2008 Woodie Awards
Food Review
Red Dragon House 312 W. 8th St.
Jessie Burche
Issue date: 9/11/06 Section: Culture
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Red Dragon house is at 312 W. 8th St. in the garment district downtown. It's part of a large brick building that characterizes this part of Kansas City. If you go at the right time of day you can even smell the coffee scent wafting over from the Folgers plant.
As soon as I walked in the door I was awed by the great atmosphere. There are huge windows by every table looking out onto the street. The restaurant seems even larger because of the high, wood-beamed ceilings. The red leather booths are a pleasant reminder of where you are.
We got pot-stickers ($4.50) as an appetizer. There was a 20-minute wait, but it was definitely worth it. Six huge, steaming pot-stickers came with a soy sauce concoction to dip them in. The meat was moist and perfectly seasoned. The dumplings themselves had a nice brown, crispy bottom, making them look all the more appetizing. My boyfriend and I agree that these pot-stickers are even better than those at Blue Koi.
We ordered the willow beef ($9.95) as one entrée. On the menu it says the willow beef is filet mignon sautéed in hot sauce. This is one instance where the menu is a little misleading. The beef comes coated in batter and has a really sweet brown sauce that goes on top. The dish was good, but after a while was too much of one thing. If you like beef, broccoli and brown sauce though, this is the dish for you.
I ordered the empress chicken ($7.95), which is a favorite of mine. It was the best empress chicken I've ever had. The chicken is fried and then another brown sauce goes on top. It's mildly spicy and very savory. There was not too much sauce and plenty of vegetables to go with the chicken.
Our meal was about $23, which is still a little much for me to be spending on a normal dinner. However, I haven't revealed Red Dragon House's biggest secret to you: There is a fantastic lunch menu every single day. You can get pork or chicken entrees for $5 and beef or shrimp entrees for $5.50. All of them come with a scoop of fried or steamed rice, a crab Rangoon or egg roll and egg drop soup or hot and sour soup. It's the best price I've seen on Chinese food since I made the mistake of going to a drive-thru Chinese place. This is much better than drive-thru Chinese, too. Guys, if you want to take your girlfriend on a nice daytime date, this is a good place to get lunch before walking over to the City Market and checking out what's there. There's even free parking.
For my money, Red Dragon House is the best and cheapest place to eat around and for us poor, hungry students what could be better?
jburche@unews.com
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