Honestly, I did not expect to find food like this in Springfield. I came here for work my travel job. This is my third time in Missouri. The first time I visited St. Louis, I had amazing Chinese food,but I still wasn't expecting this level here in Springfield. I've actually walked past Corner 21 multiple times and kept going to the restaurant across the street... yeah, big mistake. The food here is legit Northeastern Chinese cuisine, super authentic, not watered down, and full of flavor. Everything we ordered was spot on, and the dishes came out pretty quickly too. For context, I grew up in Asia and have lived in California for 25 years, so I'm pretty selective when it comes to Chinese food. This place easily holds up even compared to spots in LA. Service was great. Our server, Allen (天宇), was friendly, attentive, and just easy to talk to. It felt welcoming without being over the top, which I really appreciated. The space itself is clean, nicely set up, and has a comfortable vibe. And I have to say the milk tea was ridiculously good. I've been drinking boba since I was a kid, and this one really stood out. Even my coworkers (who aren't Asian) loved everything, which says a lot. Didn't expect to find something this authentic in the Midwest, but here we are. Definitely coming back. read more

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The food here genuinely is some of the best chinese food ive ever had. I live in Vegas too so there is a lot of good chinese food. Nothing as special as this. The sour cabbage noodles with the black pepper beef is the ticket. Unbelievably amazing food. Everything was so hot and flavorful. The fried tofu was delicious. The service was absolutely spectacular, so attentive, and so friendly. The ambiance was fun, very family friendly. read more

Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine - Sour Cabbage Noodles, Black Pepper Beef, Pork Wontons, Fried Tofu, Pork Meatballs with veggies, and Rice - Chinese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

I really hated this place in their old location. I thought the food boring and flavor less. However since moving to the current location, I have to say this place is outstanding. The food is unique, authentic, always hot, well seasoned and delightfully presented. The portions are also very generous and I always bring home leftovers. The pork buns and spicy wontons are great starters. I usually go with a tofu dish in brown sauce with pea and carrots which is always cooked perfectly. Also the sweet and out pork is totally like any other I've ever had. I wish they had fountain sodas but you can't have everything. read more

This was my first time at their new location and it was really nice with a open dining room and comfortable booths and tables. The staff was very friendly and made sure I had everything I needed and filled my water without asking. The Szechuan chicken had great flavor and good size pieces of chicken I just wish it was a little crispier on the chicken and the rice I prefer to be a little softer. Overall a good experience and the best Chinese food in Springfield MO!! read more

Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine - Szechuan Chicken !! - Chinese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Before arriving, I looked up the restaurant on yelp and could not find enough reviews or photos, so I decided to come anyway. Place was clean and staff were polite and professional. Place was comfortable , I like the style of the place. Food was incredible, everything from fried rice to pineapple chicken. read more

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THIS. PLACE. IS. MAGICAL. *insert unicorn emoji here* If you haven't dined here yet, then you are not living!!! We were able to dine here again recently and, as usual, Corner 21 is AMAZING! All of the food is prepared fresh and it shows. The staff are very attentive. The dining room and restrooms are clean. There's even an extra sink outside the restroom areas where you can quickly wash your hands without entering the restrooms. I really love that feature as I don't like to leave a restaurant with greasy/sauce-covered hands, and I don't like to touch door handles either when I can avoid it. Ok, so the food... oh boy, my mouth is watering already. This time, the group of us tried the: Dry-Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork (added extra pork), Pepper Steak on Sizzling Plate, Szechuan Spicy Chicken, Mix Vegetable with Special Sauce (no black fungus or bean curd, added extra peanuts), which is a cold veggie salad w/ sauce, and we also tried something that I believe was called Crispy Garlic Chicken. Everything was delicious! My favorites are the Mix Vegetable with Special Sauce and the Dry-Fried Green Beans with Minced Pork. I'm not a fan of leftovers at all, but everything we get here warms up very nicely over the next few days if you take some home. Just sayin! Anywho, if you haven't been here, you are SO missing out! Give it a shot ASAP. You'll love it. Also, quick side note. This restaurant has 2 locations and I previously reviewed the other location in error last year, so I've pasted that review below for kicks and giggles. Review from 01.14.2025: I could tell by looking at the photos and reviews on Yelp that this place was going to be wonderful. Thankfully, when we finally gave it a shot, we were not disappointed. Talk about made fresh. Everything was so delicious and freshly prepared. Flavors were spot on. The service was fantastic. They always made sure that our drinks were filled and we had everything that we needed. My absolute favorite dish was the fried green beans with minced pork. Get it with extra minced pork and you'll love it. The steamed dumplings and pancake appetizer are also really good. Highly recommend! They also have clean restrooms with an extra large sink outside the restroom area so you can quickly wash your hands if you don't actually need to use the restroom. Pretty cool. We can't wait to go back for more! read more

