Po’s Dumpling House
Watching Anthony Bourdain slurp noodles in China’s finest dumpling bars on No Reservations was a culinary siren song. I sat in rapt attention as highly skilled chefs weaved noodles with their hands, tossed mini-dumplings in pots of boiling water, and prepared a banquet’s worth of savory fillings. After the show ended, I badly wanted to call my travel agent and book a flight to China. I figured that I could fly in, eat for 48 hours straight, and fly home. I would save on hotels that way…
Of course, reality struck and I dropped the idea of a quick vacation halfway across the world, but I could not shake the sights and sounds of those meals.
A few months later, pure luck found me down at 39th and Rainbow, a hip little college area tucked away near downtown Kansas City. I was actually there in search of some good hummus when I remembered a little place called Po’s Dumpling House, located at 1715 W 39th Street in Kansas City, MO. I had passed by there several times, but I had never stopped. That was about to change.
Unlike the regal hotel restaurants and noodle destinations that Bourdain had visited, Po’s is definitely a no frills establishment. Laminated tables and plastic chairs dominated the seating and short water glasses, plain silverware and paper napkins held court on the tables. Still, when the host handed me the menu, I knew I had made the right choice. The entire menu was slightly longer than a sheet of paper and was printed double sides with two columns of dumpling and Asian food goodness.
The variety was amazing. Dumplings came in beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetable, and house special and they could be pan fried or steamed. In addition there were egg rolls, spring rolls, and other Chinese appetizers. It was definitely the type of menu that makes you sorry you can only eat once.
After careful deliberation, I went with pan fried vegetarian house special dumplings and a scallion biscuit. The house special dumplings came out in the traditional half moon shape, but they were stuffed almost to the point of bursting with a carrot, cabbage, cellophane noodle, and cilantro mixture that was refreshing and very filling.
The scallion biscuit, thin layers of pastry stuffed with sliced scallions, was perhaps a little too crispy for my liking on the edges. Still, the center was moist and the scallions gave the whole dish a subtle onion flavor that worked well with the saltiness of the biscuit.
When I go back to Po’s next time, I am definitely ordering both dishes again, though I think I might ask that the dumplings be steamed instead of pan fried. Really, my only complaint about the entire meal was that while I really liked the filling, the pan frying made the dumplings just a little too oily. Still, that is a minor complaint and I am looking forward to going back.
If you are in Kansas City, go off the beaten path and give Po’s a try. The dumplings and appetizers go for about $5-$7 a plate and are the perfect size to share.
