Canton Express

The only place in town to get Korean food! Now, I come from places that serve up some good authentic Korean food and is always disappointed Des Moines isn’t able to satisfy my craving. This little «café» is the more appropriate classification for this eatery, is located in the Skywalk. Now, I almost never go through the Skywalk so finding this was not difficult, but mainly based on trial and error.
It was pleasant seeing a Korean staff member here, which is the first sign that the food is not going to be messed up. I came here alone for lunch and the staff member was very friendly. One thing to point out, she was the only person working, she was the cashier and cook. Although it was not very busy, it still took a bit of time (noticeable) to get the food.
I ordered the Bibimbop, my favorite Korean dish, and it was good. Not the best I’ve had, but good. One thing to point out is their dishes do not come with the standard Korean side dishes they are suppose to come with. I don’t even know if they have side dishes here, probably not.
The only convenient parking there is, is the parking ramp or street. This is convenient for staff members who have easy skywalk access to eat here, however if you are driving here JUST to eat here, it may be a bit of a hassle.

I’m updating my review since I’ve been coming here more and trying other dishes. All have been very good so I’m bumping it to 4 stars. Will continue to eat here more since it is close to my work and there are other Korean dishes that I’d like to try.

I did not expected their food to taste this good!!! I ordered bibimbap to be safe and it turned out better than I thought. The veggies was super fresh, however they forgot to add the bibimbap sauce (red hot sauce), so I had to asked for it. If I wasn’t familiar with this dish, then I wouldn’t know to ask for it. Pork bulgogi was pretty flavorful, they ran out of beef so we ordered pork instead. Make sure you come here early, since it takes at least 20 mins to get your food… on top of that they might run out of food. :-)

Just had one of the best lunches ever here. Ordered 3 awesome Korean dishes. A tofu soup and two other dishes I don’t know how to pronounce. Confusing names aside, the food was fantastic. They offer Chinese options for cheap price of about $ 7, while the Korean dishes are around $ 11 – 12 dollars. But boy are they worth it.
All the food we got was super flavorful. There want a single thing out of our 3 meals that we didn’t like. I stuffed my face till I had trouble breathing. The parking sucks since I don’t work downtown so the getting there part sucked but it was all worth it.
I would come here all the time if I worked or lived in downtown. There aren’t any Korean restaurants in Iowa that are this good. In fact there aren’t many this good period. Its not fancy so not a group setting or nice date setting, but if you want delicious food and that’s it, come here.
Love it. Will definitely be back for more!

In town for business, was near downtown and craved Korean. This is pretty much the only Korean joint in Des Moines, and I went in not expecting much, especially since it’s Korean and Chinese. In short, ignore the Chinese side and order Korean… I was blown away! Pretty much one of the best soon dubu’s I’ve had in a long time (frankly, better than the famous joint in LA.)
The seafood was fresh, the stock base deeply flavorful, and it was thick with soft tofu, not thin and soupy at all. They didn’t tone down the dish and kept the chili level high, along with sliced green chilis. Great flavor and not bitter at all. The raw egg was added before it was served to me, it would have been nice to let me put it in myself.
The kimchee was fresh and homemade, I asked for seconds and was given a double serving. Only 2 other banchan… perhaps as Korean food gains traction in Des Moines they’ll consider adding more banchan to the meals.
The young couple running the restaurant are very nice and accommodating. This really tastes like Mom’s home cooking and I will be back. The place was crowded with the downtown lunch crowd mostly eating Chinese. C’mon, Des Moines… try the Korean instead! You don’t know what a jewel you have right here under your noses.

I was over the moon excited to find a place in Des Moines that serves bibimbap and other Korean food. My first visit was at 5:10 PM last Monday, so I missed them, but 1:00 PM today proved to be an ideal time as my girlfriend and I were the only patrons in the place. We both ordered the bibimbap and were willing to pay the extra $ 2 to have it served in a dolsot (stone bowl). We were helped by the same woman who would cook our food, begging the question of whether a lunch rush would be overwhelming for a one-​woman operation. When our food arrived it was sizzling and was served with gochujang and kimchi on the side. I would have loved to have more kimchi, but it was a decent amount. Everything was delicious and fresh. My only complaint was that the beef used was ground, not sliced. I would recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a new lunch/​early dinner spot!

Location: Unfortunately Canton Express isn’t the most convenient location to grab food (unless you are within walking distance or are walking through the skywalk). If you enter the skywalk from the 500 Grand Avenue parking structure (note: you have to pay to park which accepts credit or debit ONLY — $ 3 for up to an hour I believe), you take the elevator to the skywalk (marked SK in the elevator) and once you get into the skywalk from the 500 Grand Avenue parking structure, turn left and walk down that hallway and the restaurant will be on your left!
Service: This restaurant is owned by a new Korean couple — they opened up 5 months ago. They are very friendly and take great care of you! They made sure to ask a couple (who had dined in and were leaving) if everything was okay. Additionally, they asked me if I wanted my order packaged separately (which is a nice touch if you work in the area and are picking lunch up for a coworker, etc). They make sure to pack the banchan and soup in a separate bag (to prevent spilling) which I thought was also nice.
Ambiance: Casual. You walk in, order at the counter, and they will call you when your food is ready. Same goes with take out. They also play some nice Korean music in the background :)
Food: I ordered the Bulgogi and Beef Bibimbap for my boyfriend and I for lunch. The bulgogi was tender and thinly sliced with plenty of sauteed onions and sesame seeds! It also comes with a side of white rice. As for the bibimbap, it has Korean brown rice (which is actually purple-​colored) on the bottom with zucchini, beef, egg, onions, carrots, mushrooms! They provide a side of gojuchang (which is amazing with bibimbap! It is spicy and sweet). Both entrees came with a side of seaweed soup and a side of kimchi. We also had a small container of steamed broccoli. Overall the price is good for the prices I’m used to paying for Korean food (normally back at home Korean food is almost $ 20 per entrée (albeit comes with a little more banchan).
Overall, I highly recommend you give this place a try! This will definitely be my go-​to spot for my Korean food fix :)