This place is popular with Springfieldians. Now, the place has some very good food - BUT, the flavors can be very very distinct. This place isn't like our bazillion other "Chinese food" places. This is very traditional Chinese food that uses unique/unfamiliar spices in many dishes. Sizzling pepper beef: plenty of beef in this dish. A good dish and nice flavor. BUT, the sauce has a certain oil, which, once you love eaten some, it really coats your tongue but good. At least for me, the mouth feel becomes a bit weird. I'm 2 hours away from having had my meal; my mouth still feels weird. Szechuan beef: Here's a dish that has a VERY distinct and strong flavor. It seems to be an Asian cumin in this dish. Or whatever it is..it is way strong and personally off putting to me. Never had a Szechuan taste like this one. This place has comfortable seating and is a nice setting overall. Service always seems to work well. The entree portion sizes: They are big. So big, any meal is a shareable size meal. read more

Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine - Szechuan beef. - Chinese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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I love the casual yet classy ambiance of Corner 21. There were 3 in our party. We started with Pork Dumplings. DELICIOUS! My entree was Triple Vegetables in Brown Sauce. It was perfectly seasoned with light spice and a balance of garlic. Yum! Fried Fish was crispy and juicy topped with crisp fried garlic sprinkles. The calamari was tasty but tough. It was cut into strips and fried in a way that one of our group commented it was like a "calamari jerky". No bad but definitely not a favorite. I'm visiting from out of town and will be eating at least one more time at Corner 21 before going back home. read more

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You find the best places in the unlikeliest of corners. In Springfield, Missouri, tucked into a building that once housed a barbecue joint, you'll find Corner 21. This isn't an accident. The owners, Chef Yuming Han and Jiapeng Lu, are men on a mission. They saw a culinary void in a city known for its own take on Chinese food and decided to fill it with something real, something traditional. This is their statement. And you taste that conviction in every dish. We started with the Pork Steamed Buns--soft, cloud-like pillows giving way to a savory, gently spiced heart. A simple, perfect beginning. Then, the Cumin Lamb with Cilantro arrives. This is a dish of beautiful balance. Tender, unctuous lamb coated in a fragrant, earthy crust of cumin, all cut through by the sharp, clean slice of fresh cilantro. It's bold and unapologetic. But the showstopper was the Hot Crispy Fish. A textural revelation. The filet arrives like a golden-brown landscape--blisteringly crisp on the outside, hiding flesh that is impossibly moist and steaming within. It's a masterclass in technique. For comfort, the Special Homemade Wonton Soup is a profound solace. A deeply savory broth holding delicate, tissue-thin wontons with a flavorful pork filling. It's the kind of dish that feels like it's healing you. This is the real deal. Corner 21 is a breath of fresh, Szechuan-peppercorn-laced air, a place built not on compromise, but on passion. Go hungry. Trust the chefs. And prepare to have your local take-out spot ruined for you forever. read more

