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Coming back from a long hiatus on Yelp to leave a 5-star review for this little family owned restaurant in Madison Heights. We saw a few reviews and thought we had to try it - we ordered three entrées, as well as a bubble tea. The bubble tea was amazing - we ordered an oolong lychee tea with Boba. The boba was soft and chewy and exactly the right texture, and the tea was perfectly sweet and fresh. Out of the three entrees that we ordered, we loved the wide rice noodles with beef the most. It was so delicious with great beefy flavor, and just the right amount of char on the beef. The noodles were also done to exactly the right consistency. We also loved the pork belly rice bowl, which felt like a dish that my mom would make at home. The mapo tofu was also incredible, with just the right amount of that numbing Sichuan peppercorn flavor. Overall, the portions were huge! We didn't expect to get as much food as we did, and we definitely have leftovers for the rest of the week. Love this place, and we will be back again!
This place always fixes my malatang cravings. It's quite spicy though! I love that they also sell a bunch of dessert to enjoy after the meal. I'm used to Korean style shaved ice using frozen milk so this caught me a bit off guard by how icy and watery it was but in a good way? It was very refreshing especially after a spicy meal.
Very nice Chinese dessert, milk tea and sweets shop that also serves Cantonese/Chinese cuisine , dim sum, noodles, entrees and quite a lot of fuller dishes. Excellent, prompt and attentive service (was practicing the Mandarin fluency I acquired spending half a year in Taiwan) and the interior atmosphere is relatively spacious with a lot of seating. Definitely recommended and check it out if you are ever in Madison Heights!
My mom had gone here and wanted to come back to shaved ice. We shared the Takoyaki and Soup Dumplings (forgot to take photos since I was so hungry). Both were good and for a sweet treat we ordered the Brown Sugar Pop Volcano Shaved Ice. The marshmallow panda is cute on the top but just decor because neither of us ate it. The jelly or "flan" didn't taste like much, I wish it was an actually flan but overall it definitely hit the spot.
Light Cantine has a huge menu, ranging from Japanese ramen to authentic Chinese food to dim sum to a bunch of desserts. Ordered the braised pork bowl and it tasted like home. Very friendly and fast server. Would come back again.
Came here a couple more times after my initial review, and i have to update my review to 4 Stars. First of all, for takeout, they give significantly less portion. We ordered 3 dishes. See my takeout diahes pictures. And all three dishes seemed like they were appetizers in quantity. The flavor was a bit off as well in that there was a bit too much salt in some of the dishes. Some dishes were too dry. Some dishes did not taste fresh. Some dishes, the flavors did not mix well. I can't speak much to authentic cantonese food, but I question if this restaurant serves it. The diners are all chinese, which is a good sign. However, I do not enjoy my most recent two experiences there.Because the food just wasn't up to par. I ordered a duck dish, the salt and pepper ribs, a cauliflower dish, a rice noodle dish, and a pork belly dish. Their dishes overall are not consistent in terms of saltiness, flavor, quantity. I can't speak to their dishes which is there specialty as well.
This used to be a Meet Fresh and has now turned into a Chinese restaurant that still sells Taiwanese boba and desserts similar to Meet Fresh. The menu consists of primarily Cantonese (including limited dim sum), Sichuan (including malatang) and Taiwanese dishes. We tried the roast duck (half order), salt and pepper squid (asked for less salt and spice), and the wide rice noodle with beef. The roast duck was slightly more saucy than what I'm used to but had great flavor and crispy thin skin. The wide rice noodle is a bit oily (not too overwhelming though) but the wok hei was definitely solid and strong! Michigan lacks authentic family style restaurants so I'm glad we have another option. Will definitely be back to try other dishes including the five spice duck, crispy fried chicken, braised pork, rice bowl, and dim sum.
