Yan’s Chinese

Found Yans by accident and was enticed by the reviews stating that had an authentic menu. I went on a Saturday night and waited i line for about 10 minutes because the couple in front of me were first timers and took awhile to read over the authentic menu. They need some to-​go paper copies of that special menu to allow for pre-​ordering.
With that said… I LOVED the food! Yes the Generals sauce is thin but the chicken was breaded nicely and the sauce was quite tasty. The pork and pickled green bean was also amazing and now listed in my new favorites list.
However the star of the show is the egg foo young. Hands down the lightest, fluffiest and tastiest version I have ever had. And while most place uses a less than tasty thick brown goo of the sauce, Yans sauce is worth ordering the dish alone. Deep, rich and tasty and the perfect sauce for the eggs. Outstanding!
I plan to go back often.

it has traditional chinese Sichuan flavor which is the reason why my roomates and i love here! beef noodles is yummy!

Delicious hearty and reasonable! I highly recommend their soups. I had the California beef noodle, delicious!

Fantastic!!! Way more than just a Chinese place to get sweet and sour chicken! Beef and scallops is to die for.

I love Yans! The owners are super sweet and the food is great! They have the best Lo Mein. My favorite is house Lo Mein. But the Egg Foo Yung is to die for. Hard to find good Egg Foo. Sometimes the sauce is too salty but that’s usually when we order late at night. The actual egg foo is wonderful. We like the veggie as much as the house version so take your pick. Also love the country tofu. Definitely cooked perfect and the sweet spicy sauce is really great. As a great side consider the spicy cabbage. Just try Yans. Kathy and Tom will take care of you.

Overall, I’d definitely go back to Yans. The crab rangoons were solid, albeit devoid of anything resembling crab. The Mongolian beef was tender and tasty although it lacked heat.
I wouldn’t recommend the general chicken or lo mein. The chicken was crispy but the sauce was flavorless. As is often the case, sriracha rescued the dishes, luckily they had some to spare.
If you’re looking for a cheap way to eat Chinese with enough greasiness to make the food good but not enough to make you hate yourself, Yans is a solid option.

Awful tasting chicken, bit into my egg roll to find a piece of raw chicken. My teriyaki chicken tasted like maple syrup on fat pieces of cubed mean. Not happy. And they wouldn’t take it back or bring extra sauce or soy sauce.

I have been to this place many times, the crispy chicken was really good. I usually get beef and potato dish, it’s usually good too! Today I went back to get the same thing, the girl that took the order said there is only one beef potato dish which is beef curry. I ordered that dish and it’s not what I usually order and the taste wasn’t really good. I was pretty upset for that so might not go back for a while.

The best Chinese in Springfield. Period.
Don’t order off the Springfield-​esque menu that’s on the wall. Order from the small menu that is printed mostly in Mandarin. Ask whoever’s working for help. You won’t be disappointed.
The pork. Get something with pork. I recommend what they call «Dried pork with Tofu.» I’m not sure why it’s called dried pork, because it’s not. Perhaps a translation error. The tofu is the best I’ve ever had and is of the black bean variety.
Looking forward to going back soon.

There’s more Chinese food places in Springfield than anywhere else in the world (probably). Yan’s is a little unassuming place nestled in the business of MSU. You can get the standard fair: cashew chicken, broccoli beef or crab rangoons, however, there’s these little white menus with a bunch of Chinese on them and some English mixed in. If you’re in the mood for something magical, pick up that little menu and pick something that sounds good. You won’t be disappointed!

Straight up this place is great! It is the best Chinese in springfield (which says a lot) and the best restaurant in its price range, a decent plate costs about 7 bucks after tax. The best thing about this place is the authentic Chinese menu which is not heavily advertised, you kinda have to ask for it.
I always get the chicken rice plate with spice added (also not on the normal menu). The food is simple, not too fancy but well prepared and very fresh tasting. I will say that I can’t really comment on any of their fried «springfield style» dishes simply because I have never ordered them (I try to avoid fried things) but I am sure are still very tasty.
Last I’ll just mention that the owners are super nice. Not only do they always remember my usual order but also ask about how I am doing and even remember to ask about updates on things I had mentioned in previous visits.

Order Chicken Rice Plate or Beef Rice Plate from their authentic chinese menu.
You will not regret that choice.

A friend introduced me to Yan’s, and I will be thanking her until my dying day.
This place is just simply amazing.
First — everyone who works here is really freaking friendly. Like, I want to be besties with them friendly.
Second — IGNORE THE PAPER MENU. Can’t read chinese? Just tell them what you are sorta thinking you will want — and they will order your stir fried manna. I didnt even think I liked bean sprouts. i like their bean sprouts. the tofu is exactly what tofu aspires to be, the sauce is spicy — but flavor spicy not burn your mouth spicy, AND the rice is worth eating by itself.
I love Yan’s.
I wish it was closer to my house.

