Kan Pai Cafe

Umm, where did Kanpai go? I drove 25 minutes just to come enjoy some Taiwanese food only to find out it has been replaced with another restaurant called JW Asian Cuisine or something. I went in anyway and asked them if the menu is the same and they said «no but we’re better». I was glad they had beef noodle soup but it wasn’t really good and the type of beef they use sucked. Most of their menu is your typical American Chinese food like sesame chicken but they also have more authentic selections like beef noodle soup but honestly the taste was disappointing.

Ate here a million times this week because I was staying at a hotel near the area.
It’s a watered down version of Taiwanese food, but if you have a serious craving for Taiwanese food and are in the area, you can come here and it will semi-​satisfy the craving.

This is a family restaurant, and you are expected to wait for a while to get food.
Dishes are mostly authentic and tasty, regardless of the portions. Probably because of the quality, they are a little pricey. The tricky part, if you order rice in a take out, they’ll charge you for $ 1.

This place has some serious issues.
I’m not their regular customer but I’ve have been there several times since it open. Here in GA their dishes are pretty close to authentic Taiwanese food, but they lack of consistency. On top of that… sometimes when I go there on the weekdays, half of the popular items on the menu were not available.
It’s like gambling, you never know what can you get and how it’s gonna turn out, but that’s fine. Their service has always been nice; they may be slow but always polite. I have patient as long as they treat me nicely. Plus I, myself am from Taiwan, so I tend to give more support to all the Taiwanese restaurants in the Atlanta area… after all, there aren’t too many of them here. However, there’s always a limit…
I went there with my family on Christmas night; there were 4 other tables present so the 1 waiter can barely handle them all, and the cook was helping serving the dishes from the kitchen.
We ordered 2 beef wraps and some other appetizers, and 30 minutes later we saw the cook severed 2 beef wraps to the table next to ours and quickly returned to the kitchen. The table next to us were taking both beef wraps with their chopsticks and then realized they only ordered one, so they put one back together and informed the cook as he came out with another dish.
Without asking whether they touched it or not, the cook just grabbed the beef wrap from them and then served it on our table without a word and ran back to the kitchen. Our jaws were all dropped on the floor… what the heck was that?
I told the cook that it was not cool to serve us food from other table especially not after he turned his back on it, so we are leaving. He tried to charge us $ 5 for the beef wrap; I told him he can have it back, we didn’t touch it but somebody else did.
Places like that is giving Taiwanese restaurants a bad reputation; I would never ever go back there and would advise people to stay away.
P. S. Their dishes don’t come with rice. They are $ 1.00 for a small bowl because they use perineum white rice. It’s not expensive and it does taste better, but I just find it weird that I have to pay extra for the white rice. It’s like I have to pay extra for the bun when I order a hamburger… or to pay extra for the rigatoni when I order chicken Alfredo…

My taiwanese husband is more than elated and said this is just like the street food back home. :-)

Food was taste like Taiwanese food… but service need more in proof. I would say their target is Asian people …

My wife’s favorite Taiwanese restaurant in town. Good thing we live close by. She is from Taiwan and likes that everything here is authentic.
When ordering the beef noodles you can ask for hand-​made noodles for a small extra charge.
My daughter likes the beef wrap so we have to order it every time while my son almost always goes with the minced pork on rice.
One of my favorites is the pineapple fried rice served in a hollowed out half pineapple!

This location is nestled into a small strip mall. Easy to find if you’re heading south bound. North bound you might have some issues.
On the menu, most of the items are small so the prices are cheap.
The best thing that I had was the Beef noodle soup, but besides there was nothing more to rave about.
The service was below average or probably just crummy. I guess they didn’t like the table of 15+ kids in their 20’s. Must be an asian thing.

I wish I loved this place more. It feels authentic, and they serve pineapple fried rice in a pineapple.
Unfortunately, this really feels like the Asian equivalent of a stereotypical Southern restaurant — where everything is a little greasy and a lot is deep fried.
It could be every time I’ve been I haven’t been in the right mindset. Crummy service doesn’t help. I probably won’t ever be back.

The food is okay, but the service really leaves something to be desired. During both of my visits, our server disappeared after bringing our food out. He never checked on us to see if we needed drink refills. We had to flag him down to finally get the check.
So-​so food plus non-​existent service: I don’t plan on returning.

