Canton Village
July 7, 2009 at 6:33 pm | Posted in Asian, Chinese | 2 CommentsTags: Canton, Canton Village, Chinese, lunch, Minneapolis, skyway
three out of four walleyes
This is not fine cuisine, but I don’t think Canton Village is really trying to hit that demographic. What they do, they do very well: quickly serving decent Chinese food at ridiculously low prices. I ordered the spicy vegetables & chicken, the honey chicken, and white rice. As soon as I took a bite I realized that when they mark food as “spicy” or “sweet,” they mean it. The vegetables did indeed have quite a kick, and the chicken was dessert-level sweet. But I found that if I mushed them together, they were great! Sure, there were a couple of pieces of chicken that had some gristle in them, but I’m not complaining. The staff at Canton Village were enthusiastic and friendly, and the seating area, though simple, was clean and bright and even had a nice view, something you don’t often get in a skyway restaurant.
Price: Crazy cheap! Lunch plates with one or two entrees and rice are all $4. Add a drink for a dollar more. Discounts offered at non-rush hour times.
Speed: very fast! The place was well staffed, with a couple employees scooping out plates and another fellow at the cash register.
Seating: Quite a lot – probably around 40 seats, though it’s a bit tight and would be awkward to fit in a large group all together
Check ‘em out: 501 Marquette Ave, (612) 340-1282
Ah Sa Wan (Pillsbury Center)
June 22, 2009 at 8:21 pm | Posted in Asian, Chinese | Leave a commentTags: Ah Sa Wan, Chinese, lunch, Minneapolis, restaurant, review, skyway
one out of four walleyes
Ah Sa Wan seemed to be very busy, and the line was clipping right along, which seemed encouraging, so I went right in. The prices here are impressively fair, and they do have a fair number of choices, including ones that are listed as “lighter fare.” I had a little trouble deciding what I wanted, and while the young man scooping up my food was very patient, the older women (his mother, perhaps?) was not pleased with my dilly-dallying and rushed me through my ordering and paying. Feeling dishevelled, I almost dropped my big styrofoam take-away box while trying to balance it with my briefcase, wallet, receipt and drink as the surge of hungry businessmen pushed me towards the drink dispenser. But eventually I got myself together and sat down to enjoy what looked like a fairly interesting lunch combo of beef with green beans, pad thai with shrimp, pork dumplings, and rice. Sadly, only disappointment awaited. The pad thai was beyond bland; strangely, even the shrimp was entirely bland. The green beans were fine; they at least tasted like green beans. It had just a couple small strips of beef with them, and one of them was gristle-y. The high point of the meal was the pork dumplings, though the sauce that came with them had an unpleasant, sickly-sweet taste to it. In the end, I threw away half of my meal — it just wasn’t that appetizing. However, Ah Sa Wan seems to be getting plenty of business, so some people must like it, and the prices are reasonable, which is something.
Price: Very reasonable – $6-7 for most lunch combos, $2 to add an “appetizer”
Speed: very speedy – they just plop it on your plate you’re good to go
Seating: Over 90 seats, most tables are for 4 people
Large groups? No problem. Long rows of tables could easily fit up to ten people.
Check ‘em out: 200 6th St S, Pillsbury Center, 612-338-2366
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