2008 Woodie Awards
Good Chinese food near campus
Cameron Summers
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
For a long time, the idea of a food review column has bounced around the sentinel office. The idea of "Food on Troost" was indeed catchy, but, unfortunately, most places to eat on Troost and close to campus were either fast food, sources of salmonella, or somewhat sketchy. However, by expanding the scope somewhat, we find some excellent restaurants.
Across the UMKC Campus, on 51st street (home of Muddy's Coffeehouse, Pizza 51, and a Dry Cleaner that is suspiciously always closed), one discovers one of the closest of these eateries: Kin Lin, a Chinese restaurant at 314 E. 51st street. Featuring food that is both delicious and extremely reasonably priced (it is possible to easily feed three people on little more than six dollars, as the "large" platters are roughly the size of a small dinghy.)
The food itself is relatively traditional Chinese-American fare, with fried rice, lo mein, and a wide assortment of chicken, beef, seafood and pork dishes. It also features more than a baker's dozen of vegetable dishes, making it a valid destination for anyone but the most hardcore vegan.
As for the restaurant itself, Kin Lin is clean, causal, spacious (taking up two storefronts and offering outdoor seating in the warmer months of the year), and with a staff that is always friendly and attentive, with a quick turn-around on orders. Occasionally there is a bit of a language barrier, but it is never bad enough that an order is missed or transformed into something completely different.
Looking for bad points; it has been pointed out that the dishes marked 'spicy' aren't terribly hot. Though it seems like these complaints have been leveled by the type of people who enjoy loosing all feeling in their face and going blind for an hour and a half (an experience more commonly available when eating Thai food).
As the only bad point that I have heard about Kin Lin is the complete lack of one's ability to become incapacitated after eating one of their dishes, I would have to say that it's a solid destination for anyone, on campus or off.
Across the UMKC Campus, on 51st street (home of Muddy's Coffeehouse, Pizza 51, and a Dry Cleaner that is suspiciously always closed), one discovers one of the closest of these eateries: Kin Lin, a Chinese restaurant at 314 E. 51st street. Featuring food that is both delicious and extremely reasonably priced (it is possible to easily feed three people on little more than six dollars, as the "large" platters are roughly the size of a small dinghy.)
The food itself is relatively traditional Chinese-American fare, with fried rice, lo mein, and a wide assortment of chicken, beef, seafood and pork dishes. It also features more than a baker's dozen of vegetable dishes, making it a valid destination for anyone but the most hardcore vegan.
As for the restaurant itself, Kin Lin is clean, causal, spacious (taking up two storefronts and offering outdoor seating in the warmer months of the year), and with a staff that is always friendly and attentive, with a quick turn-around on orders. Occasionally there is a bit of a language barrier, but it is never bad enough that an order is missed or transformed into something completely different.
Looking for bad points; it has been pointed out that the dishes marked 'spicy' aren't terribly hot. Though it seems like these complaints have been leveled by the type of people who enjoy loosing all feeling in their face and going blind for an hour and a half (an experience more commonly available when eating Thai food).
As the only bad point that I have heard about Kin Lin is the complete lack of one's ability to become incapacitated after eating one of their dishes, I would have to say that it's a solid destination for anyone, on campus or off.
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