After driving past this plaza every couple of weeks for the last year and seeing the tantalizing signs posted outside the building, Light Cantine is finally open. This business takes over the old Meet Fresh location and also expands into the closed Myst Auto right next door, creating a spacious interior with two large seating areas. They are currently in their soft opening phase, so traffic is slow and some menu items aren't available, but we still managed to order a number of items as we stopped in for a weekend lunch. For the soft opening, if you spend $35, you can choose a small gift to take with you: there's some cute staplers, decorative utensils, etc. If you're only interested in drinks and snacks, there's a kiosk you can use right inside the entrance for quick and easy ordering. If you want real food for a meal, you have to order at the counter. They actually have a very authentic pick-your-own-hot-pot-ingredient and/or malatang area inside, where there's a large fridge with displays of vegetables, meat, starches, and other goodies that you can pick up with tongs and place in your bowl. You then bring it up to the weigh station where they weigh and cook it all for you. The current price is $11.99/lb, with a one pound minimum. This setup is pretty common in Asia, but it's the first time I've seen it in the US. Curry Chicken Chops with Rice ($14.99) - Starting with the good - the chicken is breaded and fried well, with an excellent crisp on the exterior. The potatoes and carrots are cooked until tender and are soaked into the curry, giving a fragrant taste. The long grain rice is cooked until tender and fluffy. Unfortunately, the chicken is a bit too fatty, with an entire strip of fried fat, and it seems to be white meat chicken that isn't pounded flat, resulting in an interior that's dry. There isn't nearly enough curry for the amount of ingredients. It soaks into the rice, imparting a golden yellow color, but isn't very flavorful, having been diluted by everything else in the dish. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese curry in the first place but I was expecting a little more. (3/5) Braised Rice with Pork and Soy Sauce ($12.99) - This dish feels like a dish that you'd get at home, very reminiscent of what my mother used to cook. Tender cubed chunks of pork marinated and braised in a thick sauce that's sweet and savory. Bok choy is served on the side, which seems to have been blanched previously and dumped in the bowl cold. There's a braised egg on top, perfectly hard boiled, with a yolk that's completely set, but with no green ring surrounding it. This is all on top of a mound of fluffy long grain rice. The sauce soaks into the rice, adding richness. It's the taste of home cooking rather than normal restaurant food. (4/5) Stir-fried Spicy Pot (Custom), 1 lb, medium spicy ($11.99) - As mentioned above, for this item, you pick your own ingredients and then they take your bowl to the back to add sauce and cook. The sauce they use is decently spicy, with a chili kick but also a mala tongue numbing sensation from Sichaun peppercorns. It's fragrant with spices and easy to eat. We added a bunch of lamb, beef, potatoes, spinach, fish balls, and noodles. I thought it tasted a little soapy for some reason (I am not one of those people who think cilantro tastes like soap), and I found the gamey lamb taste really permeated the dish. (4/5) Milk Tea with Boba, 50% Sweet, Less Ice ($5.99) - This drink has the perfect not-too-sweet sweetness at 50%, which allows all the flavors of the milk powder, tea, and sugar to meld together into a tasty drink. The boba is cooked evenly, resulting in pearls that are evenly and pleasantly chewy throughout. The pearls are of a smaller variety than most other places and for some reason, they don't soak them in any sort of sugar mixture, resulting them in being bland when compared to the drink. Drink Rating: 4/5 Boba Rating: 4/5 Fresh Milk Black Tea, 50% Sweet, Less Ice w/ Mini Taro Balls ($7.25) - We got this the same sweetness as the Milk Tea, but this one felt way less sweet. Again, the tea fragrance does come out and mixes with the dairy-forward milk well. We got this with the mini taro/yam/ube balls, which are essentially mashed taro/yam/ube mixed with rice flour and cooked into mini spheres. You can easily find the larger taro balls around (very popular in Chinese desserts), but drinkable mini taro balls are much rarer. They give a very nice flavorful earthy taste. The interior is a bit floury with a firmer texture than boba, yet very chewy. The exterior is a bit grainy from the taro mash. And they actually do soak the mini taro balls in a sugar syrup, so it helps make it not so abrupt when you transition from the drink to the toppings. Drink Rating: 4/5 We are looking forward to the grand opening to try more food/drinks from Light Cantine! Bathrooms - Two unisex rooms, one in each dining area. Overall rating of the food this visit: 3.8/5
This is actually a full service sit down menu not just dessert and bubble tea. Menu is EXTENSIVE and yummy! There is counter bar to order to go and bubble tea but large super cute dining room divided into two sections. Lunch service was quick, and extremely friendly. Food was excellent! Definitely would return, so many dishes to try! My favorite was the pork green beans served with rice and the soup dumplings. Cucumber salad was PERFECT! Large portions.
The best face-melting spicy Sichuan food in Madison Heights. Highly recommend the spicy fried chicken and mapo tofu. This is great for Asian and American guests. Menu in Chinese is a signal this place is legitimately delicious.
I like the food offerings here because they offer some warm food along with the typical desserts like boba tea or shaved ice bowls. The day I went I only tried a brown sugar shaved ice bowl and a boba tea. Next time I will try other the personal hot pot bowl or a pork belly bowl.
Excellent place! Got their Ma La Tang. Basically like hotpot where you choose your own ingredients and spice level. Portion is huge. Price is very reasonable. Ingredients are very fresh and clean. Soup broth was slightly saltier for my liking but overall good tasting! Service and ambiance also excellent. Lots of cool decorations around the place. Would definitely return to try their desserts and other food entrees.
