Canton House

By far one of my favorite places to go when in the area. We go out of our way to come to the Canton House. When we come in town all of our friends meet up with us here. Or after a long night we stop in the next morning on our way out of town.
Stop in every chance you get, you might catch us there. It’s our go to for Dim Sum!

Stumbled upon this place after picking up a friend in Atlanta airport on a random weekdays. We ordered some basic dim sum items — shu may, har kaw, chicken feet, and a couple more things. Although everything came out good, none of them are great. The shrimp isn’t fresh, and they almost taste like frozen store-​bought. The glutinous sesame balls were yummy, though, probably because they are fried so they taste fresh (from the frier lol).
Service was good, the waitress was attentive although she dis not speak English, but we managed to get our order and had help from the busboy/​other waitresses. Pro is plenty of parking! Oh and they also give us complimentary orange slices!

Such a good place for dimsum!!! The line was so long on Sunday morning but it definitely deserved!

My first inkling this place even existed happened when I was on Twitter one day talking about liking hot tea with my food, and whoever it is that works their account responded to me suggesting Canton House, as one has that option there. Since then, I’d gotten two more messages randomly, and thought, «Let me check this place out.» I suppose I was on his/​her radar since I do have Chamblee in my profile.
My Dad’s birthday is this coming Wednesday, so I’d thought to invite him and my brother for an outing here since we don’t get to do that too often together.
I’d read one should probably make reservations, but I thought, «Well, it’ll be a Sunday afternoon around 4:00PM, so we should be fine,» so we’d met at my apartment and set out.
The building is on its own parking lot, though going south on Buford Highway, it’s slightly harder to get into than if one is going north. Still, we got there with no illegal turns or cutting people off, and scampered in because of the rain.
They didn’t seem to have too many customers in as I’d hoped would be, so we’d gotten our table for three immediately. We’d then had to get up and move to another table, because, as it turned out and as we were noticing as we were looking at the menu and talking, that the restaurant was busily preparing for a wedding. At first it was hard to talk because of the vacuuming, but eventually either they’d stopped vacuuming or we’d just stopped noticing, but our conversation got easier to do.
My brother commented out loud upon looking at the menus that were in Chinese, English, and Vietnamese, along with the menu choices, that this seemed like a great choice because everything looked so authentic. The authenticity was such that I was getting self-​conscious about being Western here, and was somewhat scolding myself of my habits that would probably be a no-​no in a Chinese or Vietnamese household even though I’d get a pass because I’ve never grown up in such households.
Despite the variety, and the fact I’m pretty much vegetarian with a pescatarian bend on occasion, we’d all ordered some fried rice: pork for my dad, seafood for me, and chicken for my brother, as well as hot tea.
The tea and water came out within three minutes of initial ordering, and the fried rices within seven.
I’d remarked how speedy everything was. My dad asked for duck sauce, which immediately came out on a caddy paired with horseradish.
The immediacy may be because they were already preparing for the wedding buy-​out, but who knows?
Now, I did also notice the seafood fried rice only seemed to have shrimp in it, but I’m not even sure if it was that I’d remembered seafood something-​something from another side of the menu and paired that with fried rice (and ended up asking for «seafood fried rice») or that there was a seafood fried rice option separate from shrimp fried rice and that they’d just given me the shrimp, but it was good regardless.
My cursory knowledge of Chinese writing, because I do know Japanese and some of the differences in written character forms, the server did write seafood fried rice down, though, so who knows?
My brother said this is the best fried rice he’s tasted, and so reviews I’ve seen saying the food is less tasty when the restaurant is preparing for a major event may be just perception.
All three of our orders came *heaving* on their plates, and all of us «knew» we’d be taking some home with us. The dishes came with a spoon, but I’d broken open the chopsticks they’d graciously provided (which were plastic and not the disposable wood ones one usually finds), and wolfed down the entire dish (which surprised us all). My brother and dad did, however, take theirs home, and without prompting our server brought to-​go boxes «just in case». Also without prompting, the bill came out.
It did have me thinking a little bit that we’d not received an itemized bill (which, when thinking about the fact that a good number of their menu items are market price and so change probably daily, is understandable), but if you’re a good estimator of totals you should be fine. If you’re out on business and need an itemized receipt for your expense report, I’m not sure what might happen, but go ahead and ask, I guess.
As we were finishing up, I’d overheard some people coming in and our server, who I suppose is the manager on duty, turned them away saying they’re preparing for a wedding. I guess we did come at a good time.
Overall it was a good experience, and my brother and dad did compliment me on my great choice of restaurant. Our server did, graciously, take our picture before we’d left, and we ran back to the car to head home on a pleasant, rainy Sunday evening.

