Lafayette is a town crawling with terrible food overall, and among the worst and over-Americanised are the countless ""Chinese"" buffets that offer bad tea and as much boiled and deep-fried seafood as they do ""Chinese food"". Canton City, which has been in business in Lafayette since before my time, walks the razor's edge providing excellent and authentic Cantonese cuisine as well as some Indian fare. The first thing which puts Canton City a mark above the rest is the fact that they furnish their customers with a menu. The cuisine is vastly authentic. They are the only place which uses lo mein noodles instead of spaghetti or egg noodles. Secondly, most dishes from the other places are just deep-fried meat tossed with a sugary sauce, the only variation being that you can get it with or without vegetables. Not here, my friend. My prime example is the Mandarin chicken and duck. Unbeknownst to most in the area, Mandarin chicken/duck is a savory stir-fry dish consisting of duck or chicken and bok-choy(new word, huh?) tossed in a savory brown sauce with peanuts, almonds, and cashews. Anywhere else, you will be presented with deep-fried chicken coated with a sauce made with corn syrup and canned Mandarin oranges, hence ""Mandarin"". What seals Canton City's authenticity is their heavy use of a wide variety of cooking oils which is the signature mark of true Cantonese cooking. The service is prompt, thourough, and friendly and the atmoshphere is calm, relaxing, and ambient leaving your focus on the cuisine. All of this is provided at about the same cost as the rest with call-in orders made fresh for delivery or take-out. Canton City leaves little room for improvement, as nothing else in town compares.
Pros: Excellent food and great service at the same cost as the average Cinese restaurant.
Cons: Parking is somewhat tight and the building is beginning to show age.
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