

Kevin O’Riley for The New York TimesĪt Pirate’s Cove, a Pensacola restaurant where he honed a reputation for broiled scallops and flounder braised in sweet and sour sauce, Mr. Leong's version is now a city favorite, served at restaurants like Canton Inn and Heritage Cafeteria, where Kulwant Hundal, below, serves it. More than 70 Chinese restaurants in this city of 157,000 serve cashew chicken, from Lucy’s Chinese Food, a three-location chain owned by brothers John and Tom Gregoroski, to the Canton Inn, a converted Dunkin’ Donuts where Chiwa and Foon Wong keep a pot of chicken stock simmering on the stove and the cashew chicken special costs $3.75. It’s a weekday plate lunch, accompanied by fried rice and an egg roll. It’s a weeknight dinner, bought from a drive-through. Around Springfield, cashew chicken deep-fried chicken chunks in a brown slurry of soy sauce, oyster sauce and stock, scattered with green onions and halved cashews is the culinary common denominator. Leong nearly a half-century ago, is not the stir-fry served by many Chinese-American restaurants. From my family.”Ĭashew chicken, in the form first cooked by Mr. Leong, the 88-year-old patriarch of the Chinese food industry here. “All this came from my cashew chicken,” said Mr. Yen’s, a 560-seat palace of Chinese cooking owned by a family friend, David Leong scanned the red clay pagoda roof and rose-colored walls and staked a claim that few here in the Ozarks would dispute. Kimbrough Ave., Springfield, MO 65806Īddress: 706 Battlefield Rd.STANDING in the parking lot of Mr. Chestnut Expy., Springfield, MO 65802Īddress: 533 S. Kansas Expy, Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 2724 E. Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO 65803Īddress: 1710 S. Kimbrough Ave., Springfield, MO 65806Īddress: 222 Park Central N., Springfield, MO 65806Īddress: 1937 N. Sunshine St., Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 625 S. Sunshine St., Springfield, MO 65804Īddress: 1725 W. Chestnut Expy, Springfield, MO 65802Īddress: 3108 E.

Campbell Ave, Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 2744 W. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, MO 65802Īddress: 3330 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 1336 N. Sunshine St., Springfield, MO 65804Īddress: 2435 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 1632 E. Scenic Ave., Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 3029 S. Republic Rd., Springfield, MO 65804Īddress: 4153 S. Sunshine St, Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 620 Battlefield Rd., Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 1444 E. Campbell Ave., Springfield, MO 65807Īddress: 2101 W. Amazin AsianĪddress: 2941 Battlefield Rd., Springfield, MO 65804Īddress: 2462 S. Here are some other places to give it a try. Though Leong's Tea House closed in 1997, Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken’s legacy remains a unique part of Springfield’s past and present.Īlthough David Leong passed away in 2020 at 99 years old, his dish is still available at Leong’s Asian Diner, a restaurant opened by David Leong’s family in 2010.Īddress: 1540 W.

Soon, versions of “Springfield-Style Cashew Chicken” appeared on menus coast to coast and even around the world. The result-fried chicken chunks covered with Chinese oyster sauce, cashews and chopped green onion-was an immediate hit with the local crowd. Thus began his quest for a dish that would appease local residents' taste buds. Leong's Asian DinerĪ tasty dish with an Asian twist - cashew chicken - has reigned in Springfield since 1963 when Leong's Tea House opened its doors and owner David Leong struggled to gain acceptance for the foods of his homeland in China. Know of any more places that serve cashew chicken in Springfield? we may add your suggestion to the list. If you're craving this Springfield-style dish or are looking for some new cashew chicken places to try, go down our abundant list of cashew chicken restaurants in Springfield from A-Z, starting with the original, Leong's Asian Diner.

Springfield is famous for its cashew chicken scene that started back in the 1960s by David Leong.
