TLDR: Takeout only. Bland. Bare bones recipes. Go to Great Wall on Baltimore instead.
MENU: It's your typical beef/pork/chicken/shrimp with (insert vegetable here) in a cornstarch sauce type of Americanized Chinese food. If you want, you can get the dinner special during lunch hours - the difference is it comes with your choice of egg rolls or crab rangoon. All of the online menus I have seen are outdated. The actual menu is much more limited than the online stuff would lead you to believe, and the prices are marginally higher.
FOOD QUALITY: IMO, the recipes they use at Chen's are austere and sparing. Overall, the food is bland. Portions are a decent size. They have very definite ideas about which vegetable goes with which meat, for some of the dishes. Celery goes in the cashew chicken, to the exclusion of any other vegetables. Onions go in the Mongolian beef, to the exclusion of any other vegetables. Case closed. The result of this philosophy is that some of the dishes are extremely bland. One of the first items I tried on the menu here was cashew chicken, and I say, without exaggeration, that the meal was about 50% celery. It's not that I don't like celery, it's fine, I just don't want so much of it. And it's also not the case that they were skimpy on the chicken or the cashews - I would say the quantity given of each was more than fair, for the price. My problem was with the lack in variety in vegetables and seasonings, which I know they include in some of the other dishes, so I'm confused as to why they are so strict in applying limitations in some specific cases. It seems to me that these restrictive dishes would be improved with a mixture of onions, celery, and carrots as a baseline. Beyond that, I would say the sauces are generally tasteless. When it comes to Chinese food, I expect bold spices and flavorings - garlic, ginger, chilis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fermented bean pastes, black vinegar, etc. Here the sauces tend to be little more than water, salt, sugar, and cornstarch. I recommend passing on any of the dishes that involve fried nuggets of meat. On one occasion, for example, I got the sweet and sour pork, and found the nuggets to be so hard as to be borderline inedible. I don't mean crunchy, I mean rock hard. The meat was also dry and stringy.
MENU FAVORITES: Go for the dinner combo, no matter the time of day. Both the egg rolls and the crab rangoon make for a nice little fried treat. Personally, I recommend the beef and bell peppers, or beef and broccoli.
MENU FAILS: Don't bother with the fried rice. It's over-salted and greasy. No wok hey. (Same is true of the noodles.) The plain steamed rice is much more pleasant to eat.
FRONT OF HOUSE SERVICE: Every time I have visited Chen's, it has ALWAYS been the same lady working the cash register. I wouldn't be surprised if she runs the show six days a week. (Can my girl please have a couple weeks off?!) She's very polite and cordial; friendly, but also efficient. If she isn't standing at the front, just ring the little bell and she'll come up. The restaurant is currently takeout only. (Looks like it used to be a buffet in the past, but I suppose that was shut down during Covid, and they haven't brought it back.)
KITCHEN SERVICE: Aside from that time I got the sweet and sour pork, I would say the quality of cooking is good, overall. Vegetables are tender but retain an al dente texture. Most fried items are golden and crispy.
ATMOSPHERE: Take out only. The building tends to be dark. Cold in the winter. Hot in the summer. (Gotta save on utility costs, I get it.) On one occasion, I was waiting for my food and an Asian customer came in to pick up her order; I got to overhear the two of them speaking in their language, which I thought was cool - a rare experience for me, in Kirksville.
Wayne McKnight
Excellent authentic Chinese takeout takeout only but you get what you pay for plenty of food lunch meals come with egg drop soup with crunchies and crab rangoons or you can say no soup and get extra rangoons and it's the real deal they keep all the Chinese students at the college a taste of home close by
Vegetarian options: The vegetarian options are served with steamed or fried rice and are as follows and spicy options are marked with a "!" #Mixed vegetables #Cashew vegetables #Tofu vegetables #Tofu Szechuan Style ! #String Bean #Broccoli with Garlic Sauce !
Dietary restrictions: They have special diet options on the menu that is steamed only and uses no oils or sauces
Parking: Free Street side parking slots
Kid-friendliness: Takeout window only
Wheelchair accessibility: I'm sure if you call the lady will be glad to bring it out to you
Restaurant does not have a dine in option. Our food was average, not bad or great.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Mike Moffitt
The food is excellent. The only complaint is we really loved dining in before covid. But the only option is carryout now. Best Chinese food in kirksville.
Timothy Barcus
Takeout(maybe delivery) orders only.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Redd Tiger
Carry out only, no dine in available
Will Sorensen
Fantastic food as always and friendly staff. Definitely an underrated gem!
I’ve been eating their food since I was a a kid! They are very nice people and their food is always amazing. I definitely recommend choosing them for take home or delivery! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dry-Fried Green Bean, Chicken Beef or Shrimp Lo Mein
Joe Bao
I'm from St. Louis and graduated from Truman in 2019. Haven't been back since. However, I literally just thought about their shredded pork eggplant and their salted pepper pork dish. 4 years later and I still think fondly about this place from time to time. If that isn't a testament to its quality then I don't know what is. By far the best food in Kirksville, let alone Chinese food, and it honestly beats out a lot of Chinese places from bigger cities. Just make sure you order from the Chinese menu (there's English on the menu, it's not just all Chinese) and not the American takeout menu.
TLDR: Takeout only. Bland. Bare bones recipes. Go to Great Wall on Baltimore instead.
