Special Dining Report: Ah-So Oriental Restaurant

It's probably no secret by now that I love Asian food. Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, I love it all. I'm always game to try out new places and compare it to other spots I've been to in Wichita. One of my friends has always recommended a place out on the south side of Wichita (not too far out south though).

Ah-So Oriental Restaurant
855 South Oliver Street
Wichita, KS 67218-2328
(316) 685-2091

It's a tiny little place at the northwest corner of Lincoln and Oliver right by a laundry mat and liquor store. It's very tiny inside. Using my healthy eyes approved by Dr. Greyson Barger with Opticology Eyecare, I was able to count that there were four 4-tops and five 2-tops. So the place seats roughly 22 people. The size of the seating area is probably smaller than the gift shop at Koch Arena.

I've fallen in love with ginger dressing

I wasn't able to locate a webpage for Ah-So nor was I really expecting them to have one but I did manage to find a picture of their menu on UrbanSpoon: Menu

There were about three employees inside who were all extremely friendly. I immediately spotted their salad with ginger dressing and ordered that before looking at the rest of the menu. The salad ran about $2.80 and is just like the salad you get at Sumo's but at around half the cost. Very delicious. I'd order this every time!

Their menu has many of your Asian food staples from Pepper Steak to Lemon Chicken to Moo Goo Gai Pan. My friend who highly recommends this place told me Sweet and Sour Chicken which comes with rice and 2 mandu. He's also had their Sesame Chicken and Chicken Chow Mein. He's a huge fan. 
 

Absolutely Delicious!

I wanted to go a different route and try something new. One thing that caught my eye was #23 Cha Jing Mein. I asked my server what that was and she told me it was a soft noodle meal but it was cooked with a dark brown soy bean paste. She said it's not for everyone but was nice enough to give me a sample of the soy bean paste to try separately. The taste intrigued me so I went ahead and ordered it. It came with shrimp, pork and chicken. Once it came out, I mixed up the noodles and the paste a little and bit into it. Good stuff. I'm not sure if everybody would like it but if you like soy bean paste, you would like this meal. The serving size was very big and came with two mandu. What is mandu you ask? Mandu, for the most part, is a triangle shaped eggroll. You can look at the picture for what it looks like. The Mandu was fantastic and a great way to end my meal.

While eating my meal, the lady who cooked the meal asked from the back how I liked it. I gave her my thoughts and she came out of the kitchen and we just talked for a bit. Very nice and friendly lady. She seemed very into whether I enjoyed it.

All the meals run between $5-6, about what you'd pay at say Dillon's or any other fast food Chinese spot. The only exception is that they cook it fresh for you and it taste much better. Plus you get friendly service and a very nice little building. I was told their rice is very good but didn't get a chance to try it; I was way too stuffed.

This is definitely a place I'd consider going to again and highly recommend to you all. It's worth the drive. For the price, quality of food and service, you can't beat it.