ABC Cafe

This restaurant gave me two different experiences, with the first in 2024 and the second in 2026. In researching the Kansas City Chinese restaurants in 2024 it appeared that many of the authentic ones were on the Kansas side of the border, and that they were not messing around with the usual Americanized menu with a short list of ‘real’ Chinese dishes available for the more adventurous eaters. ABC Cafe turned out to be exactly what I wanted–a very good restaurant with a very extensive menu. Moreover it was Cantonese/ Hong Kong style that made me feel as if I were in the International District in Seattle or the various Chinatowns of large cities.

There were a large number of patrons in a relatively small dining room, indicating to me that the food seemed to be very popular with the local population. I was pretty much overwhelmed with the number of choices available on the menu. My meal on the first visit was excellent and made me happy that a small restaurant could deliver this type of food.

The Food (2024 Version)

Tofu hot pot with pork belly

One of my favorite dishes, and one that is not served at many restaurants, is the Tofu Hot Pot, a dish normally consisting of large chunks of fried tofu in a pot of brown sauce. It normally comes with pork although this is usually not mentioned on the menu. In this case I asked for pork just to make sure it had some meat. I think the waiter (who I think was the owner) thought I wanted an upgrade so he included pork belly, an ingredient not normally served with this dish.

The result was the classic hot pot dish which made me very happy. In fact I thought this hot pot was very close to my all time favorite which was at Super Star in Denver. The tofu at both of these restaurants was the right flavor and consistency and the sauce here was very good. I wish I could explain just how good it was, but outside of the tofu the sauce is the biggest reason this is a special dish (and not many restaurants attempt to make it). To me the pork belly is not really any better than the regular pork, and I think both go equally well in this dish.

The hot pot came with very fresh bok choy, another reason it compares with the best I have had anywhere.

The Food (2026 Version)

Hot pot with pork belly

On my second visit the menu had changed and they no longer had the tofu hot pot. They had a seafood hotpot (authentic food, but usually the only places I would order this are in coastal cities such as an excellent one I had in New Orleans). There was one other hot pot available that came with pork belly meat. It did not mention tofu but I figured that was just a given that everyone knew was included. Instead it was just a hot pot with the meat and some vegetables. It had little resemblance to the tofu hot pot, as if even the sauce had been reinvented.

The Great Tofu Mystery
I think this may be related to “the great tofu mystery” from 2024 when I noted that Hong Kong Star and other places had tofu that tasted different than usual. A comment from ddpete noted that Hong Kong Star had carry out boxes labeled “mandarin soy foods egg tofu, product of Canada.” Thus it seems that local restaurants are either having trouble  getting regular tofu or there is just not a customer demand for it. ABC had one or two items with tofu. They did not say whether this was regular tofu or egg tofu, but in any case they are not putting it in hot pots.

Drinks
Hot jasmine tea was served, and the flavor was fitting of the high quality which I think this restaurant has.

Overall Assessment
There is still a good menu selection here, and it still seems to be traditional Chinese food.

My latest meal was disappointing in the sauce, flavor, and almost everything. It is probably like my visit to Monkey King where I made a poor menu choice. Still, even poor choices usually end up in better meals than the ones I am mentioning here.

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