Went for brunch with friends yesterday! As always tons of options, food was delicious and staff helpful! One of my top choices for dim sum on Buford highway!

Brunch date on a Sunday… The varieties are amazing, Variety of proteins, rices, desserts. The place was full, servers are nice, they are attentive and answer any questions.

It was an adventure to eat here definitely gets lost in translation. Just go with open mind and hungry. Delicious, super friendly, and fun!!! I LOVED THE FOOD… Priced perfect. Thanks

Visited: 02/​07/​2016
We came here for Chinese New Year lunch with family and friends, 16 people total. I had called before we came even though they supposedly didn’t take reservations, as soon I told them, they said oh, okay. :) Once we were there, they had a nice corner set up for all of us.
Ordered:
Sesame Chicken, Salt & Pepper Squid, Garlic Eggplant, Pan Fried Sea Bass, Walnut Shrimp & Broccoli, Beef with Bitter Melon, House Lo Mein, Two Kind of Mushroom with Tender Vegetables, Peiking Style Pork, and Snow Pea Leaves with Garlic.
Everyone throughly enjoyed the dishes and we were all stuffed by the end of the meal! Overall a great way to start the Chinese New Year :)

I’ve been coming here for about a decade now and I still love it. It’s super busy on the weekends so be ready to wait in line especially if you have a huge group. Great service, good food and great atmosphere!

Canton House is a Chinese restaurant on Buford Hwy that has been around for as long as I can remember. They host weddings and big parties on the weekend nights, and serve dim sum daily in the mornings. I gave it 3 stars because of the following:
Location: it’s conveniently located on Buford Hwy, since it has been there forever, everyone knows where it is. However, if you don’t, it is near the intersection of Buford Hwy and Beverly Hills Dr.
Service: normally, it is decent service. Some of the servers do not know much English, but they know enough to get you the basic fork or napkins, when requested.
Food: I think the dim sum is decent. I haven’t had any problems with the food there, however, I have had friends that had stomachaches afterwards.
Price: I honestly don’t know what the price is for any of the dim sum dishes; however, I have a family of 9 people, and usually our total is around $ 180. That’s pretty decent, in my opinion.
Overall, Canton House seems to be a favorite with a lot of older Asian people, like my parents, but I honestly prefer the Dim Sum inside of Great Wall Supermarket.

It was just good, nothing more, nothing less. Canton House is much more Vietnamese-​style dimsum than traditional Chinese dimsum.
Wasn’t a fan of the $ 15 fried calamari. It was overly dry and salty. Aged duck egg and pork Jiao (congee) was good, not spectacular.
Tripe was good, chicken feet were good. I’m not one to eat these, but my friended insisted. These were the two best items.
Flower tea was good. Bok choy (or the greens) was very, very bland.
They’re not too good about clearing plates from tables or refilling drinks unless specifically asked to. Carts came around. We got charged for a dessert that we never got bc the kitchen stopped making them; the girl who charged us never came back to follow-​up with the order to tell us or remove the order. but it is slightly a mad house to serve carts, so I don’t blame her for her lack of service.
All in all, I will be back if I’m craving the chicken feet or tripe and am in the area. Next time I’ll try more authentic things off the actual menu.

Very good, service is great

I really enjoyed Canton House’s food. The wait was a little too much for take-​out but they were having a wedding there so, I get it. The food was delish!

