serve dim sum?  We only had one here and it changed owners and went downhill, sadly.  THanks.

joiei.

Well, now, I'm no expert in Chinese food - I've had very good help from a couple of very good friends. There are a couple/few places for dim sum in Kansas City, but my favorite and I think the best is Bo Ling's (on the Plaza). While I usually poo poo their regular food (although I've heard they've really turned the ship around with this new chef they've recruited from China), their dim sum is pretty traditional - wide selection and pretty authentic. You can get chicken feet, tripe, all the usual buns, dumplings and fried cakes, etc... You also get the roving carts with the loud ladies - although not as aggressive as most good and authentic dim sum houses I've been to in the U.S. - and definitely not as in-your-face as in Asia. As with all things Bo Ling's, their prices are a bit steep.

I do know that New China King has dim sum, but I've never been for it.

Oh, and another interesting place to try for Chinese breakfast-type food is at China Tom's, which I wrote about above. On weekends, they have a pretty interesting (ie. different from the rest of the Chinese restaurants) buffet.

The offer some great hard-to-find authentic northern China breakfast-type foods, like sao bing (flaky flatbread-type pita rectangle studded with sesame seeds), yio tiao (fried dough stick), and do jiang (soy milk). They also have duck, and one of my favorite Chinese sweet treats - ba bao fan, or "eight treasures rice" - a dome of glutinous rice stuffed with eight different sweet goodies like candied fruits, lotus seeds, dried dates and red bean paste (think ice cream bombe-shaped and layered). All this for $9.50!!

[monkfish_103]

Bo Bo's is moving into the city market, eight blocks from me. The restaurant was about 30 clicks west of Prague in West Germany you were just a kinder then so it's long gone.

Edited September 5, 2006 by monkfish_103 (log)

[maftoul]

The dim sum at the Plaza BoLing's has improved immensely since the visiting chef from Shanghai has been in residence. I haven't had dim sum this good for a long time. Each of the 5 times we've gone there have been new items to try. Pan seared water spinach with garlic and ginger was very good. We had tofu sheets stuffed with minced chicken and black mushrooms, julienned mixed vegetables and a wonderful pickled cabbage that is quite different from the preserved napa cabbage they always have. If I had my notes with me I'd be able to describe some other dishes. I can't remember them all!

I feel like some of the rest of you, BoLing's regular menu is just so so. I'm definitely going to China Tom's . I live about 6 minutes from there, but haven't been for years. Thanks for the update UE.

Edited September 5, 2006 by maftoul (log)

[ulterior epicure]

The dim sum at the Plaza BoLing's has improved immensely since the visiting chef from Shanghai has been in residence. I haven't had dim sum this good for a long time. Each of the 5 times we've gone there have been new items to try. Pan seared water spinach with garlic and ginger was very good. We had tofu sheets stuffed with minced chicken and black mushrooms, julienned mixed vegetables and a wonderful pickled cabbage that is quite different from the preserved napa cabbage they always have. If I had my notes with me I'd be able to describe some other dishes. I can't remember them all!

Yes, Chef Sun (?) specializes in vegetarian dishes. Now, were these creations you describe on the carts or off the menu? They don't exactly sound dim sum to me.

I feel like some of the rest of you, BoLing's regular menu is just so so. I'm definitely going to China Tom's . I live about 6 minutes from there, but haven't been for years. Thanks for the update UE.

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If/when you do get to China Tom's, would love to hear about your experience.

u.e.