I’ve tried this place twice. This time, I am writing a review to remind myself to never go here again. I mean. it was okay, but I’ve had better. Here’s what I ordered:
Fried pork chop plate — It was okay but very bland. The pork chop had no flavor whatsoever in my opinion
Beef stew plate (Can’t really remember if this was the exact title of the dish but something similar to it) — BLAND! Once again, lacked flavor
Beef wrap — Decent. Out of all 3 dishes, this was the most flavorful. However, it didn’t really «wrap» well so eventually everything fell out and I started eating it like a salad.
Service was not that great either because initially I wanted the tuna tataki too but the server said that they were out.
Ooh… and another thing is that since the restaurant was a family owned business, they had their family there present at the restaurant including little children running around. This calls for making this place a hazardous place. Just saying… It wasn’t that pleasant to enjoy dinner with kids running up and down and yelling.

I came here with my boyfriend and one of our good friends since we were in search of a Taiwanese restaurant that none of us have tried & had good reviews (4 stars +).
boy, were we in for a disappointment?! we shoulda known when we entered since we were the only table out of the whole restaurant; ((the restaurant is located in a dead shopping center as well)) the owners & staff were watching something on tv and jus let us seat ourselves. the 3 of us decided to order: beef noodle soup, fried pork w/​rice, and chicken w/​rice. the boyfriend also ordered a milk tea.
FOOD: the beef noodle soup was the most decent. the fried pork was drenched in so much oil, it was disgusting. it also lacked flavor. both the pork and chicken dishes came with a scoop of white rice and stir-​fried bland serving of cabbage. the chicken dish was flavorless as well. the milk tea was too strong and consisted of mostly ice.
SERVICE: excuse my language, but the service sucked @$$! the owners/​staff didn’t even speak a luck of English! when I asked her which dish/​entrée was good or popular. she just nods her head and goes «good good». wtf?! so I gave up and just went ahead and picked. our food took forever and we were still the only customers they had. when the food finally came out. they NEVER once checked on us and see how we were doing. we never saw them until they noticed we stopped picking at our plates. when we got ready to walk out after paying. they were too busy watching tv, they didn’t even bother to greet us goodbye! *rude*
it was cheap food but even for what it was and how it tasted + service, it wasn’t even worth the money spent. we all agreed that we are never going back.
I give this place 0 stars, but seeing how Unilocal puts their minimum at 1 star. just disregard it.

Food is great!!! Very authentic Taiwanese food and dessert.

good restaurant
service: 4
food:3.5
atmosphere:3
price: reasonable
basically, a above the average taiwannese restaurent

Wow this review is long delayed… I was craving Taiwanese minced pork over rice so I came here at a really strange time while on the way to run some errands. It satisfied the craving but the sauce to rice ratio was a bit off and the yummy sauce on the rice is my favorite part! I could even do without any pork if I just had a little bit of that sauce on my rice.
Half of the bowl was a satisfying meal for me, and the rest came home with me in a little box to be eaten a few days later.
I also tried the wintermelon juice but it was too sweet for my taste.
I bumped it from three stars to four in benefit of the doubt, because the food was good and since I came at a strange time it may not have been at its best. I hope to come back here with a large group to order plenty of snacks together so that we can try a little of everything. I feel like this restaurant would be much more enjoyable with a group.

Kanpai features a pretty extensive menu with Taiwanese favorites that are hard to find in metro Atlanta. Of course, I had to start my Taiwanese meal off with a milk tea, so I tried something that few places offer– a milk black yogurt tea. The yogurt addition was very interesting and gives a kick to the creamy taste of traditional milk teas.
For dinner, I ordered the wonton noodle soup (a must for a Chinese gal). The wontons were nicely wrapped and the noodles were cooked well – they were some of the best consistency I have had, and maintained their texture throughout the meal. The soup itself was not as flavorful as most people would prefer, but I can respect a restaurant that doesn’t douse its food in sodium to make up for flavor. At $ 7, this bowl of goodness was a bargain!

