Our Review of Corner 21

Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine in Springfield has a local cult following. In fact, on my way to the new location on Republic Road for this review, I ran into some friends. When I mentioned where I was headed, they told me to get the newest offering: The duck. I’ve now decided that friends don’t let friends go there without trying the duck, but we’ll get to that later.

The authentic Chinese joint gets its name from the original location, which opened at the corner of Sunshine Street and Fremont Avenue in 2021. While this location temporarily closed while the crew got the new spot up and running, the business has always had the customer base to sustain both locations easily.

While the old location is great for a casual meal or to-go order, this new location is where you’d want to go for more of a sit-down meal with friends, family or clients. The decor is simultaneously sleek and quirky, with touches like large googly eye art, artsy lights shaped like bird nests and a wall of faux greenery and light-up signs.

My husband, Chandler, was my date for the evening. We were on a mission to try the new offerings, so we ordered the steamed pork buns, sweet potato pancakes and a half order of duck. Let’s just say we both really wished we had invited some friends to help us devour it all, but we enjoyed munching on the leftovers later.

The pork buns arrived at our table first in a beautiful steamer basket. We had no problem downing all eight that came with the order. They reminded us more of dumplings since they aren’t made using the pillowy dough that usually surrounds steamed buns.

Next up came the sweet potato pancakes, which, oddly enough, tasted ever so slightly like funnel cake due to the fried nature, minus the sugar overload. We decided to set them aside and save them for a dessert because by the time we tried one, the duck had already arrived at our table, and that required our full attention.

The half order of duck came in a large wooden basket that immediately turned heads in the busy restaurant. All of our table neighbors were so curious about what we ordered, and I don’t blame them. The dish came with thin wraps, hoisin sauce and cucumber and green onion slices for a build-your-own experience. The duck was already shaved for us, and it had the most tender texture and pleasantly gamey flavor. The hoisin sauce was thick and just a little sweet, while the green vegetables kept it all tasting fresh.

One of my favorite parts of the experience was getting to slurp on the duck bone broth, which I didn’t realize came with our order. But that’s the charm of eating at Corner 21. The menu descriptions don’t spell everything out for you, which encourages you to do a little research or get out of your shell and ask your server questions. Or, you can just run with it and let your tastebuds be presently surprised.

Original review written by Megan Dollar in 2021

When I learned that a traditional Chinese restaurant was opening in Springfield, I was thrilled. Don’t get me wrong, I love cashew chicken just as much as the next 417-lander, but it stands in stark contrast to some of China’s traditional dishes, like Szechuan shrimp. 

Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine is that traditional Chinese restaurant, and it opened this Spring at the corner of Sunshine and Fremont in central Springfield.  The small white building appears to be a bit of a dive, as do many high-quality spots around that block (Queen City Deli, SocieTea, The Big Slice, etc.), but don’t let the restaurant’s exterior deter you. This food is amazing. 

Yuming Han, Corner 21 head chef and co-owner, has been working in kitchens for more than 30 years, first in St. Louis and then in Springfield. Jiapeng Lu, the restaurant’s other co-owner, hasn’t been in the business as long, but is delighted to be sharing his favorite traditional dishes with the community, where he’s lived now for seven years. Lu says he saw a gap in Springfield’s dining scene and wanted to fill it. “Chinese food is more than cashew chicken,” Lu says. “There was no traditional Chinese restaurant in this city.”

I was so excited to dig into traditional Chinese cuisine when I arrived that I accidentally ordered too much food. I wanted to try everything. I needed to try everything. I started with an eye-catcher: crispy pumpkin with egg sauce. Small chunks of pumpkin were fried to a crisp and coated in an egg sauce that tasted almost cheesy. I found this slightly confusing, but the dish was so delicious I didn’t even care. I had to stop myself from filling up on these alone. I had the same problem with the house special stir fry noodle—I often find this dish drowned in sauce. These noodles had the perfect amount of it. They were tender, but not mushy, and the sodium was balanced perfectly by a bit of sweetness and some crunchy veg. What really sold me on this spot was the cumin lamb with cilantro. I love cumin, and I love lamb. Where has this dish been all my life? 

The interior isn’t anything to write home about, but that’s what makes it so charming. The staff is friendly and accommodating, and the tightly packed tables host many happy-looking faces. It’s an environment that makes you welcome and at home.

I can’t rave about Corner 21 enough. On top of the food being an absolute delight, there just seems to be something special about enjoying delicious food in a humble environment. That’s not to say I’m going to stop enjoying Springfield Chinese food—I’m just going to recognize, and appreciate, these different cuisines for what they are.