Canton Inn

Reminds me of the Cashew chicken I grew up with. Them, Leong’s and Master Wang’s were the places that served the best in Springfield. They all had their own taste. A must try for good original cashew chicken, Springfield style.

Cheap fast Chinese food! They have special Chinese menu that not many people know such as egg noodle soup. I love the taste of ribs but it was so tough to eat. They also have 6 fried chicken wigs for $ 3ish SO CHEAP!

My favorite place to get cashew chicken. Hands down the best I have ever had. They are generous with the portion sizes as well. Great memories.

EWWW worst food I have ever eaten. I threw my food out and went to Wendy’s next door. if you like a Chinese place that uses one sauce for everything and just adds or takes away things to call it a different sauce this is the place for you. service was friendly but food not so tasty.

This will be short. I walked in and ordered my dinner and while the cashier was running my card, I saw the cook drop some egg rolls in the oil and then rub his forefinger and then his thumb across his nose. He then proceeded to pick his nose and flick his booger. No, I’m not making this up. I wish I was. I was very hungry. I told the two up front that I wanted a refund and I was not eating their food. They then voided the transaction. After that, the guy up front told the cook something in their native language, but the cook never even washed his hands. The two customers behind me thanked me for saying something about it and we left. I used to like this place. Well, somewhat.

I lived in Springfield from Aug 2005 — Jul 2009… I literally ate some general’s chicken from Canton 2 – 3 times a week. Now I live in Austin and I crave this place all the time.
This dish is incredibly unique compared to other versions of General’s or General Tso’s chicken. It’s not nearly as sweet but packs all the heat!
Tip — go for the ‘all white meat’ chicken and ask for extra sauce. You won’t regret it. Also the crab rangoon is pretty legit.

The cashew chicken is great, but the real gem is the chicken noodle soup! A massive bowl of noodles, green onions, and sliced chicken breast. It’s an off — menu item and we’ll worth the trip to Springfield.

I live in Pennsylvania and this was my first stop right off the plane. The owners are so incredibly nice and the cashew chicken is one of a kind! My family and I crave it. If you haven’t tried it, it’s a must.

Great Springfield Cashew Chicken at a very reasonable price. Food was quick to arrive, was very tasty and piping hot.

This place easily holds the top spot for best place to eat in springfield in its respective price range. You can get a cashew or sweet and sour chicken dish with rice for only $ 3.82 plus tax with the 10% student discount.
The food is a fair sized portion, enough to make an adult guy satisfied. The chicken is average maybe even a little above for springfield Chinese. The atmosphere is acceptable for what you get. This place is really my favorite for a quick lunch.
Honestly any of the reviews criticizing this place has no grounds to do so because you are receiving what you pay for. In this case there is nowhere in springfield that is even kinda close to what you can get here for 4 bucks.

Food was great. Close to Bass Pro. Don’t let appearances fool you. Had the Cashew Chicken combo. For $ 5.50 you get a hearty portion of chicken with fried rice, an egg roll, and 2 wontons. It was cooked fresh and served hot!

I gotta hand it to Canton Inn, their cashew chicken special is probably the best deal in Springfield. It comes with an egg roll, a decent helping of chicken, rice, and two crab rangoons — all for like, $ 5.50.
That being said, there’s simple good and bad about Canton Inn. The good: the service is great. My friends and I came in on Saturday night at exactly 9:59 (they normally close at 11 pm) without realizing it was Chinese New Year… a little insensitive, I know. They were closing at 10 that night to celebrate, but let us take our orders to-​go despite our insistence that we were happy to leave. Most of us have worked in food service or do currently, so we know how annoying that stuff is. Still, we really appreciated their selflessness.
Another thing that’s good: the food! Well, okay, pretty good for the price. Despite being so cheap, it doesn’t feel horrid in your stomach. The egg rolls have a refreshingly unique flavor, the chicken is quality white meat, and it’s generally not as bad as it could be, considering the other Chinese options around. Don’t get me wrong, it’s mostly obligatory, but the deal is good.
The bad: Canton’s dining room is kind of gross. There’s nothing appealing about the grimy fish tank or the super-​dated brown floors that are reminiscent of an early 1990’s McDonald’s. The entire building is just old, which made me distrust the food coming out for a long time, but don’t let the overall icky appearance deter you if you’re on the hunt for a cliché SGF-​Chinese hybrid meal for cheaps.

Seriously, Springfield? When we moved here we had to see what all the hype was over this place… And, we still don’t understand. I was sorely disappointed by what this town calls «Springfield’s Cashew Chicken». And too bad, because I live very close. I’d rather drive across town to get my Chinese food fix.

