Cashew Chicken Chronicles, Part III: Upscale Eateries

Runners Up

Mr. Yen's
4117 S. National Ave.

When you talk about the history of Chinese restaurants in Springfield, along with Leong's, Gee's, Silk Road, Bamboo Inn and Diamond Head, there was Grand Fortuna, with its Mongolian barbecue.

The Yen family that owned Grand Fortuna and Diamond Head now owns Mr. Yen's. Head chef and owner Tobby Yen and his general manager son, John Burke, offer cashew chicken "Springfield Style" for $8.25 and "Chinese Style" for $9.95, which is described as "nonbattered chicken and bell peppers sautéed with cashews."

Mr. Yen's atmosphere is authentic, and the service is personal - what you'd expect from family members. It turns out our waitress was Mr. Yen's daughter; another sibling as well as several aunts and uncles work there, too. Mr. Yen's is a white linen kind of place but with a casual feel; one of the servers even stood on a chair to get a better angle while she took a picture for a group of travelers.

Springfield-style cashew chicken comes with about 20 sizeable chunks of all-white meat with a light breading. The cashew sauce was almost sweet, and light enough to negate the deep-fried chicken.

Fire & Ice
2550 N. Glenstone Ave.

Even a recent story in the New York Times told how this restaurant has the original Springfield-style cashew chicken recipe, developed by the Leong family.

At Fire & Ice, un upscale hotel restaurant in the Robert Low/Prime Inc. family of companies, $8 cashew chicken is described as "golden fried chicken topped with oyster sauce, cashews and green onions, served with pork fried rice and an egg roll." It came with seven pieces of chicken in a nice presentation, and it was good - no one wanting the cashew chicken experience would be disappointed.

The atmosphere was a bit of a disconnect, simply because Fire & Ice is less a Chinese restaurant and more a casino-style bar, with flat screens showing news, sports and the Food Network, plus much chatter and laughter from the patrons. The story goes that Springfield-style cashew chicken originator David Leong's son had been chef at Fire & Ice, and left the restaurant with his treasured recipe.

The oyster sauce has a bolder flavor, and the chicken has a light crust. The pieces are ample, so although seven seems few, they were easily cut into several bites each. This meal does come with a fortune cookie.

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5 Spice
2058 S. Glenstone Ave.

We were seated right away for a Sunday lunch with friends, in a side room with great décor and pleasant ambiance. The restaurant - a favorite for its orange chicken and Mongolian beef - did not, however, fare so well with its cashew chicken. It was listed as "Crispy Springfield Style Cashew Chicken with Fresh Roasted Cashews and Scallions" for $7.95. It was also our waitress' recommendation.

5 Spice gets points for not adding an additional charge for all-white meat, which almost every other restaurant charges extra.

Served with a nice mound of steamed rice, the cashew chicken had a crispy exterior and a stunning presentation, but the flavor was nothing to write home about. It had a darker oyster sauce than the usual offering, and there was not enough of it. Worse, the chicken tasted too fried. Service was spotty at best, meaning the $5.99 drive-through offered on outdoor signage had greater appeal.

Jade Dynasty
300 E. Battlefield Road

The opportunities are pretty varied here - go for the buffet ($7.99 at night, $6.99 at lunch), the daily special ($4.99 with egg roll, rice and wontons), or the regular ($3.75), supreme ($5.99) or junior ($3.35).

The restaurant is much larger than the small crowd that gathered, which makes us wonder how quickly the buffet turns over. But it has a pleasant atmosphere and excellent table service.

Our order had 12 large pieces of meat, with sauce on the side. It was a little crispier than most, with plenty of cashews and onions, but the rice wasn't hot. Knowing that everyone has a favorite Chinese place, this may well make the list for some.[[In-content Ad]]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.