Kimberly L.
Yelp
[Review #764]
2023-050
Food Order:
BRAISED PORK ON RICE (台式滷肉飯), DAN DAN NOODLE (擔擔麵), WONTON IN CHILI SAUCE (紅油炒手), GREEN ONION PANCAKE (蔥油餅), CANAAN SPECIAL FISH FILLET (迦南招牌魚片), HONEY WALNUT SHRIMP (西汁核桃蝦), KUNG PAO CHICKEN (宮保雞), BRAISED BEEF NOODLE SOUP (紅燒午肉麵), STRING BEAN WITH GROUND PORK (乾扁四季豆)
Service: friendly service albeit absentminded; there's only 2 servers.
Parking: small private lot with additional parking on the southwest side.
Canaan Cafe's location has quite a bit of turnover the last few years (Muodu Shanghai Cuisine, Dim Sum 101) but the cuisine style has been more or less similar, & the dining room remains unchanged. Its menu is compact with a dozen or so in each category: appetizers, entrees, noodles & rice, & a couple of soups with soft drinks & teas, beers & wines. Price points are fair with appropriate to generous portions, pending on the dish.
I came here after a birthday party that my daughter attended; there wasn't enough food to go around for the adults & I planned to come to CC afterwards. I ordered a couple of my fav Taiwanese dishes: dan dan noodles & wonton in chili sauce; I added a braised pork on rice because H felt hungry even though she just ate 20-mins. ago. It was linner with 2 other groups of diners; after placing our order, we were served fairly quickly. The rice was fragrant, & the pork was tender & flavorful; 2 pickled daikons offsets the sauce. The noodles were on point & cooked al dente. It's the Chengdu version; while I like the westernized style of the peanut butter or sesame paste replacement of the spicy sauce that's a variation of 麻醬麵 (ma jiang mian), I prefer the original version. A lucky 8 pieces of wonton in chili sauce was also done right with an appropriate filling of perfectly cooked dumplings.
I've ordered takeout a couple of times via Canaan's website/app: mealkeyway.com (for p-u only) that charges a small convenience fee. Or if you order delivery/takeout on their Yelp page, it's connected to Grubhub. Takeouts were fulfilled correctly with utensils & food was still hot with a short drive to the office & home.
I brought my family last weekend & tried their other classics as well as specialty dish. I love, love, love the Canaan special fish fillet!! It's a battered fish that's fried & tossed in their unique sauce that's a little spicy & sweet. There was a piece or 2 of skimpy fillet so you had more batter than fish, otherwise it's an ideal entree. My kids love the green onion pancake -- flaky & crispy. H has a thing for honey walnut shrimp lately so this has always been added whenever we eat Chinese food; Canaan's interpretation includes steamed broccoli. I liked that the shrimp are not drenched in mayo & the honey walnuts were topped & not mixed so they stayed crunchy. I'm not a fan of kung pao chicken because the flavors were westernized/muted; here, you taste the chili peppers & peppercorns. The braised beef noodle soup is another classic, & Canaan's is hearty & generous! So much better than SK that's around the corner... I get a generous serving of beef & bok choy. It's my go-to dish when I'm under the weather. I asked the server to check on M's fav string beans, & found the server forgot to submit the order, which was odd since I had her repeat my order. I looked to M & even though he was getting full, he still wanted it. He would have preferred to eat it over the braised pork on rice, but didn't mind eating it standalone. Lunch rush was almost over, so it came out in a flash. This classic showcased beautifully blistered green beans with minced pork, definitely glad to wait for it but would have preferred to enjoy it along with the other plates. It was a bit busy so we had to flag our water bottle refills, but our empty plates & bowls were cleared when another dish arrived.
I'm sad for the predecessors of this location, & hoping Canaan Cafe stays for years to come. I counted 41 dishes, & ate almost 25%; this should be fairly easy to eat through their tasty menu with a couple more visits. ;-) They're definitely on my go-to restaurants for flavorful & moderately priced Taiwainese/Shanghainese cuisine! 好吃!
Recommended: Braised Beef Noodle Soup (my fav comfort food), Braised Pork on Rice (another comfort fav), Canaan Special Fish Fillet (you gotta try this!), Dan Dan Noodle (love this; only noodle dish on the menu... wished they also have scallion oil noodles), Wonton in Chili Sauce, String Bean with Ground Pork, Green Onion Pancake, Kung Pao Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp.