Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Cantonese Gourmet South feeds Flint with seafood and pepper steak meals

FLINT, MI — If you’re a fan of Chinese food, you’ve probably made a visit or two to this longtime eatery in Flint’s south side that serves up fresh meals daily.

Cantonese Gourmet South, 3205 S. Saginaw St., which has been around for more than 40 years, has kept it’s same traditional cooking and beloved dishes even as the owners have changed over the decades.

Jimmy Kwok spoke with MLive-The Flint Journal on behalf of his wife, Yahong Yang and her parents, who are owners of the business. He acted as a translator.

“They were learning so much about it (the culture and language of the U.S.), but then again you know how they are, the first immigrants come in, the first thing they do, the language barrier is an issue,” Kwok said of his in-laws who immigrated from China more than 30 years ago. “So they hang out in restaurants.”

Kwok, 38, is also an “adopted chef” for the restaurant and a licensed chiropractor, but these days he isn’t working on patients as he’s focused on what’s cooking in the kitchen.

“All of the people who come here love the spice,” Kwok said.

The chef said some of the customer’s favorite dishes include Szechuan chicken, Hunan beef, pepper steak and seafood special that consists of scallops, shrimp and vegetables.

General Tso’s chicken and orange chicken are popular with customers too, he said.

The restaurant cooks the food a little differently than other Chinese restaurants might, Kwok said.

The vegetables are steamed instead of fried, which is Cantonese style of cooking, he said.

“I learned chiropractic and learned how to help my family,” Kwok said. “I’m big into nutrition, so when I look into Cantonese Gourmet, how they do their stuff I really enjoy it because they do a lot of stuff traditionally, but it’s also a healthy way of doing stuff.”

Kwok said customers can purchase the generous portions of food for lunch at $6.60 and dinner at $10.45.

The hours of operation for the business are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays.

To see a full menu from the restaurant, visit here.

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