Recently under new ownership. Went last Saturday and the place was bustling! It happened to be a Valentine’s day lunch with friends. At least three or four other tables besides us. I wonder if it’s the time of year with the new year coming up. Anyways, it looked like they were all eating Korean. But my friend ordered Sweet and Sour pork and they only had chicken. But it was fresh and crispy and the sauce was tasty.
The tofu kim chi was perfect. Warm tofu squares with kim chi and pork belly stir fried in red pepper paste. Sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. Will definitely get it again.
We had one of the soup specials. Shredded beef with a VERY nice assortment of mushrooms and vegetables served in a stone bowl. The other special was oxtail soup with clear noodles. A seasonal favorite. I can’t believe I didn’t make us order it. Another special was $ 2 off of the bulgogi.
The champong was hot and the noodles were chewy perfection. Ban chan included kim chi with a little radish kim chi. Beautifully assembled seaweed and egg.
There was not a single bite of food left when we were done. Cannot wait to go back.

It opens on Saturday now. I believe this is the only place that serves authentic Korean food in town, nice and cosy environment. The owner is taking good care of this place and food was fantastic. If you are craving for korean food this is definitely the place to go.

I believe this is the only place that serves korean food in des moines. Anywho. my friend and I ordered bulgogi and the ja jamyun? Or however u spell it. The blackbean sauce noodles dish. Anywho. I was not that impressed. I mean it tasted like what it is, but it was pretty bland. I guess when you come from Chicago where there are tons of korean bbq restaurants, its hard to say the food here was good.

I read all the review about this place and I’m not gonna lie I was pretty nervous of trying this place when I was ordering the girl was really nice cuz I had no clue how to pronounce any of the Korean so she helped me out a lot so I order the black beans noddles combo and the spicy seafood noddle and let me tell you omggg it was sooo good the service was good and the food was off the chart for me at least but you’re gonna have to go there yourself to score it

This place is opened by Koreans but serves a lot of Chinese food, which I guess caters to the Midwestern crowd. It’s a nice place to get introduced to Korean fare or satisfy a craving for it.
Jajangmyun (black bean noodles): the noodles had a great, chewy texture. The sauce was a bit blander than usual, but it was almost there. Overall pretty good.
Bulgogi («Korean teriyaki,» in the words of the chef): was pretty heavy on the onions, which was okay with me. The flavor was great, and it came with just enough rice.
The kimchi that came with our dishes wasn’t quite fermented enough. But that might be deliberate, considering the more pungent stuff would probably scare some customers away.

Great Korean food.

Fantastic food. I haven’t eaten Korean this authentic in years. The staff are polite and attentive, the atmosphere is good and the food, oh the food. Do yourself a favor and check this place out of you haven’t already.

I initially got really excited to find out there was ONE place in Des Moines, IA that served Korean food. I didn’t come in with high expectations, but was just happy to get some Korean Food. When I came, I immediately discovered they are more renowned for serving decent cheap Chinese Food. And it is a great place for their lunch specials. I was actually impressed by the array of Korean items they had. The Bibimbop here has vastly improved since I first had it three years ago. I really liked it and my only complaint is that it had too many onions and not enough beef and it wasn’t great quality. However, the Cha Jang Myun (Jajangmyeon) was very tasty! That’s the best korean dish I’ve had there so far. They give you an enormous portion of it!
I’ve had some of the Chinese lunch specials and they give you a good amount for the price. I would warn NOT to get the fried rice. It’s bland and doesn’t taste like fried rice. The Hot Sour Soup is good for its price. Overall their Chinese food is solid like other commercial Chinese places.
The service is great and the owners/​staff are friendly. It makes me continue going.
Overall, this is a decent joint– especially with it’s great location on the skywalk for working professionals. This type of place is one of a kind in Des Moines so I give it thumbs up for that!

Walking through the Skywalks this summer, I came across Canton, which at the time was not yet opened… I’ve been anxiously awaiting the opening of Canton to cure my korean food cravings! They are only open M — F, and their hours tend to change, but they close between 6 or 7pm.
Excited that I finally was able to stop by Canton, I would have normally ordered Bulgogi, but opted for the Bibimbap instead. Great disappointment. I paid $ 8.50 for a less-​than-​half-​full box of minimal meat and veggies. Very disappointed. The bibimbap was also served in a plastic bowl which made it a cold dish, not like what I’m used to, which is bibimbap served in a scalding hot stone pot.
I also ordered the Dukbokki (hot & spicy rice cakes). This was made fresh to order, and the spice level was according to my personal reference. I loved it. This was just under $ 8.00 for a VERY generous serving. I literally had dukbokki for days!
The restaurant is run by a Husband & Wife, whom are both very sweet. I think they may have more hinese food options vs. Korean food options though. During lunch, the food is served «cafeteria style» where you point to what items you want, but I will have to check it out what items they offer when I’m off work early enough. Lunch ends @ 1pm.
I will stop by and try out more dishes like the Bulgogi and the Cha Jang Myun (Jajangmyeon) — black bean paste noodles, a signature korean noodle dish.
Although I was a bit disappointed in the bibimbap, I am very happy to see a Korean restaurant in the city, the closest you can get to more authentic Korean, I believe, is probably Iowa City. Canton has so much potential and I really hope the owners decide to go all in and showcase more korean dishes, especially considering the winter temps… Korean soups are the best! I’m from California and grew up in Korea Town in Los Angeles, but I think Des Moines locals are ready to see what korean food is all about!