Canton Village — Restaurant in Livermore

We usually start off with the perfectly crisp and puffy crab Rangoon along with their signature sweet and sour sauce that is carefully brewed in house with plenty of fresh lemon and real sugar. Little detail like the freshness of the sauce are what makes your mouth water right when you walk in, or even think about going back.

All the stereotypes of Chinese food being greasy and stale ie the panda express and even the of changs influence, are immediately erased with your first bite of the crab Rangoon with a splash of the red sauce, crispy light fluffy 0 at first as the sweet and sour notes join in and strike a perfect chord and that's just the appetizer my wife always insists on and I'm not complaining.

Theit menu is so extensive there's a little game we play where we mark off each of the menu items whether we order them or have the server who is always knowledgeable and friendly surprise us. I've never been disappointed.

Their menu is like a Disney world map and how their chefs manage to cook at the scale hot fresh to order such a wide range even beyond something like the Cheesecake factory with its complement of 10+ front line cooks where Canton Village only had perhaps 3 chefs, and a kitchen that has to be only 1/4 the size is mind blowing.

I can't even imagine how to begin to prepare nevermind cook a fraction of their offerings.

My personal favorites which I order depending on my mood and whatever complements what my wife wants is the sizhuan MA PO Tofu with real schezuan peppercorn and creamy tofu with minced pork. Though I often substitute it for minced beef when it doesn't seem like it's too much of a hassle. The wonton with its rich savory broth and mixed vegetables or the lighter more specific variety the beef wonton soup which has extra space for a helping of thin egg noodles transforms it into a satisfying meal of its own I could eat every night if I had the chance. I have a friend who gets his wonton soup with their distinctly bold hot and sour soup as it's base.

The fluffy ride with fish and ginger grilled just enough to taste the fire merge the ginger and scallions in the toasty dark sauce. I like to just pour it all over my rice and dig in like it's mash potatoes with turkey.

The benefit of eating family style is like thank giving where everyone gets to try everything at the table and every experience is different.

The Singapore noodles with shrimp and fried tofu is my wife's favorite as a pescatarian although the omnivorous alternative bring BBQ pork vs tofu is just as good if you like pork.

If you want a memorable sensory explosion the sizzling pepper beef platter is marinated tender cuts of sliced beef, bell pepper, onion in a savory black pepper sauce that concentrates into a roasty reduction right before you and goes excellent with anything standing on its own regardless what else. A serving of brown rice pairs well with the dark savory smoky treat.

The generals chicken is made with whole cuts of white meat chicken, crisp and glazed with a garlicky savior golden sauce that is reminiscent of plum sauce but all grown up and is probably one of their signature dishes. It tastes unlike any other generals cbicken in that it just pops into your mouth, pulls your mouth closed and compelled you to dance with it on it'd way down. A side of white rice or fried rice compliments it's journey.

The house fried rice with its giant always succulent prawns are spiced just right flame kissed to perfection perhaps obviating the use of extra oil and holds up when ordered as take out or when you have to get it delivered. Typically Chinese out isn't nearly as good.

And lastly for dissert when they have it, the coconut tapioca pudding is somethingi might just order as my entire dinner something when I just stop caring..

5/5 must try...

Pretty good restaurant, but could use some improvement. We ordered Hot and Sour Soup, Kung Pao Chicken, Sautéed Shredded Pork, Dry Sauteed Stringbeans and steamed rice. Everything was nice and hot, however the peanuts in the Kung Pao Chicken were a bit cooler than the rest of the dish and undercooked. I suspect the cook forgot to put them in with everything else. Their coolness and extra crunchiness definitely detracted from the dish. The stringbeans were also undercooked and a little bland. In addition, there were a ton of them, easily 4-5 cups worth, plus they were $14.95, way too many and costly (after all, they’re just vegetables). Too bad they don’t offer 1/2 orders or cut the size and price.

There are other Chinese restaurants in the area and we’ll...

Last night, (Christmas Eve) I took our family to the Canton Village for our annual Chinese Dinner gathering. We have done this for years. Although they were extremely busy and our wait time for our food after ordering was much longer than normal, when the food arrived it was steaming hot and cooked to perfection! DELICIOUS!! I'll be honest, it was a madhouse in there being such a popular spot and I we were a little concerned but somehow, they pulled it off! The owner even made time to visit all the tables to make sure her guests were happy. That was a very nice touch.

Kudos to everyone that worked last night! You...