I rarely write negative reviews, but I really don’t have anything good to say about this place. The rice is not your typical Chinese Restaurant rice… gross! I had sweet and sour chicken which I usually love, but not from here. Sadly, we won’t be coming back here.

Tiny building, cheap Chinese food and a dirty fish tank, those are all the things I remember about Canton Inn when I briefly lived in Missouri. It was a frequent place to visit for some surprisingly good, artery clogging pseudo-​Chinese food. It is in an unassuming building, sandwiched between a Wendy’s and an auto mechanic. Without the sign out front, you would never know it’s there.
The actual restaurant is small, and offers only a few tables to sit at. I heard that years ago, the building used to be a Dunkin Donuts, and it’s easy to tell. Right in the middle of the dining area is a big fish tank, which looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since the Clinton Administration. The fish also look a bit unhealthy, and it’s quite honestly disgusting. The bathrooms are small and not the cleanest, but do the job.
But the big deal of course, is the food. According to many, cashew chicken was invented in Springfield, and this is one of the many restaurants that serves it. For the uninitiated, it is basically fried bits of chicken with mushroom sauce poured over the chicken with rice. It shouldn’t taste good at all… but it is surprisingly delectable, and very, very cheap. The chicken and rice plate here is $ 5.50, and they give you a big enough serving to fill you up.
I also have tried the General Tso’s chicken and the orange chicken, and both are also tasty. Egg rolls and Crab Rangoon are good also, though nothing to really write home about. It’s pretty much your generic decent Chinese food. Definitely not the best I’ve ever had, but by far the best I’ve had in Springfield.
So try it out, but don’t come in thinking it’s legendary like some locals do (Cashew Chicken isn’t THAT good, and I know plenty of people who hate the stuff). But do come in with an open mind and expect what you pay for, and you’ll enjoy yourself.

What can’t Canton in do right?
As many of my Yeeps know, I am a Chinese food snob. Living in Saint Louis has made eating Chinese more of a chore than a delight.
The people of Springfield, MO, are spoiled. The average Missourian might not realize that this southwestern city is blessed with some of the best Chinese around. Hell, it’s the birthplace of cashew chicken! One of my favorite stops for Chinese is Canton Inn.
When you’re eating cheap Chinese, freshness can be an issue. Not at Canton! Believe it or not, chicken actually tastes like chicken! So many places skimp on the meat quality, but the chicken at Canton is always done right.
Why pay too much for Chinese? Canton has daily lunch specials, but even the dinner prices are not too high! We ordered both sesame and General chicken, and each was $ 5.25 at dinnertime. Add a drink each, and the bill was less than $ 14!
There are several great places to eat fresh, inexpensive Chinese, but Canton is among the best!

What else? Springfield Cashew Chicken! This place was busy in the middle of an afternoon — as in too late for lunch and too early for supper. That alone told me something, and the food and value for the price backed it up. Bön apetit!

I was in Springfield, only been there once before, and I know of nowhere to eat and nothing to do. I had heard tons of rave about Springfield’s version of chinese food, especially the Cashew Chicken. SO I typed chinese into Unilocal and browsed around, coming across Canton Inn which has multiple rave reviews for Cashew Chicken. How could I not try it after reading such magical things about it? So I tried it. I was not impressed. Apparently Springfield’s version of chinese food is a very bastardized version. I can’t even begin to describe the deep fried, gravy smother, «chinese» mess that I ate there. And yes, I will admit, I ate it. It was edible. it wasn’t the worst thing I have ever eaten. But I felt like this would be Mississippi’s version of Chinese, and would be served with a side of mashed potatoes and cornbread. It’s definitely more southern comfort food than anything.
Aside from the food, the place is TINY! Only a few grimy tables available. A nasty looking fish tank greeting you first thing. And a layer of greasy residue over every surface imaginable. The staff was nice and pleasant, but they should really hire an outside cleaning crew to come in and disinfect this place from head to toe. Next time I am in Springfield, I’ll skip out on this one.

Me: I’m flying in to Springfield, MO.
Them: Oh! You should try their cashew chicken.
Me: Wha?
Them: Springfield, MO, «invented» cashew chicken.
Me: (Long pause) Wha?
My daughter and I checked out the Canton Inn, a popular fast food Chinese restaurant in Springfield. We ordered the — wait for it — cashew chicken.
Versus the stir-​fried version of cashew chicken, the Springfield cashew chicken was battered, deep fried and then covered with the kind of brown gravy you’d find on biscuits and gravy. OK. I get it.
(BTW — it wasn’t that bad.)

This is my Fiancé’ fav Chinese grub in Springtown, the general chicken is pretty good I must say.
But they seriously have to clean or get rid of that fish tank, I have no idea how they stay in business with those poor guppies staring at you through the green water.