The Quest For The Best General Chicken In Springfield, MO.

(Note to reader, this list was put together and posted on 8/7/11, so, naturally things have changed since then. I'll try to make an updated list in the near future.)

As a Chinese food addict, I arrived in Springfield, MO some fifteen years ago and saw all the Chinese restaurants and thought I'd landed in heaven. Unfortunately, to my dismay, I couldn't be more wrong. The Chinese food in Springfield, MO, for the most part is awful. Apparently, the Chinese folks who set up shop here have catered to the locals and basically lost any of their Chinese food know-how they might have gleaned on either coast. The result is a highly unChinese Cashew Chicken, which is basically in every Chinese restaurant here. You won't find any New York style Chinese food in Springfield, MO, no Pu Pu Platters, dark delicious Pork Fried Rice, golden Chicken Fingers, Pork Strips, etc. What you will get in Springfield, MO, is basically Hillbilly Chinese Food.

So, you can imagine, as difficult as it is to find good food in Springfield, MO, it's even harder to find good Chinese food. And harder to find a good version of my favorite Chinese dish: General Tso's Chicken. However, in my many attempts to find good General Tso's, I have narrowed down a couple of the best in town.

Best General Tso's Chicken In Springfield, MO.

5. Happy China
820 East Battlefield

Don't let the fact that this Chinese restaurant shares their building with a gas station. Happy China is the best Chinese restaurant in town. Period. Although their food, collectively, is better than anywhere else, their General Tso's doesn't quite beat out the other restaurants in this list. Still, I would gladly choose this restaurant over any Chinese restaurant in town. It's definitely the closest to east coast/New York style Chinese food.

4. Golden Korean

1406 West Sunshine Suite A

This place was a great find. I tried it a while back with my dad, in an effort to find good food in Springfield. As the name of the place would suggest, this is a mostly Korean place. I don't know anything about Korean food and didn't feel like trying anything too exotic. Luckily, they have a Chinese section in the back of the menu. And lucky for me, it was delicious! I ordered the wonton soup and the general chicken, two of my favorite standard Chinese dishes and both were a pleasant surprise.

3. China Wok

4153 South Scenic

This place has got some surprisingly good food! It's just a hole in the wall way down on the southwest side of Springfield. They have some of the best wonton soup in town as well. But this list is devoted to general chicken, and these guys don't disappoint. Absolutely delicious food here. The lo mein is great as well. The only problem I've had here, and I've been there about a dozen times over the past few years, and that is the service. Lately it's been better. However, when I first started going there it was quite a deterrent. They seem to like to hire teenagers who don't seem to give a care. I don't mind if you don't give a care, as long as you can try to fake it a little. These teens don't even fake it. You are a burden. That's how I felt. But like I said, the service has been better of late.

2. Chinese Chef
3029 South Campbell or 1731 South Enterprise

Chinese Chef surprised me with how good their General Tso's Chicken is. It's featured on their buffet and since their buffet is pretty streamlined (only a select amount of items) it's easy for the folks at Chinese Chef to keep it fresh (unlike Lotus below). However, Chinese Chef only offers a buffet during lunch hours.

1. Lotus Chinese Restaurant
504 North West Bypass

Lotus Chinese Restaurant features a buffet but in my experience, they let their food sit a bit too long on the buffet table and so this isn't a good way to get their General Tso's Chicken. The best way is to order off the menu, so it's guaranteed to be fresh. This is the closest General Tso's Chicken to the east coast version of General Chicken.