I’ve eaten a lot of Dim sums in my whole entire life and I feel that Canton Dim Sum is not that great like what other posters said. Perhaps maybe it is in Georgia, but definitely not as compared to others I’ve tried overseas. It kind of feel like a Vietnamese dim sum place rather than an actual Cantonese Dim Sum restaurant. However, the aunties’ services are good especially when you are able to speak Cantonese, Vietnamese or Mandarin with them.
I came here on a Monday morning, there were a few customers patronizing. Only one cart was out because the rest of carts were not ready so we had to wait.
I am not going to pinpoint on every dim sum dish since I’ve ordered quite a number of their dishes. First of all, the Chinese Tea for Dim sum, it came in a pot without a bowl to wash the tea cups. To Yum Cha (drinking tea) in Dim Sum, tea should be served with tea cups and a bowl of hot water for us to rinse the tea cups, in order to make the tea right. Maybe because I am a frequent Dim sum person asking too much, but this is the first time I have eaten a Dim Sum place without that. Asking for refill after finishing up the pot of tea takes ages. A few times the waitresses forgot about it, how hard can it be with only few people in the restaurant?
For the food taste, I would give it a ³⁄₁₀. Just like the Unilocaler below, Lucy C. said, I have to agree that it tastes weird and kind of taste like left over or frozen food. I was expecting the porridge to be good but was disappointed, it has a re-​use multiple times oil smell to it. The Siew Mai was hard and made in big chunks, they’re rough looking. As for the Char Siew Buns, the meat does not taste good and has an unpleasant smell to it. The Chee Cheong Fun does not taste good either, the texture of the Fun is too thick and rough, the sauce was too salty and does not taste good. The steamed bean curd rolls were made in big chunks too. Dim Sum shouldn’t be made this way, it is supposed to be small bites.
I will definitely not come back again. For price range, it is quite acceptable, service is great but the main problem lies with the food.

This place can get very crowded on a sunday. We are not a big fan of dim sum but we came to this location to get some chinese food. We had general tso shrimp which is not on the menu but they accomidated me and they also were very nice about it. We had the braised wings and vegetable fried rice and it was all very tasty and good we have had better but it is so close to our home versus other places we frequent.

This is probably the best dim sum in town BUT, I had a bad experience in my last visit. I ordered rice soup for my self and my daughter and she found a piece of plastic in her soup. I decided not to say anything. She stop eating it and we continued our meal. Maybe the chef and cooks need to be told to prevent from this happening again.
The dim sum is always fresh but for some reason the owner kept «pushing» for vegetable plates to bring to the table and I had to say now at least three times. I like to have a peaceful eating experience when I go out to eat!
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As you can see below the restaurant owner addressed the concerns and that’s all I can ask for! That’s good customer service. We will continue to eat at Canton House for dim sum. Once again, this is the best dim sum in town. Thank you!

We eat a lot of Asian cuisine. A lot. American Chinese food items are here, but the menu covers traditional items as well. Perfectly fried sesame chicken (crunch w/​o excess batter). We’re excited to try the Golden Menu next time and the dim sum. Portions are family size, so come hungry.

If you want some serious get down groceries, come on in. I don’t know what the deal is with the low reviews, but this ain’t American Chinese. Some of it on the «Turista» menu is but even that is upscale to what is out there. Ask for the Gold Menu of you want the full traditional experience. And the lunch deal is the best Chinese value in town.
The dim sum is incredible. I’ve had dim sum all over the US and this is the best I have had even in the DC area. I’m not talking on the buffet line type, I’m talking the real deal carts. If you haven’t experienced it go on Saturday or Sunday for the full host of options. Be prepared to wait in line for a table if you don’t have a reservation or come at peak times. That goes for Thanksgiving, New Years, Christmas and Chinese New Year as well. Yeah, we are fans.
So what are my favorite menu items? The wide noodle (dishes) made in house. The eggplant and the stuffed tofu hot pots. On the Gold menu you can get the most fantastic Fried Chitterlings I have ever had – seasoned with 5 spice. You don’t know chitterlings till you have had this. Incredible. And the Chinese sausage with Chinese ham and lotus root is divine.
Dim Sum: forget about it as they say up north, but then this place is in the «New York of the South». Curried tendon, spiced tripe (every time I go), chicken feet, calamari, too many dumplings to list both steamed and pan fired/​grilled, numerous shrimp dishes (fired, steamed, sauteed) and the list goes on and on. Taro. Soups, veges. Curried baby octopus. Not much I don’t like. And don’t forget the flower tea and sesame balls (filled with sweet and creamy red bean).
The duck. If you have never had Peking duck, this is it. It is served whole (with head), carved at table and served with small «pancakes» and hoison sauce with julienne of green onion. It is served many ways in succession. Well worth the price – very cheap for this dish here. Check availability as they run out. Better reserve at holidays or forget it.
There is so much going on here it cannot be enjoyed in one or two or three visits. This is a journey. Perhaps start with a few dim sum and then move on to the menu if unsure.
The staff is great, the place can get packed and the carts move steadily. Be adventurous or go home. Great food doesn’t come out of a box.

