Eating with chopsticks requires a certain level of dexterity, like beating a difficult video game or spitefully disassembling a too-difficult video game. Conquer your hunger with today’s Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of Chinese fare and drinks at Po's Dumpling Bar.
Taught to make noodles at age 8 in his native Taiwan, Po of Po's Dumpling Bar crafts an MSG-free menu of authentic Chinese fare at his namesake eatery on bustling 39th Street. Meals kick off with steamed or pan-fried dumplings packed with pork, chicken, shrimp, or veggies ($5.99), and steaming bowls of seaweed egg soup ($4.99 for a bowl) finally utilize the marine plant as something other than a rope swing.
Diners seeking Chinese-American eats choose from 22 options, such as the fiery general tso's chicken ($9.95), and an ever-evolving bill of house specialties expands palates with mussels in black-bean sauce ($10.95), gently frizzled boneless duck and vegetables ($13.95), and the meat-free hot pot fried tofu with vegetables ($9.95). A full bar brims with selections of beer, organic wine, and cocktails split into categories of wild, romantic, passionate, and mildly curious.
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.