Canton Express

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops. This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

Brightly lit and painted, and with a highly visible kitchen, Canton Express is perhaps the definitive Chinese diner. As soon as an order is shouted out, vigorous banging of a well-tempered wok begins. Before the first cup of accompanying green tea has cooled enough to sip, the food appears. The menu features deeply marinated char sui pork and other Chinese staples. On the down side, the trip to the washroom can be an extended and unnerving experience, as you pursue seemingly endless subterranean tunnels in search of your destination. Vegetarians may well wish to avert their gaze from the whole ducks and sides of pork hanging from meat hooks on a gantry. Yes, the overall experience is a bit spartan - but, for fans of fast Cantonese cooking, this is the place. As the legend on the counter proudly declares: 'We don't do chips!'

• High point: Speed of service
• Low point: Toilet facilities