Yan’s is a place where friendships should be decided. It has two menus. To the left, the people you’ve known. The places you’ve been. Your indulgent craving, your comfort blanket. Your big box store, your worn out paper-​back. All these items are more or less the same across 417. A little more this, some less of that, some more green, some less crispy, some more corn starch, some less blah blah and fried fried fried. To the right, those things all those around us have been afraid to try for that silly fear of «disappointment», of something being «kinda too spicy for me», less fried, more foreign.
Those who choose the left? The butt-​groove in the couch? Eat with me. Eat with people who want to try something new and stop being a god-​damned child. Try it once? And if you can’t pop that bubble of food-​agoraphobia? Then we are not friends.
Here’s what you miss: velvety fatty pork belly steamed in a slightly spicy pork broth. Quick cooked beef and scallops with wok fried, fresh vegetables. Roasted duck. Slightly spicy Kung Bao chicken. Tiny, braised tender spare ribs with thin slices of tofu noodles. Tofu noodles! Delightful, spongy little slivers that look a little bit like slivers of foie gras, but soak up the heat of the wok and all its glorious flavors. Then regular fried tofu with fresh vegetables. The tofu defies convention-​staying crispy on the outside long after it has bathed in sauces. Wok tossed cabbage. Wok fried bok choi. Both of which lock have depths of amazing flamed flavor. Contemplative. Deeply flavorful. Make a bed of rice. Drop any and all these things on it. Repeat.
A little pricier than your $ 4.99 cashew chicken? Yes. However! A magical wok resides here. Venture out and you might just make a friend out of the chef or owner, which, in the long run, will be totally worth it. Trust me.

Like my ancestors before me, I spend a lot of time attempting the impossible feat of discovering the best place to get cashew chicken in Springfield. Everyone will disagree on which is best until the end of time, but seeing as my initial visit to Yan’s Chinese last night was 100% spontaneous, I thought I’d test the waters by ordering cashew chicken.
I kind of really regret doing this.
It’s not because the cashew chicken was bad — it was fine. The sauce was more flavorful than I normally encounter and the rice was sticky — I repeat, the rice was STICKY. I was blown away by that.
It’s because immediately after making my shot-​gun decision, I noticed a lot of things about Yan’s. 1) The other customers dining-​in were all Chinese MSU students enjoying bowls of broth and other items I didn’t even recognize. Considering Chinese places are a dime a dozen in SGF (there’s literally one right next door to Yan’s), I realized that divine intervention had brought me here to order something that was not cashew chicken. BUT — too late!
After observing that, I noticed that 2) I had ordered from the Chinese-​American menu, but the authentic Chinese menu was right next to it. D’oh. The left one was full of all the obligatory stuff (and all for $ 5 WITH an egg roll or wonton — that’s quite a deal, folks), but the menu on the right was full of all kinds of intrigue. Beef and scallops? What?! I’d love to list more items but I can’t find the menu online.
At this point I realized I’d goofed really hard by ordering cashew chicken. I’m going to come back here ASAP and order something from the menu on the right, and I have a feeling it’s going to be good. I guess it’s pretty cool that there’s a place like Yan’s where you can enjoy traditional Chinese dishes alongside your friends that may prefer the stuff from our side of the pond.
Oh — the service was friendly and the restaurant/​bathroom was scrubbed spotless. Rock on, Yan’s. Once I visit again I’ll be able to update my star rating.

As of recent, I’ve found that the longest time span between my Yan’s visits is like 10 days tops. I’ve found Chinese food I really love… in Springfield… Chinese food that isn’t deep fried and covered in gravy (although they offer that and other items of the like, if you’re into that).
Favorite dish so far is still probably the first dish I had there, i.e., the dried tofu and pork. Other delicious dishes include: mongolian beef, twice cooked pork, the spicy chicken (chopped up chicken with bones, fyi), and the deep cooked pork (it’s like braised pork belly in gravy with bok choy and is filling and delicious).
Even when I haven’t been wowed by a dish, all the other pluses of Yan’s just make this place too wonderful for me to give it anything less than 5 stars (cuz let’s be real, yo: Springfield, MO has few good authentic Chinese food places, so you gotta praise what you got). The prices are reasonable, the portion sizes are ample, and I’m rarely disappointed. Thanks for giving me authentic chinese food that’s close enough to downtown that I can visit you as a regular lunch spot, Yan’s. Really. Thank you.

This seems to be where a lot of the Chinese students at MSU eat. And for good reason.
Pretty much everything I have had from here has been good, if not great, both from the American menu and the Chinese one. The Chinese menu is fairly extensive and covers a lot of ground. The beef and pork dishes are really well done, and every time I’ve gone, I’ve had the entrée delivered to me in, like, 5 minutes. Very quick and normally friendly.