Red Snapper in Kansas City: did it have the snap?

I chose Red Snapper for my gourmet group to dine. I've never been here but some of the group had been. I looked at then menu at the restaurant with the year. The reviews on the forums I read were pretty good and the menu had multi ethnic Asian dishes. We will be going to China in July 2009 to see the total eclipse of that year. No doubt we will sample many Asian dishes during next July tour, as we have samples in Kansas City and in various parts of the US but I thought it was time to looking around for Asian fare around home.

The inside of the restaurant has nice Asian colored tons but it was so dark I had to read the menu with my red light. I liked the atmosphere and the place was full. It was not too noisy so we could hear each other well in our little corner. I like that the kitchen was open so you can watch what is going on for the most part.

The menu had pricier Asian specials but we tried the lunch specials which were reasonable at about $8.00 apiece. The waiter and waitresses had thought smart looking Asian black aprons. The waiter was very personable and answered questions about the food.

The specials included smoked salmon Rangoon which was a nice different spin on Crab Rangoon. It has good taste and I could taste the salmon but not much "smoke'. Also with the lunch special there were soup. If you did not want pork or seafood in your soup, hot drop is the option. We tried the Egg Drop soup although there was sweet and sour, shrimp wonton soup , Thai Thom Yum seafood soup and snow white seafood soup. My wife thought it was one of the better egg drop soups but I could not really taste a lot of egg that might .

The entrees were nicely plated and had lots of food on the plate. My wife and another women tried the special Crispy Red Snapper dish. It was lightly fried on the outside and was flaky and tasted good. I tried a bit of it and it was good and flaky. I think it could have had some condiments with it or something with it to spice it up.

I had heard the black bean chicken was good so I gave it a go. There were a few little black beans among the chicken with a light black bean very light brown sauce. I thought it was okay but did not have the "zip" a slightly sour black bean taste that I expected.

One of the women tried the Mandarin chicken which was mild as well while another had the Fried Noodles. She liked it a lot and looked like a very good dish.

We will come here again sometime. Although not listed per entree, there are other Thai, Korean, Chinese and other Asian type fare. Possible the Korean Sweet and Sour Red Snapper. The Peking duck comes as two breasts and I could see my wife and I sharing that and an appetizer. There is lots to try here.

After thinking the dishes over, I did some searching. This restaurant is owned by people that used to own the Peking restaurant in Westport (which I never ate at). My dish was light , was not spicy. Peking cuisine is said to had subtle seasonings use. They have quite a variety of items on the menu but I am not sold yet whether this place is "great" yet because I thought everyones' dishes were good. I did not hear anyone say it was some of the best they have had. There is a lot to offer anyone who wants to eat a good Asian meal. But how good? I will have to wait until we go back someday. And I will think what to get next time to see how good the asian fare is ?

I found that Mandarin chooses from all regions. Shanghai hails from many Chinese cooking styles. Central (Honan) and . Western provinces include the Szechuan and Hunan and have more spicy type dishes .

We will be mostly near Beijing and Shanghai so I will have to explore what I might be in for in the way of Chinese food next July in and around the total eclipse. I have been to many Asian restaurants over the years and this certainly is a nice place to eat. But how good is this place? My judgement needs another opinion .