All-​day dim sum! Our original place to go for dim sum didn’t work out as we had hoped and we found this place as an alternative. I was worried that they wouldn’t be serving dim sum since we were eating at around 2pm, but to our pleasant surprise, they supposedly serve dim sum all day long.
They had a lot of selection and people come around really often to show-​case what they have in their cart. The manager was really nice and came to check up on how we were doing. He was a little pushy about having us order more food (joking saying that we are not eating enough and saying how we should definitely try certain dishes), but don’t be afraid to say no thank you. We did order the durian pastry at his suggestion. I’m not a fan of durian, but these were not bad because the pungent durian taste and smell was subtle. I also enjoyed their chashu pastry.
The total came out be about 10 bucks per person, which is how much it usually costs when I go for dim sum. I think the food is really just A-​Okay, but I like that they serve dim sum even into the afternoon (in case you have late wakers who really mean linner when they say they want to do brunch).

Dimsum is a hit or miss. The ladies on the carts speak limited English so sometimes it takes a while to get orders in. Their shrimp shumai is pretty good. Not a dimsum expert, but you’re basically choosing little appetizer dishes that appeal to you so obviously they will taste okay if it’s to your liking. My new favorite is the Mixed Seafood on Crispy Noodles (Sheng Mian), definitely recommend this dish — it’s from the main menu!

Being a little tired of our two other go-​to Chinese restaurants in Atlanta, we discovered this driving by one day, and gave it a try for dinner. Since I’m writing this after a bit of time has passed, I can’t be very precise. All I can say is, do NOT order the dim-​sum at dinner time. Not only have they been sitting on the steam table for a decade or two, they’re a bit pricey (price the same during the day? I’m not sure). We ordered crab instead of lobster, which was prepared well. They were compliant when we asked that the crab be served first, and nothing else, until we’re ready. Unlike my friend Han L. I found service to be superior to Royal China and more consistent than Oriental Pearl — the two waitresses who looked after us even gave the impression that they were … attentive! The one thing that gives me pause is that this is not the freshest décor or the cleanest-​looking place. No one got sick or anything. Time will tell if this is a keeper or beeper.

Dim sum on the weekends are excellent. First time I came was during the week and dim sum was very limited. Definitely try to come on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Get there early as the place gets crowded!

Service service service!
I used to eat dim sum here as a kid. We didn’t come back because it was so far away. But recently this has become my favorite dim sum area.
The dim sum here is okay, better than average. Many dishes here are bigger than dishes at other dim sum places.
But the best part about this place is the service. The waiters are all super smiley and happy to serve, as is the owner who is always here, always working. This place has the best service.
Decent, but consistent dim sum, amazing service. Will return. :)

I really like this place for dim sums. Their food is really tasty.
I used to live off of Buford Hwy and North Druid, so this place was fairly close by.
A lot of my friends and I used to meet up here for brunch. They have different carts with different kinds of foods, not just dim sum. This place is huge. Even though it gets packed, I’ve never had to wait for a seat. It is very reasonably priced.
One of my church older sisters got married and had her reception dinner here. It was like a 10 course chinese style dinner! The food was absolutely AMAZING! I’ve only had dim sum here, and this was my first time having other foods other than dim sum. They have huge portions and the food was delicious. The servers were very nice.
Sometimes it can be a little difficult finding parking here, but most of the time it is all right.

