Yan’s Chinese/晏記川湘菜食館, Review by Isabel Lai

533 S. Kimbrough Ave.

Springfield, MO 65806

This restaurant is the most authentic Chinese food in Springfield, MO. A little side note about Chinese food from resident expert in Chinese geography and culture, my mother, Jackie Fu. The food in this restaurant does not represent “Chinese food”. China is a country that is really big, and this restaurant’s style comes from the provinces of Sichuan (四川) and Hunan (湖南) in southwest China, and therefore does not encompass all of China. Okay. Now, when I walked into this restaurant, I’ll admit, I didn’t have high hopes for the food. Adorned with Christmas lights (and that’s about it), the restaurant could use a makeover. Located near Missouri State University, Yan’s Chinese mostly caters to college students, so it probably doesn’t need to be too fancy, but if this restaurant was standalone, it wouldn’t make it, no matter how good the food was (and it was).

From the moment we walked in, the lady servicing the counter greeted us in Chinese. As we chatted, she reached for a subtle book of papers beside the register, despite there being a large board behind her displaying potential orders of cashew chicken and lo mien. And unwittingly, she fulfilled a dream that I hadn’t even known that I had. The papers were a “secret menu”. We’ve all heard of places that have a menu for the locals and a menu for the tourists. And I had unsuspectingly stumbled into such a place! But no worries. It’s not exclusive to the people who speak Chinese, and as long as you ask, you can get the “secret” menu for authentic Chinese food. While there, we ordered beef noodles (牛肉麵), a common tofu dish that you put on rice (麻婆豆腐), bok choy (青江菜), and an onion and beef dish (葱爆牛肉). They were all delicious, although a bit pricey. And beware! The dishes that are spicy are spicy, so make sure to specially request it without if you can’t handle the heat.

In conclusion,

Décor: :(

Food: :)

Culture: :D

★★★★☆

It’s like one of those niche restaurants you would find on a travel blog—obscure but 100% worth the visit. Don’t let the appearance fool you!