Canton Restaurant - Oklahoma City

This place has been in business as long as I have been eating Chinese food and that is well over 40 years.  Unfortunately I only  became acquainted with Canton in the last few years.  Back in the '70's I lived in Moore and we ate at Ding-Ho's on the southside...  later I was an aficionado of Kit's in Moore.  Now I'm strictly a Canton fan. Canton is the ONLY place I'm aware of that serves all of the entrees that were popular back in the '70's including Almond Duck and Butterfly Shrimp, as well as all the currently popular dishes.... though for one or two, the name is archaic.  Every modern Chinese restaurant has sweet and sour chicken, but 40 years ago it was always called "Hawaiian Chicken" or "Hawaii Guy" as it is still called at Canton. Food is a matter of personal taste, so you may or may not like Almond Duck.  I do, it is a personal favorite but I have not been able to find it since Kit's went out of business decades ago.  The same with Butterfly Shrimp.  It used to be a staple of Chinese restaurants, but you pretty much can't find it except at Canton... and if you have never tried it, you should. While food in general may be a matter of taste, it seems like some dishes have specific qualities that draw people... so if you love the dish, there is only ONE WAY of doing it right.  That must be true with eggrolls.  If you read enough of these reviews, you'll find people almost unanimously praise Canton's eggrolls.  Yes, they are the best being served anywhere.  Period.  I will say I used to like Kit's 30 years ago better... but it has been so long that nostalgia may be causing me to think so.  But whether Kit's was as good... Canton is the current King of Eggrolls. The fact so many people here agree, even when they sometimes disagree on other elements, tells you something. Some people here have criticized both the service and the food.  I frankly don't see it.  I guess it is possible that on one day things were off for some reason... or perhaps the reviewer personally had a bad day and Canton caught hell because of it.   I know when I am in a bad mood, I find reasons to dislike things.  But I can tell you I have eaten at Canton many times and have eaten at the far more "upscale" Lido in the Little Saigon area and I can say I find far more variability at Lido, as good as it is, than I find at Canton.  So, maybe there have been problems occasionally.... but frankly I just don't see it. Perhaps the main issue with the bad reviews is the prominence of good reviews here.  Perhaps people go after reading the reviews thinking they'll be at some world-class Chinese Bistro.  NO.  This is a Mom-and-Pop hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant.  Go to Canton often enough and they'll know you by name and you'll be a member of the family.  Try THAT at a world class "bistro."  You won't be getting artsy-fartsy fancy Chinese.  You'll be getting all of the good-old Chinese American dishes that made the cuisine an American favorite... and all of them perfectly cooked.  You just can't beat the Hawaii Guy or the Sesame Chicken!  Is it high art?  No.  Is it damned good?  Yes... and there is plenty of it.  If you go with the right attitude, this is pretty nearly the perfect Chinese restaurant.

This place has been in business as long as I have been eating Chinese food and that is well over 40 years.  Unfortunately I only  became acquainted with Canton in the last few years.  Back in the '70's I lived in Moore and we ate at Ding-Ho's on the southside...  later I was an aficionado of Kit's in Moore.  Now I'm strictly a Canton fan. Canton is the ONLY place I'm aware of that serves all of the entrees that were popular back in the '70's including Almond Duck and Butterfly Shrimp, as well as all the currently popular dishes.... though for one or two, the name is archaic.  Every modern Chinese restaurant has sweet and sour chicken, but 40 years ago it was always called "Hawaiian Chicken" or "Hawaii Guy" as it is still called at Canton. Food is a matter of personal taste, so you may or may not like Almond Duck.  I do, it is a personal favorite but I have not been able to find it since Kit's went out of business decades ago.  The same with Butterfly... read more

Positive things first: It didn't take long to get our food at all. The egg rolls were amazing. I'd come back just to eat egg rolls and orange sauce. The egg fried rice was addictively good. We also had the General Tso's and the sweet and sour duck, and I have to tell you the sauces on these were mouthwatering. Our waitress was sweet, kind, patient, and attentive. The lady at the cash register was also very nice and friendly. Now the Not-So-Positives: The meat textures were mushy/slimey and fatty on the duck and the general tso's. Even though the sauce was good, the texture made it hard to stomach. We left the majority of our entrees untouched. Although our waitress was very sweet and good at her job, she smelled very heavily of cigarette smoke. That may not bother some, but it tends to interfere with my appetite. I wanted this restaurant to be a favorite, and I loved that it wasn't very busy during a weekday lunch hour. I loved the people and the general mood of the restaurant, but I just can't get over the squishy mush I ate in lieu of meat or the smell of smoke.

Positive things first: It didn't take long to get our food at all. The egg rolls were amazing. I'd come back just to eat egg rolls and orange sauce. The egg fried rice was addictively good. We also had the General Tso's and the sweet and sour duck, and I have to tell you the sauces on these were mouthwatering. Our waitress was sweet, kind, patient, and attentive. The lady at the cash register was also very nice and friendly. Now the Not-So-Positives: The meat textures were mushy/slimey and fatty on the duck and the general tso's. Even though the sauce was good, the texture made it hard to stomach. We left the majority of our entrees untouched. Although our waitress was very sweet and good at her job, she smelled very heavily of cigarette smoke. That may not bother some, but it tends to interfere with my appetite. I wanted this restaurant to be a favorite, and I loved that it wasn't very busy during a weekday lunch hour. I loved the people and the general mood... read more

My husband has been coming here for 40 years. We haven't eaten here in about a year due to having 5 kids and eating out is usually a rare occasion. We decided to splurge tonight and get some carry out. We got the family of 4 dinner and it was absolutely disgusting. The garlic fritters didn't have any hint of garlic and they were so over done it was hard to break through the batter to get to the meat. The chow mien was so liquidy, it resembled wet dog food, the same with the almond ding. The texture alone made my stomach squirm. And the sweet and sour pork was so overdone that the pork was painful to chew and swallow. I have heard amazing things about their egg rolls, and I am currently pregnant with our 6th child, so I was so excited about the egg rolls. They were such a let down! They tasted three days old and as if they had been popped in the microwave. And the egg drop soup... The saddest story of all... It was clear. Not yellow, not a hint of any yellow.... Nothing like I have ever had before. I'm pretty sure it was dishwater and some napkin prices at the bottom. I finally made my husband call. When he called and told them, all they said was we will let the kitchen know. I will just say, if you want to spend your money, I would spend it elsewhere.