MENU: It's your typical beef/pork/chicken/shrimp with (insert vegetable here) in a cornstarch sauce type of Americanized Chinese food. If you want, you can get the dinner special during lunch hours - the difference is it comes with your choice of egg rolls or crab rangoon. All of the online menus I have seen are outdated. The actual menu is much more limited than the online stuff would lead you to believe, and the prices are marginally higher.
FOOD QUALITY: IMO, the recipes they use at Chen's are austere and sparing. Overall, the food is bland. Portions are a decent size. They have very definite ideas about which vegetable goes with which meat, for some of the dishes. Celery goes in the cashew chicken, to the exclusion of any other vegetables. Onions go in the Mongolian beef, to the exclusion of any other vegetables. Case closed. The result of this philosophy is that some of the dishes are extremely bland. One of the first items I tried on the menu here was cashew chicken, and I say, without exaggeration, that the meal was about 50% celery. It's not that I don't like celery, it's fine, I just don't want so much of it. And it's also not the case that they were skimpy on the chicken or the cashews - I would say the quantity given of each was more than fair, for the price. My problem was with the lack in variety in vegetables and seasonings, which I know they include in some of the other dishes, so I'm confused as to why they are so strict in applying limitations in some specific cases. It seems to me that these restrictive dishes would be improved with a mixture of onions, celery, and carrots as a baseline. Beyond that, I would say the sauces are generally tasteless. When it comes to Chinese food, I expect bold spices and flavorings - garlic, ginger, chilis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fermented bean pastes, black vinegar, etc. Here the sauces tend to be little more than water, salt, sugar, and cornstarch. I recommend passing on any of the dishes that involve fried nuggets of meat. On one occasion, for example, I got the sweet and sour pork, and found the nuggets to be so hard as to be borderline inedible. I don't mean crunchy, I mean rock hard. The meat was also dry and stringy.
MENU FAVORITES: Go for the dinner combo, no matter the time of day. Both the egg rolls and the crab rangoon make for a nice little fried treat. Personally, I recommend the beef and bell peppers, or beef and broccoli.
MENU FAILS: Don't bother with the fried rice. It's over-salted and greasy. No wok hey. (Same is true of the noodles.) The plain steamed rice is much more pleasant to eat.
FRONT OF HOUSE SERVICE: Every time I have visited Chen's, it has ALWAYS been the same lady working the cash register. I wouldn't be surprised if she runs the show six days a week. (Can my girl please have a couple weeks off?!) She's very polite and cordial; friendly, but also efficient. If she isn't standing at the front, just ring the little bell and she'll come up. The restaurant is currently takeout only. (Looks like it used to be a buffet in the past, but I suppose that was shut down during Covid, and they haven't brought it back.)
KITCHEN SERVICE: Aside from that time I got the sweet and sour pork, I would say the quality of cooking is good, overall. Vegetables are tender but retain an al dente texture. Most fried items are golden and crispy.
ATMOSPHERE: Take out only. The building tends to be dark. Cold in the winter. Hot in the summer. (Gotta save on utility costs, I get it.) On one occasion, I was waiting for my food and an Asian customer came in to pick up her order; I got to overhear the two of them speaking in their language, which I thought was cool - a rare experience for me, in Kirksville.
Excellent authentic Chinese takeout takeout only but you get what you pay for plenty of food lunch meals come with egg drop soup with crunchies and crab rangoons or you can say no soup and get extra rangoons and it's the real deal they keep all the Chinese students at the college a taste of home close by
Vegetarian options: The vegetarian options are served with steamed or
fried rice and are as follows and spicy
options are marked with a "!"
#Mixed vegetables
#Cashew vegetables
#Tofu vegetables
#Tofu Szechuan Style !
#String Bean
#Broccoli with Garlic Sauce !
Dietary restrictions: They have special diet options on the menu that is steamed only and uses no oils or sauces
Parking: Free Street side parking slots
Kid-friendliness: Takeout window only
Wheelchair accessibility: I'm sure if you call the lady will be glad to bring it out to you
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wonton Soup for Two, Honey Chicken, Sesame Chicken, General's Chicken
Restaurant does not have a dine in option. Our food was average, not bad or great.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
The food is excellent. The only complaint is we really loved dining in before covid. But the only option is carryout now. Best Chinese food in kirksville.
Takeout(maybe delivery) orders only.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Carry out only, no dine in available
Fantastic food as always and friendly staff. Definitely an underrated gem!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: General's Chicken, Chicken Broccoli, Chicken Beef or Pork Fried Rice
DINE IN ONLYPictures and details online shows buffet.It's got all your classic take out..Pretty gloomy in there. But again CARRY OUT
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lemon Chicken
This is the best Chinese in town, hands down!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best Chinese in town. Mmm try the twin rolls.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I’ve been eating their food since I was a a kid! They are very nice people and their food is always amazing. I definitely recommend choosing them for take home or delivery! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dry-Fried Green Bean, Chicken Beef or Shrimp Lo Mein
I'm from St. Louis and graduated from Truman in 2019. Haven't been back since. However, I literally just thought about their shredded pork eggplant and their salted pepper pork dish. 4 years later and I still think fondly about this place from time to time. If that isn't a testament to its quality then I don't know what is. By far the best food in Kirksville, let alone Chinese food, and it honestly beats out a lot of Chinese places from bigger cities. Just make sure you order from the Chinese menu (there's English on the menu, it's not just all Chinese) and not the American takeout menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Best chinese in kirksville
This is the best Chinese in town, hands down!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best chinese in kirksville
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