China Canteen

China Canteen Restaurant Review:

China Canteen is not glamorous, nor a real hot spot for trendy Chinese fare. You come here for basic family cooking with an emphasis on typical Szechuan food. Look for a sturdy fish head stew replete with Chinese mushrooms, crinkly fried tofu and, of course, a large fish head. Also consider the scallion pancakes and the fiery steamed Asian eggplant with hot sauce (and it is hot). Desserts? Few, but you might want to order the sesame rice ball soup, which really isn't a soup but an offering of glutinous rice flour paste wrapped around a sweet black sesame paste and kept warm and tempting in a bowl of hot water. The menu is lengthy and filled with surprises. This is one place where even the skittish should skip past the familiar and ask for the traditional.