Cashew Chicken Chronicles, Part II: Midrange Meals

Runners Up

Hong Kong Inn
1545 N. Glenstone Ave.; 1632 E. Sunshine St.; 1520 W Battlefield St.

Our family has patronized Hong Kong Inn for years, but it also had a Springfield Business Journal reader recommendation by Linda Kernohan.

The restaurant offers cashew chicken with fried rice, two wontons and an egg roll for $3.89. A regular meal is $3.59, and a large is $5.49; add 65 cents for all-white meat. The special for two is $9.19 and includes six pieces of crab Rangoon and two fortune cookies.

We ordered a regular, which came with 12 pieces of chicken and rice in a separate bowl. The chicken had a nice crispy crust and was piping hot.

Even with three locations now, a steady stream of customers visited the drive through and dined inside on East Sunshine Street - and it was after 8 p.m.

Jade East
2435 S. Campbell Ave.; 1336 N. Glenstone Ave.

We visited the North Glenstone location and ordered the cashew chicken dinner with one crab Rangoon, an egg roll and drink for $4.49. A buffet also is available for $5.99, and a regular cashew chicken is $3.45 with fried rice (extra for all-white meat). The restaurant seats plenty and may do a good business at other times, but on our weeknight visit, it was empty except for one other family.

Our meal came with 11 pieces of chicken and a light sauce. We found the meat too chewy, and every bite was too salty. We couldn't finish it all.

Lucy's
3330 S. Campbell Ave.; 2456 E. Sunshine St.; 518 E. Central St.

We saw a wall full of awards and steady drive-through traffic on a Monday night at Lucy's, where a half order of cashew chicken is $2.85, or $3.75 with an egg roll and choice of wontons or crab Rangoon; a full order is $3.75 without the accompaniments. Add 75 cents for all-white meat.

We got two half orders, one all white, which gave us five generous pieces per plate with some of the freshest green onions we tasted. The chicken was lightly breaded but flavorless. While we noticed a definite difference in the meat between the white and regular, neither plate wowed us. The sauce tasted slightly watery, and overall, the experience was disappointing, given the hype.

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Pacific Kitchen
839 N. Glenstone Ave.

This one is undoubtedly the newest Chinese restaurant in Springfield - we went on opening week. The counter staff members were still in training, but it was easy to order since the menu board looks exactly like our frequent stop, Hong Kong Inn. Turns out that the co-owner, Linh Duong, was formerly a chef there.

The similarities continued - the cashew chicken tasted exactly the same. It was a light sauce, 14 pieces of chicken, lots of green onions and tasty rice, for $3.59 plus 50 cents for all-white meat. It was a good value and good flavor.

One of the owners - Quan Le, who works on the operations side - tells us the first time he heard about cashew chicken he asked, "What kind of food is this?

"I think you have to live here at least five years to get used to this kind of cashew chicken," adds the Vietnam native.

New China
2725 N. Kansas Expressway

Tucked away next to Buffalo Wild Wings, New China's cashew chicken is worth a bit of a search. A daily lunch special 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. includes pork-fried rice, a fortune cookie and choice of soda or soup for $4.65. A combination platter with egg roll and rice is $6.85, and on the dinner menu is "chicken with cashew nuts" for $8.75.

We received 15 pieces of chicken, and although they were smaller than most, they were hot with good flavor. The sauce was nice, but the cashews were hard to find. The sides, rice and crab Rangoon, scored high on our list.

China Star
1444 E. Republic Road

For some reason this strip-mall eatery reminded us of every little pizza place in New Jersey. The only difference is that the artwork was beautiful renderings of the Great Wall of China, not pictures of the "Godfather."

The early special is $4.19 (plus 65 cents for all-white meat), with a dinner plate for $7.09. There was also a combo with egg roll, wonton and rice for $4.39.

Our special had 12 large pieces, a nice gelatin-like sauce and good flavor. The breading was a little mushy, but overall, this was well above average in a clean, comfortable setting.

China King
4301 S. National Ave.; 2123 W. Republic Road

At this strip mall location, we found an aquarium, two TVs airing sports and news, and the most unusual presentation of cashew chicken at any of Springfield's family locations. Unlike the typical battered chicken, this was a puffy pastry around small bites of chicken, served with dipping sauce on the side and no onions. Even for a dish that is outside of Chinese tradition, this one again broke the mold. It also has at least one fan - Dave Sharon wrote in that China King was a must-visit spot.

A small order is $4.75, and a regular order for $6.95 comes with rice, crab Rangoon and an egg roll or soup. We got 11 pieces of meat with the regular order, steamed rice instead of fried, salted cashews and two dipping sauces. The cashew sauce was very heavy on the soy sauce - very brown, and slightly salty.

We came away thinking this would not truly be the Springfield-style cashew chicken experience, so while the flavor is fine, don't take out-of-towners here.

China Wok
4153 S. Scenic Ave.

This place gets extra points for service - we ran into an old friend and closed the place down without anyone asking us to leave. On this Friday night, take-out was as busy as sit down.

The regular order, for $4.50, came with six large pieces of chicken and fried rice. The large is $6, and the combo is $5 (50 cents extra for all-white meat), with three pieces of crab Rangoon and two fortune cookies. It was a good grade of chicken, but the sauce was blah - the right texture, but missing flavor outside of its saltiness. Convenience seems to be an appealing factor here.

Paul K. Logsdon is director of public relations and publications for Evangel University, and Kay Logsdon is director of the Food Channel for Noble. They have written restaurant reviews for 25 years.[[In-content Ad]]