Does it make me a dimsum snob that I want Chinese people pushing around my carts of food? Maybe… Half the fun of dimsum for me is pretending that I can speak Cantonese and ordering «feng jao» (chicken feet) and «nao ba yee» (tripe). The immersion is really gone when the person pushing the cart looks blankly like me like I’m speaking a foreign language… And I swear it’s not my broken Cantonese!
Canton House is located just past Phở Bac and Hoa Binh on Buford Highway. I believe it is Vietnamese-​owned, or Chinese-​Vietnamese owned, like Happy Valley on Jimmy Carter. This past Sunday was my first time and a couple of things I noticed .
— There are significantly more non-​Chinese than there are Chinese people. My mom always says this is a red flag for the food not being quite as good (to her tastes). Take that for what you will.
— The servers don’t really tell you what they have on their carts. Instead, someone pops by your table and says (verbatim), «Hey, you want anything from my cart?» …uhm, possibly? I’m not quite sure what you have under those tin lids.
Side note on this, you could tell they were not getting the carts around fast enough because some servers were just carrying plates in their hands asking if people wanted them.
On the food — I thought it was okay. I did not go with my «usual crowd» aka the parents aka the people who know what to order. Instead, I went with a couple of friends. It seems like Canton House has a pretty limited selection compared to other dim sum places in Atlanta. Everything is very shrimp-​centric so for the non-​shrimp lovers, aka me, it’s kind of hard to eat anything here. Usually the rice cake wrapped protein comes with shrimp, pork, and Chinese cruller variations. Canton House only had the shrimp option. This is true for other dishes such as the dumplings, or zongzi (banana leaf wrapped sticky rice). The porridge had a ground pork that was strangely pink. But the worst part was the dan tat (egg tart). The consistency of the custard was off.
Canton House is by no means a terrible dim sum place. In fact, there were definite pluses
— Food was always warm. This is probably due to the high volume of customers so the food is always fresh.
— Radish cakes are heated up for you on a push-​around griddle!!! How cool is that?!
— Makes a char siu bao that I don’t hate! I’m not the biggest fan of these, and the one at Canton House was surprisingly good.
However, I think I will keep my dim sum business at Golden House, off Pleasant Hill, or Best BBQ, who seriously has the BEST BBQ and dimsum in the Great Wall Supermarket food court. You don’t get the dimsum experience at Best BBQ, but you get some damn good dimsum.

I don’t know how this place has high reviews. I went on a Sunday at 11am with a group of friends — prime Dim Sum time if you ask me — but the food didn’t taste fresh at all. We ordered a ton of food but we all left so thirsty and tired. They must have loaded their food with a ton of MSG because I could not stop drinking water and had a headache the entire day into the next morning. I thought it was just myself, but I asked everyone we went with and they all stated they felt terrible afterwards.
The Food — The tripe was oddly thick and didn’t taste that good, it was mushy, which if you’ve had good tripe before it is a good chewy consistency. The roast pork steamed bun was ok, but the coloring was almost this dark brown which threw me off. The steamed ha-​gow (steamed shrimp thingys) had baby shrimp inside and all 4 of them stuck together! The shu-​mai tasted weird to me, almost like it was left over or frozen?
The staff — attentive and very outgoing. It helps that most of them speak English and can describe the plates for those who aren’t used to having Dim Sum. I don’t think this place is run by Chinese people based on the conversation I heard with the lady at the front register/​host stand.
The Parking — a decent amount of parking, we didn’t have any trouble at 11am. The place seems to clear out by 12 and most of their other dishes come out around this time too.
I guess if you want to try it out, by all means, go for it, but just know you’ll leave wanting to drink a gallon of water and then some.
Also — I just moved here from NYC where there’s great dim sum and I eat it often. I’ve also had it from China/​Hong Kong. Just trying to find my go-​to Dim Sum place in Atlanta, but I’m definitely not coming back here for dim sum or dinner.

More like 3.5 stars. Like this place more for dinner as opposed to dim sum.
I frequent this restaurant quite frequently especially since my parents like it and all their other favorite Chinese restaurants have either closed or relocated closer to Duluth/​Johns Creek.
Dim Sum: Honestly, the dim sum is pretty mediocre; the food doesn’t really give me a reason to choose this place over another dim sum place. The restaurant is bigger so there usually isn’t a wait as compared to Oriental Pearl. Compared to other dim sum places in the area, Canton House gives off a more «clean» vibe though. We usually order the same thing: chicken feet, tripe, short ribs, congee, shu mai, shrimp dumplings.
Non-​dimsum:
–Lobster special: We usually order the salt and pepper lobster (probably not what it’s called), which gives the lobster some flavor. Past couple times we’ve ordered the same two dishes:
-«Yu Zi Dou Fu (?)» which tasted like a pan-​fried tofu with shredded pork and a savory sauce. This dish is pretty yummy, definitely worth a try.
-«ZheJiang Xiao Chao»: ZheJiang is a province next to Shanghai but I can’t speak to how authentic the dish is to the province. I don’t think this dish is on the menu since the server suggested it to us. I think it’s less than $ 12. The dish consists of shrimp, something similar to mussels, and green beans. My parents really like this dish since it has a mix of seafood but isn’t too expensive.
Service: The servers I’ve interacted with are all very nice. The dimsum cart pushers are really nice. If you want to know where another cart’s at they will find out for you. You can pay for dimsum up front at the counter.