We seriously felt that when we found Kanpai Café, that we found something really special.
What a breath of fresh air!
I mean, even more special than the Taiwanese Cafes that I frequented in NYC.
So, I do really not understand why Kanpai is not a dinner/​after dinner destination for many locals that want something other than the usual Buford Highway scene. Other than closing before midnight…
Kanpai has taken over a «family style restaurant» space in a tiny strip mall. The space gives a great casual feeling overall, and the food only helps. The prices are low and the assortment of Taiwanese style foods is plentiful. The unique and well executed tea menu alone is worth coming here for, and the snack options are a great supplement to the usual offerings at other teahouses in Atlanta. You are actually served Bubble Tea in a glass mug! Not a sealed container to take for the road!
Sure, Kanpai is not as modern, new, or open as late as Sweet Hut. But, they keep it real and keep the air of authenticity alive. I felt like I was transported to a family style restaurant in Taiwan and was cared for by the mother of the family. She was basically telling me what to order and what not to order, also making some really good recommendations. Not in the «you don’t know what you are doing sense,» because I obviously know more than some people— but in a «this is our house’s best» way.
I tried not to order the Japanese style dishes, and went with yummy snacks; Tea Eggs, Beef Roll, Fried Pork Chop, and Basil Chicken. The Lemon Honey Tea is also still in my mind till this day.

Been back several more times and the place is slowly growing on me.
Food is pretty good, but ONLY if you know what to order.
My suggestions: Beef wrap as appetizer, braised beef noodle soup as entrée (make sure to get it spicy), and shaved ice of some sort for dessert.
Yes, that is alot of beef but if that’s what their specialties are, I say go with it. Unless you’re native Taiwanese and you know what to expect with each dish, ordering off the cuff could lead to disappointment for the untrained palate (mine included).
For adventures outside beef, try the fried pork chop on rice.

first of all, i am a Taiwanese
It can not compare to the real good restaurants in Taiwan…
but it’s pretty good already.
welcome if you like chinese food
dont try if you like «American» Chinese food
btw, the local Taiwanese dishes are better than the noodles and the Japanese food there.
They recently just closed, as far as I know, it’s a family business, the grandma who is the main cook is like super old and I think they just retired and move to Cali

Taking the place of another restaurant by someone Taiwanese, Kan Pai café has finally opened. It sits where Alex’s Pan-​Asian used to be, and before that, Frontera. The Blockbuster shopping center looks kinda dead, but with Papa Johns, a new Boulevard Diner, and now Kan Pai, it may just come back to life!
I checked out the menu on-​line before venturing into this joint. They have a lot of Taiwanese specialties, stuff I grew up eating. In the Atlanta area, the only other place to get good Taiwanese food (in my most humble opinion) is Bentos. So with a location less than a mile to where I live, I thought it would be worthwhile to see how this place stacked up.
1. Minced Pork bowl — DELICIOUS! May be a little less flavorful than Bentos, but still wonderful! Comes with 2 cuts of daikan, and half of a soy sauce egg. I’m a big eater, so it wasn’t enough to fill me up. But for most of you out there, it’s enough.
2. Beef Wraps — they used braised beef slices inside the wrap for a traditional Taiwanese taste. It’s delicious! No sauce needed… comes with 2 rolls, cut into ¹⁄₃. Get one to share!
3. Beef bowl — I guess this is their take on the beef don. Sliced thin and cooked with lots of onions, it’s served over a bowl of steamed rice. Some ginger garnish makes it colorful, but I care mostly about the beef. Great flavor, and I gobbled it up. I managed to completely finish the bowl AFTER having a minced pork bowl.
4. Grilled Eel bowl — My buddy had this one. He’s a big fan of eel, and grew up eating a lot of it. Seasoned and grilled, it’s served over rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. He said it was delicious… I’ll take his word for it!
Lunch specials available!!! The beef bowl, minced pork bowl, and eel bowl are on the lunch menu. For about $ 5, you also get a bowl of miso soup, and a small salad. This salad is topped with ginger dressing, sliced almonds, and raisins. DELICIOUS!
The place looks like it has for the past two owners. Sitting in a booth by the window, you’ll feel a slight draft. There’s more of an «Asian» feeling to this place, as you normally see a bunch of older people sitting in the top corner of the place, just eating, chit-​chatting, and enjoying each other’s company. The service is friendly and fast. You can get in and out in time for lunch (esp if you work in Technology Park, or in the Norcross area). The next step for me… to try their beef noodle soup! I also see a fried pork katsu in my future!
I really really hope this place stays opened for a long long time! Great food at great prices!