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I'm not happy writing this review. I've given Corner 21 five star ratings before. It's our favorite restaurant. However, the last time we were there with friends, the service was extremely slow. One person out of the four in our party received his dish first, and since he waited for everyone else's food to arrive, his food got cold. The other two dishes arrived another 10 minutes late. And my husband did not get his food until 10 minutes before we paid and left. The server told us that since the dish was prepared it might have been too late to cancel it. We ended up just boxing up his food and taking it along with us. Paying for food that you could not enjoy with everyone at the restaurant is quite annoying, without being too dramatic. I understand that there are days where you're short on staff, etc., but providing a fair warning to the guests goes a long way in giving them options. Or you could list items that are easily made in the kitchen more quickly so guests can be accommodated. Anyhow, I like this place too much to even write a bad review. I want you guys to continue to be successful. Please do better. Thank you! read more

The food is wonderful. Every single thing tasted great. The service was amazing the staff was present for every one's needs. The ambience is a upgraded cafeteria look. They give you ample size serving of the food. When I'm back in the area I'll be back, read more

Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine - Twice cooked pork - Chinese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

I had the beef noodle soup during my visit, and it was absolutely delicious. The portion of beef was generous, and the bowl itself was large enough to easily share between two people. I'd definitely come back again to try some of the other dishes on the menu. read more

Corner 21 Chinese Cuisine - Beef Noodle Soup - Chinese Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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The choices are very limited. The pork dumplings were good, but there are better places.

Everything I and our group have ordered has been delicious. Food comes freshly cooked and hot. read more

Great food , outstanding service very friendly had a group of 15 everyone had a great time we shared food so we got to sample lots of dishes but you don't like spicy food just tell them not spicy and they'll leave it out read more

A friend brought some of the pork buns to me and they were gone quickly. There's so much on the menu I want to try. It's definitely something unique looking on the menu, which is definitely my style. I am always down for traditional Asian cuisine. read more

I went back for friends and we ordered 47, 50, 54. They were all ok dishes with a drink adds up to 61$ total. Definitely worth to hang out with friends when craving for more authentic Chinese food. Erase my previous review lol. read more

Yesterday marked our second trip to Corner 21, and once again, we found it to be a great place to experience Chinese food that surpassed our expectations. The first time there, I ordered a cold julienne vegetable meal, and yesterday I had a beef with cauliflower, broccoli and carrot entree, which came with sticky rice. The salad was dressed with a sweet vinegar sauce and was excellent. The beef was more like what I've been used to eating in a Chinese restaurant, except that it wasn't drenched with an overly-sweet sauce. My husband ordered pineapple chicken on our first visit and sweet and sour pork yesterday. Both meals are more like what we typically see in an Asian restaurant. He felt that the pineapple chicken was great with tender chicken and a very good sauce. He wasn't as impressed with the pork. Although it had a good taste, the breading was thicker than the pork inside. Our server on both occasions was a young man who was very friendly and happy to make food recommendations. In addition, a couple other workers dropped by our table on both occasions to be sure we had what we needed. The restaurant is spacious, comfortable and well-run. It will remain one of our favorite places to eat. read more

First thing to say is I was amazed how the other guest ordered multiple dishes to dine. Seemed like everyone had their tables full with dishes. If there was 2 dinning, there's 4-5 dishes they were eating family style. I've had several soups and stir fry dishes with beef. Overall had excellent experiences. read more

The food is spectacular. Truly authentic Chinese served in individual woks!!! Definitely a new go place for me.

The most bland and overcooked chicken I've ever had in my life and I'm 70!! Then when I asked for some Sriracha sauce from our barely out of high school waitress, she informed me that it wasn't Asian!?!? It originated in the Sriracha provence of Thailand in Southeast ASIA!!! I love being educated by the uneducated!! It was a large portion though, I guess they do that to justify their VERY LARGE PRICING?! I will never eat here again, I could have got the same thing at Chinese Chef for $8 instead of $20!! So in conclusion, I don't like my food overcooked or overpriced and I don't like my intelligence insulted and that's exactly what I got from this place!! read more