Canton House can be found on the East side of Buford Hwy (that’s on your right traveling North between Beverly Hills Dr and Laventure Dr — sounds like you’re in LA, doesn’t it?). The building has a tower façade that allows for a lot of natural light but appears small from the front. Don’t let that fool you as this restaurant can seat plenty and usually fills up for weekend brunch.
To be honest, I’ve never had Canton House’s regular menu — I’ve only come for the weekend brunch dim sum. I’ve only had dim sum in a handful of places in Atlanta and really the experience has been less than par. I was originally introduced to the concept in the West coast and the difference is stark both in quality, variety and pricing. If you’re not familiar with the concept, you sit and get your drink order to your server while carts come by with various steamed, fried or otherwise cooked plates of food. Where I’ve had this in the west coast, the cost of each item was maintained by the size, color and shape of the container — at the end everything is stacked up and multiplied by a dollar amount for your total. That’s the second thing that makes dim sum special, the larger your party, the more food you get to sample so it induces more of a familial style eating experience. So come prepared with your friends and family and don’t be shy, even of the unfamiliar.
There will be many, many options, almost all with some variety of meat, usually seafood or shrimp (but there are a few chicken, beef and pork options). The hard part is remembering what you had in case something stood out and you want to order more — it might serve you well to write down what you liked or maybe photo and catalog as you go (I always try to do this but everyone grabs up everything so fast that it’s hard to do — make sure you photo while it’s in its container so you know when it comes around again). There aren’t many vegetarian options — the Chinese broccoli and ong choy are delicious, not much else is sans meat (I’m sure I’m overlooking some other items but I’m not remembering them as I write).
The dim sum at Canton House, while it’s probably the best you can get this close to town, is a little weak flavored when compared to what I was getting on the West coast. That being said, you’ll still enjoy yourself as much as I do, just go with the flow and take anything that sounds interesting. You’ll quickly establish your favorites.
I do have a bit of a love-​hate relationship with dim sum. I love the variety, the communal eating experience, and the great service at Canton House. I hate how full I feel afterwards — I need to bring someone with me to say «STOP!!» so I don’t feel miserable afterwards. Yeah, I know, first world problem.
(longer review posted to my food blog)

This is a popular place to get dim sum. Personally, I think the dim sum here is consistently not great but not bad either.
There is parking available here but since this place is pretty popular it can be difficult getting a spot.
The restaurant is large with plenty of seating even when it is pretty busy. At some dim sum places, you order what you want and they bring it out to you. At Canton Houses, they have employees pushing around carts of food so that you can pick and choose as they roll on by your table. The last time I was here, I was seated near the kitchen so pretty much every cart stopped by our table which was nice. The waiters were attentive so the water/​tea was refilled and the empty dishes were taken away in a timely manner. The pricing is affordable as well. Recommend going with a group of 4+ though so you can try out a lot of dishes.
Food I liked:
+Pork dumplings (siu mai) — Definitely a staple item I always order and these were good!
+Chicken feet
+Fried pork dumpling (ham siu gok) — I LOOOVE these fried glutinous rice dumplings with pork filling. I could eat these forever.
+Tripe
Other food:
+Shrimp dumplings (har gow) — I thought these were okay. I’ve had better though.
+Radish/​turnip cake (lo baak gou) — These were poorly executed. Kind of bland.
+Sponge cake — Mediocre and dry.
Overall pretty decent dim sum in the Atlanta area. I’ve definitely had better dim sum elsewhere (Hong Kong, NYC) but haven’t found a really great one in Atlanta. I’d come back again to satisfy my dim sum cravings.

