ABC Cafe

I come from the land of the best authentic Chinese food in all of Missouri… St. Louis. Now put away your pitchforks and fire torches, I’m not finished yet. I don’t expect KC to be better than St. Louis. In fact, I’m surprised at how authentic ABC is. I would say it’s on par with St. Louis in terms of authenticity. But the predicament with having only one authentic Chinese restaurant in the whole KC metro area is that there is no competition. No variety. You get one, maybe two, styles of Chinese cooking. Yes, there are various styles of Chinese cuisine. Lucky for me, they have what I want. It’s still a bit Americanized, but I’m not expecting to be transported to China (that’s a whole other ballgame) from my food at ABC.
I’ve had all sorts of authentic Chinese dishes here, and I’ve never been disappointed. However, I stay away from what the non-​Asians *generally* like to eat. The extremely Americanized foods. I make the 1-​hour round-​trip drive just for ABC. And I always leave happy and full. They’re reasonable with pricing, which I took for granted in STL, until I moved to KC. They have dim sum, though it’s not served Hong Kong style (carts being wheeled around), but the tiny dining space wouldn’t be conducive to that anyway. Bo Ling’s dim sum is WAYYYYYY overpriced and tastes awful. Save your money and come here. Or go to St. Louis. Whatever you choose to do.
Though I do have to mention the problem with serving dim sum around the clock is that it won’t be fresh. It’s why STL restaurants have designated dim sum hours. So they can focus on getting the dim sum ready and only serving dim sum at certain hours ensures the freshness. The next best midwestern city to get authentic Chinese is obviously Chicago. But if you can’t make it that far, ABC is your best bet.
Service is spotty at ABC. For some reason, when I meet my boyfriend here for dinner after classes occasionally, we always get seated by the bathrooms, even though there are empty tables up front near the door. He always arrives before I do and gets the table. Oh, and he’s not Asian. I wonder if him being Caucasian has anything to do with saving the «better» tables for their Asian patrons because when I’ve been here to get the table, I’ve always gotten to choose my table. I’m not saying what you’re thinking, but I wouldn’t be entirely surprised that they would cater to regular visitors versus someone whom might not return.
But because we get seated in an isolated corner back by the bathrooms (yum!), we never get refills on anything. And they don’t come check on us or notice we’ve been done with our food for 15 minutes. Usually, we eventually have to grab their attention for anything, which can be annoying when they’re preoccupied with another table or on their way to do something. And even when we ask them for something, we may never actually get it. So we have to ask again or just forget it.
Despite the bad service, they’re still the only authentic Chinese restaurant in KC. So I guess I’m stuck. Though I was inclined to give ABC 3 stars because of the service, the food is better than 3 stars.
Overall: 3.5÷5
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Atmosphere: ²⁄₅

Super yummy and super affordable. Be prepared to share a table on a busy Friday night but be assured, the food is worth it!

This is a great place to find authentic Chinese food. The only downside is the place is extremely tiny. There’s probably no more than 16 tables servicing guests.
We’ve tried several different things off the menu and all have been great. Some of our favorites there are the walnut shrimp with mayo, the sautéed ong choy and salt and pepper shrimp. If you are also wanting to try dim sum out they do offer a dim sum menu.
Their service is extremely fast. With the great service and awesome food you almost forget how compact the place is. You’re also served a complimentary jasmine tea. Another great thing about this restaurant is you can BYOB!

So far I’ve been coming back to this restaurant for their salt and pepper tofu and shrimp. Plus their XO chicken wings are good too. Complimentary hot tea is always a plus. And been trying different dishes with no complaints.

This is my new favorite spot.
Endless variety, amazing quality, great value.
The whole red snapper is not only a great deal, it is so fragrant and tasty.
They make excellent sticky rice in lotus leaf, and their hot pots are wonderful.
The service is always good, but it’s usually packed.

