Like romance novels, dumplings fit tempting tidbits into a small but steamy package. Passionately devour cuisine with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of Chinese fare and drinks at Po’s Dumpling Bar.
Helmed by the restaurant’s namesake, Po, and his wife Rita, Po’s Dumpling Bar silences howling tummies with a toothsome menu of traditional Chinese fare. Tongues genuflect in awe as a sextet of pan-fried Emperor’s meat- or vegetable-stuffed dumpling starters ($5.99) marches regally into mouths, and bites of deep-fried honey chicken ($9.95) passionately debate whether to deploy sweet or savory signals to eager taste buds. Bowls of seafood noodle soup ($13.95) pair noodles made from scratch with scores of maritime treats, including scallops, shrimp, mussels, and squid dressed as Jacques Cousteau. Or customers can opt for a traditional dinner, such as chicken with cashew nuts, which deploys a toothsome arsenal of diced bamboo shoots and water chestnuts ($9.95). Po’s selection of dulcet desserts includes sweet apple dumplings ($3.95) that melodiously serenade sugar cravings.
Po’s Dumpling Bar
At the age of eight, Po Hwang learned to craft noodles from scratch in his family’s noodle factory in Taiwan. When he and his wife opened his namesake eatery, Po’s Dumpling Bar, he shared his technical tips with his kitchen staffers, teaching them how to roll and cut dough so that the resulting strips are the perfect size for basket weaving. The crew continues to use the from-scratch products as the foundations for a number of dishes, including sesame-sauce noodles with ground pork as well as noodle soup with sour cabbage.
Meals kick off with starters such as the pork-filled emperor’s dumplings, which Food & Wine mentioned in their round-up of great Kansas City eateries. The chefs enhance flavors without ever using MSG, keeping dishes healthful and free of abbreviations. Hwang can often be found traversing the dining room, sharing stories about the traditional Chinese-American dishes on his menu, such as the general tso's chicken and the country-style tofu. House specialties include boneless poultry, such as fried chicken or marinated duck. The full bar brims with selections of beer, organic wine, and cocktails.