This spot is cursed. Kotosh is king in this plaza, and no other restaurant has been able to hang on. Muodu came and went in a blaze of glory, doling out steamers full of the best soup dumplings SoCal has ever seen. I’m willing to bet even San Gabriel felt the threat.
But food that good isn’t profitable, I guess, because ownership changed hands and the same crew made the switch to small-batch dim sum. Service was slow but everything was heated to order so it did turn out much nicer than what the rest of the South Bay had. Bad timing, though, there was no way to they could tread water when Michelin-marked Lunasia moved into Rolling Hills.
So now we have Canaan Cafe, bringing traditional Chinese-Taiwanese classics to the South Bay from their Artesia and West Covina roots.
Straightforward dishes like this spicy peanut-and-hoisin Dan Dan Noodle will hit the spot when you want them, though the sauce is good but nothing special and the noodles themselves are meh.
You can't get excited about the Steam Shanghai Dumplings after Muodu, but these will do well. They're not DTF, but they're a lot cheaper too.
Everything else is fried. The Canaan Special Fish Fillet is fish that could be fresher, but the frying is perfect and so is the salt and pepper.
Salt & Pepper Pork Chop is always a favorite, and theirs is solid.
Orange Chicken is a decent option as well. Made correctly, good flavor.
Stir-Fried String Bean with Garlic is just that. It's the right vegetable to offset all the fried stuff.
Alright, I tried. I really wanted to love Canaan but it wasn't at all exciting. The food is good, make no mistake, but I needed it to be better.
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