You win some, and you dim sum! Last time Eric R. and I were in town and wanted dim sum, ABC was closed for renovations! We went to another place which was good, but I always had ABC on my mind. This weekend we were determined to get to ABC for dim sum near opening time (which is 12 PM, rather late for a dim sum place! We went to a place in Vancouver and at 8 AM the regulars were banging on the doors to get in!)
We were coming from Pryde’s in Westport, and got into the first set of doors at around 12:20 PM. We opened the second entrance to let someone know we were a party of 2 — we were told there was a 10 minute wait. A lady standing inside the restaurant told us it was worth the wait, and we certainly agreed. While we waited, we read articles about the restaurant that were framed on the walls.
Soon, a table cleared and we sat down. There was a personal TV next to our table which enabled us to watch the Seton Hall-​Wichita State basketball game that went to OT while were eating (my brother is a student at SHU so I was interested). We ended up not getting too much dim sum because there was a full menu of deliciousness. We got a free pot of jasmine tea and waters, all of which were refilled regularly.
We ordered salt and pepper tofu, beef curry puffs, chicken and seaweed spring rolls, and stuffed eggplant to start. The food came out ridiculously fast and steaming hot, but not all at once which was great. The salt and pepper tofu came with a big bowl of rice, and it was soooo good! It was mixed with lots of jalapenos which I like, with a cup of sauce on the side. The eggplant, one of my favorite dishes, was served with black bean sauce — it did not appeared to be stuffed with anything though. I expected the shrimp paste but I think it was forgotten — the eggplant had slits in the middle but was just eggplant. Nevertheless, it was tasty.
The chicken spring roll had a sheet of nori inside the spring roll wrapper and was fried but not greasy. I was so impressed with how good the nori tasted, especially because it did not seem to be a Chinese thing but I am all about Japanese flavors so that was great. it was served with a bright red sweet sauce.
The curry puffs were not something I expected either here — the curry had Japanese curry flavors rather than Thai or Indian, for example. It was like puff pastry. They were served scathing hot. After all of this food, Eric R. was eyeing another dish. He ordered one of the most expensive menu items, the braised duck with black mushrooms. We were given an additional bowl of white rice for this because we finished the other bowl with the tofu.
The dish had duck with crispy skin (not greasy though!), carrots, snap peas, and black mushrooms. It was very good, but we ran out of room in our tummies before we could finish it. I figured we would over-​order because we tend to do that at dim sum restaurants (in Vancouver we ordered 9 dim sum items and that was 3 too many at least!) but here we had access to some specialties and had to try them. I would definitely come back!
Efficient service, food comes out fast and hot, and I can watch sports!!! What is not to like?!

I’ve been craving good Chinese food for a while now, and trying to satiate it with the usual American-​Chinese haunts simply didn’t cut it. In fact, I’ve never had true «authentic» Chinese food and I thought that was probably the way to go.
Thank you Unilocal for leading me to ABC Café! I can’t speak to its «authenticity» because I am by no means an authority, but it sure is yummy and so much better than other Chinese in KC.
I got take-​out and it was ready in 20minutes. I tried a scallion pancake, salt & pepper shrimp, salty fish and chicken fried rice, and singapore noodles. The scallion pancake was rather bland, but not bad by any means.
Overall my favorite was the salt & pepper shrimp and secondly the salty fish & chicken fried rice. For anyone that is turned off by the «salty fish» part of that entrée, its not overpowering at all. I think it just adds a nice savory taste. I can’t fully describe why, but this fried rice was leaps and bounds better than usual American Chinese fried rice (I’m sure not having obviously recently frozen veggies in the mix helps).
I just wish it wasn’t all the way down in Overland Park :/​and that KC had more good Chinese delivery… but I am so glad I now have a quality option and I’m sure I will be back!

This is our favorite Cantonese restaurant in the Kansas City area; a great place to bring family and friends to dine in. It’s the most authentic place we’ve been in the Kansas City area! Come and enjoy the food and their awesome service!

Are you feeling adventurous? Are you ready to have your taste buds rocked so hard that most other food will seem bland and uninteresting? If you said yes, then have I got a treat for you.
This is not your grandma’s Chinese (unless your grandma was from China). There ARE a couple staples on the menu that will look familiar, but the real treasures are on the dim sum menu. Think Chinese tapas. Lots of small plates with varied textures and flavors. Their buns are fluffy and delicious, and the chicken feet will surprise you with how much flavor is packed in there.
You’ll usually have a bit of a wait, and the place is quite small, but it’s worth checking out.

Yum! Finally a Chinese restaurant that serves authentic Chinese food and none of that «orange chicken» and «crab rangoon» stuff.
Their noodle soups are delicious and I love the salt and pepper tofu. If you want a small refreshing appetizer, grab the cucumber salad.
There can be a wait at times because it is a small and popular restaurant. Keep in mind that they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Four months later and I still love this place! Quality of the food is consistent, and service is still great. I was able to dine in today and had a lovely dinner. Ordered the seafood chow mein, salt and pepper squid, and the stir fried ong choy. The salt and pepper squid came with jasmine rice, and you are given a hot pot of tea upon arrival! I also ordered the Hong Kong milk tea, which was delicious and had a stronger tea flavor. Everytime I’m in Kansas City, I make it a point to come here! Definitely worth the stop :)

Authentic? I suppose it is the closest thing there is, here in Kansas City. The flavors are almost spot-​on, but my pointed pitch to them is this: reduce the oil. Yet, that is my pitch to all Asian restaurants out here. reduce the oil!
I suppose this review only reflects my intense distaste for saucy, oily foods — which is rather common of all Chinese I’ve had out here. I may have been spoiled, but I have tasted authentic Chinese that do not require half the oil and sauce to gather crowds to their doorsteps.
Complaint aside, I recommend their porridge — seafood or pork w/​preserved eggs — both are delicious. The way they prepare their meats: chicken, beef tendon, or fish. the texture is done well. Again, reduce the oil, and I would highly recommend their ginger & onion salty chicken! The salt and pepper flounder: meat lightly crisp on the outside; soft and tender on the inside. Lightly salted and peppered to taste!
Last two cents: I was told to avoid their regular turnip cake (i had a terrible experience) and order their special «XO Sauce Turnip Cake» instead. Judging the way they prepared their porridge today, I am curious and would love to try all their other soup items. If I stand correct, their soups should be delicious!
p. s. link to their menu:

I’ve posted about this wonderful restaurant before, but gotta update you about the fantastic steamed red snapper. Oh my god, delicious. (Edit: this fish is $ 12! At least a pound of delight.) Firm, tender, meaty, steamed with ginger and scallions. It’s not on the menu, it’s on the wall with the other fish options and the sauteed greens. We had dinner here not long ago with friends from Lawrence KS, they were in heaven! As I promised them. Of course we had the appetizer turnip cake cubes with the fabulous XO «sauce» (crispy shallots and diced fresh jalapeño). AND because it was a party, some dim sum to start, we liked the shrimp/​cheese rolls inside some kind of fried shredded noodle. And the fish rolls, also fried goodness.
Then we returned to health, sort of, with a big platter of the water spinach wilted with some garlic and a light sauce (ong choy) and the aforementioned snapper. That was amazing and led to some hoarding, one of my pals immediately grabbed the head. We also had a dish of peking style pork, which was very good little pieces of pork lightly crumbed and fried in a sweet-​sour dressing, not too sweet and not heavy. And the shrimp with candied walnuts in mayonnaise, which was weird but my sweetie ate it all. I love this place. I sort of liked the candied walnuts, but I recommend the snapper.

It was just OK.
I ordered thePork & egg Congee, bbq pork buns and the turnip cakes. Nothing to really write home about.
The place is small but clean.