I looovveee dim sum. I usually like having it on the weekends like everyone else around brunch time. I’ve only heard of a few dim sum places here in Atl so I’ve been cycling the same ones for quite some time now.
Canton House has been my go to dim sum place for the time being but it’s not always consistent, which kills me… Consistency is key!
However, it was pretty good this time around.
OVERVIEW
If you’re not familiar with dim sum, it’s Cantonese/​Hokkien style food prepared in small portions. Each dish can range from $ 2-​$ 4 depending on what you get. Some places also have bigger entrée dishes that they serve and those are obviously going to market at a different price. Some places will make the dim sum in the back when you order it at off times and some will have the dim sum on rolling carts. They’ll display what they have on the cart and you get to pick and choose. Then they’ll mark it on the dim sum order card.
DIM SUM FAVORITES:
They have a variety to choose from but here are a few I tend to gravitate towards:
– Shumai (Pork Dumplings) — opened dumplings. They aren’t completely covered up like your typical dumplings. Pork is traditionally the meat filling that comes with it but many places nowadays have also added a shrimp option for more variety, which I like better. Shumai is usually seasoned with garlic and chives.
– Har gow (Shrimp Dumplings) — this will be the dumpling you’re probably familiar with: shrimp dumpling. Basically just shrimp and dumpling wrap on the outside. Steamed and ready to go!
– Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Roll) — I absolutely love this dish. The roll is made from rice noodles and is usually filled with either shrimp, pork, beef, or vegetables and is topped off with a seasoned soy sauce. I looove getting this with shrimp. Sooo good!
–Tofu Skin Roll — Another one of my favorites. This can either be fried or steamed and usually comes with pork, vegetables, fish, or beef. I love getting this with pork.
–Curry Squid — I love calamari and curry so this is the perfect dish for me!
–Custard Bun — This bun is by far probably one of my favorite things to eat… I loovve when they make it in house and it comes out fresh! Make sure you ask for the one that they make in house! They serve two different ones…
So those are a few that I usually have to grab, along with some of the other things they offer. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not so good… Depends on the weather.
SERVICE:
Depending on where they seat you when they have the carts out and about… it can be realllly hard to get the cart people to push the goods in your direction. I’ve had to wait for a bit at times just to get some of the items I want… And that’s what servers are for. For this particular location, you can distinguish the servers from the cart servers: servers are the ones with the black vests on. If you need a particular item, just ask one of the servers to find you it. That’s always worked for me.
Overall, Canton House has some awesome dim sum! When the weather is right… It’s a hit or miss for me but with the limited dim sum restaurant here in Atl, this place isn’t bad. It’s not awful when they’re having an off day. It’s just not as good. and since you’ve tasted the good… you just don’t want the not so good… you know? Anyway, give this place a try if you’re in town and you think the weather is looking good!

Dim Sum yum indeed! With the exception of dinner at Kevin Gillespie’s Gunshow, I had never tried this style of dining before. Once I got the hang of it (it’s a buffet that comes to you!), I loved it, and I was practically grabbing items off of the rolling carts. Steamed pork dumplings? Okay! Duck? Yes, please! Calamari? Delish! The only items that didn’t look appetizing to me were the desserts, which were all variations of gelatinous pudding (and I hate mushy desserts).
The standout items (to me) were the flat shrimp dumplings that came with something that looked like crumbled up cornflakes on top, the fried birds nest looking items that came in pairs filled with pork or shrimp, the steamed pork buns, the Chinese broccoli, the calamari, and something called «footballs» which were basically fried rice wrapper dumplings filled with pork and scallions. If there’s an item you want or got last time, just ask, and they’ll bring it by.
While I liked everything I tried (yes, even the tripe and the chicken feet were okay), the best items are fried and pretty heavy. This is not a meal for a dieter, or for a vegetarian for that matter, because just about everything is topped or cooked with meat– there’s pork, shrimp, or meat sauce on everything. For the most part, the servers were very helpful at explaining what the items on their carts were, but I wouldn’t rely on their descriptions alone to determine what has meat or shellfish or what have you.
This location is insanely busy. I was grateful that we had a reservation for our large party, because there were groups spilling into the parking lot while they were waiting for their tables. I’d also recommend getting here early to navigate the cramped, small parking lot. I managed to snag a parking spot right in front of the restaurant in their packed parking lot, but they did have a sign directing people to additional parking, but it sounded like it was a hike away.
I was sure that we were ringing up quite the bill (see the above re: pulling items off of the cart), but we ate ourselves uncomfortably full, took home leftovers, and still only paid $ 13.50/person ($ 108 for a table of eight people). Service was good throughout the meal — the carts kept rolling, plates were promptly cleared, and drinks were refilled, but there was a little bit of a hang up in getting our cards back after we paid. Overall though, an enjoyable meal and experience, and one that I’ll look forward to repeating.