Nan King Chinese Cuisine — Restaurant in St. Catharines

Since moving to the area 18 months ago, we have had several disappointing Chinese- Canadian food experiences. On a recommendation, we ordered from here for the first time last night, and for the first time, we had a pleasant surprise.

First of all, they had all the dishes we normally ordered from our old place, at comparable prices, so we were excited to get an accurate comparison.

All of the dishes we ordered tasted excellent, with ample portions. The Koo Loo Pork was a little salty, but otherwise first rate. The chicken balls had a generous ratio of meat to batter and were perfectly cooked, as were the Jar Doo wings and Won Ton Chips.

The Cantonese Chow Mein was also delicious and well cooked, with beautiful shrimp and crisp veggies. It was missing the noodles but but this could be just a one off as they were so so busy. I called them upon discovery, and without contest they gave us a credit for the entire dish, which is rare these days.

Our major complaint was timing. We called at 5 for a 6:30 delivery, and when I got there I was told it would be another 15 minutes. There were almost 20 other people there in the same boat, and the restaurant was quite crowded, so several of us waited outside in -15 temperature. 🥶

About 25 mins into the waiting, I saw a guy get out of his car, and go in and get his food right away. So as he was leaving, I asked how he managed that and he told me they call you when it’s ready. 🤯 If they had said this when I arrived it would have made the wait much more comfortable.

40 minutes after I arrived, our food was finally ready. It’s nice to see a local place like this doing well these days, but it’s important to manage your order timing properly and not alienate your loyal customers. Most ppl don’t mind a later pickup time as long as it’s reasonably on time.

If the food wasn’t so good, we wouldn’t go back, but as it stands right now, this will be our go-to spot for...

Four years ago, I said, "Good poundage; nothing spectacular." Now, Apr, 2023, I have to say we had the most terrible meal we've ever ordered at a restaurant tonight. The chow mein was noodles, noodles, noodles....oh and a couple of tiny, canned shrimp...smothered in disgusting soy sauce. The Chinese greens were equally bad; what seemed like mostly stems of bok choy. Almost NO "greenery". "Jumbo" deep fried shrimp were 3/4 batter, dry, old and stale. The hot/sour soup was marginal. The spring rolls were the only thing worth eating. I'm returning most of the two main dishes to the store tomorrow, with the promise that we will never order from them again. What a shame. They've been around for decades, but gone quickly down hill over the past 3 or...

On New Year's Eve my menu included 2 orders of Jumbo Shrimp from the menu at $15.95 per order. I was extremely disapointed in what I received. Firstly, they were very small (not near a Jumbo Shrimp size). Secondly I expected they would be battered, however they were covered in chicken ball breading to the point that it was very hard to find the small shrimp. My guests and I left them on our plate after trying one and I threw the rest of the 2 orders in the garbage. Although I never complain about take out orders I felt I could not let this incident go without speaking of my disappointment. To be fair, the rest of my order was good but I would not order Jumbo...