We ordered the chicken feet, tripe, depeng noodles, spicy salted squid, and tofu/fish pot. The portions are on the smaller side. The chicken feet and tripe lacked flavor. The chicken feet didn't have black beans. The squid had a strong mala flavor and the squid was kind of tough. The tofu/fish pot was okay but it didn't have a single vegetable. The noodles dish was meh. Rice was free. Overall, the food was only okay and with so many other restaurants around, this can be one and done. Weird decor and a single bathroom. Parking in the back. read more
9 months ago
What a fun spot for the meal and dessert! Love the make-your-own pot - it's a savory, custom, spicy pot of goodness. Perfect over white rice. So hearty! Good options from meats, veggies, noodles, fish/meat balls, etc. Very easy to rack up to nearly 2lbs of food... but makes for great leftovers. Had to top it off with a refreshing, icy dessert. The perfect combination. The taro paste was so delicious. Lots of places to sit. Staff is swift and kind. Would return! read more
1 year ago
After many times of avoiding this place I said, I'm going to go ahead and give them another try. I am glad I did! I ordered an oolong lychee boba and it tasted great. The bobas were very sweet and flavorful as well which is great because a lot of times they have no flavor. The oolong wasn't too strong and the lychee wasn't too sweet. It was all a perfect portion and combo. They also had a lot of different stuff on their menu to try food wise. I had already eaten, but the food looked great on the menu. I will come back for the food. The staff was nice too. The person who helped me was very helpful in my suggestion of what to pick. The decor is nice as well. read more
11 months ago
Coming back from a long hiatus on Yelp to leave a 5-star review for this little family owned restaurant in Madison Heights. We saw a few reviews and thought we had to try it - we ordered three entrées, as well as a bubble tea. The bubble tea was amazing - we ordered an oolong lychee tea with Boba. The boba was soft and chewy and exactly the right texture, and the tea was perfectly sweet and fresh. Out of the three entrees that we ordered, we loved the wide rice noodles with beef the most. It was so delicious with great beefy flavor, and just the right amount of char on the beef. The noodles were also done to exactly the right consistency. We also loved the pork belly rice bowl, which felt like a dish that my mom would make at home. The mapo tofu was also incredible, with just the right amount of that numbing Sichuan peppercorn flavor. Overall, the portions were huge! We didn't expect to get as much food as we did, and we definitely have leftovers for the rest of the week. Love this place, and we will be back again! read more
1 year ago
This place always fixes my malatang cravings. It's quite spicy though! I love that they also sell a bunch of dessert to enjoy after the meal. I'm used to Korean style shaved ice using frozen milk so this caught me a bit off guard by how icy and watery it was but in a good way? It was very refreshing especially after a spicy meal. read more
Very nice Chinese dessert, milk tea and sweets shop that also serves Cantonese/Chinese cuisine , dim sum, noodles, entrees and quite a lot of fuller dishes. Excellent, prompt and attentive service (was practicing the Mandarin fluency I acquired spending half a year in Taiwan) and the interior atmosphere is relatively spacious with a lot of seating. Definitely recommended and check it out if you are ever in Madison Heights! read more
My mom had gone here and wanted to come back to shaved ice. We shared the Takoyaki and Soup Dumplings (forgot to take photos since I was so hungry). Both were good and for a sweet treat we ordered the Brown Sugar Pop Volcano Shaved Ice. The marshmallow panda is cute on the top but just decor because neither of us ate it. The jelly or "flan" didn't taste like much, I wish it was an actually flan but overall it definitely hit the spot. read more
10 months ago
Light Cantine has a huge menu, ranging from Japanese ramen to authentic Chinese food to dim sum to a bunch of desserts. Ordered the braised pork bowl and it tasted like home. Very friendly and fast server. Would come back again. read more
2 years ago
Came here a couple more times after my initial review, and i have to update my review to 4 Stars. First of all, for takeout, they give significantly less portion. We ordered 3 dishes. See my takeout diahes pictures. And all three dishes seemed like they were appetizers in quantity. The flavor was a bit off as well in that there was a bit too much salt in some of the dishes. Some dishes were too dry. Some dishes did not taste fresh. Some dishes, the flavors did not mix well. I can't speak much to authentic cantonese food, but I question if this restaurant serves it. The diners are all chinese, which is a good sign. However, I do not enjoy my most recent two experiences there.Because the food just wasn't up to par. I ordered a duck dish, the salt and pepper ribs, a cauliflower dish, a rice noodle dish, and a pork belly dish. Their dishes overall are not consistent in terms of saltiness, flavor, quantity. I can't speak to their dishes which is there specialty as well. read more
This used to be a Meet Fresh and has now turned into a Chinese restaurant that still sells Taiwanese boba and desserts similar to Meet Fresh. The menu consists of primarily Cantonese (including limited dim sum), Sichuan (including malatang) and Taiwanese dishes. We tried the roast duck (half order), salt and pepper squid (asked for less salt and spice), and the wide rice noodle with beef. The roast duck was slightly more saucy than what I'm used to but had great flavor and crispy thin skin. The wide rice noodle is a bit oily (not too overwhelming though) but the wok hei was definitely solid and strong! Michigan lacks authentic family style restaurants so I'm glad we have another option. Will definitely be back to try other dishes including the five spice duck, crispy fried chicken, braised pork, rice bowl, and dim sum. read more
After driving past this plaza every couple of weeks for the last year and seeing the tantalizing signs posted outside the building, Light Cantine is finally open. This business takes over the old Meet Fresh location and also expands into the closed Myst Auto right next door, creating a spacious interior with two large seating areas. They are currently in their soft opening phase, so traffic is slow and some menu items aren't available, but we still managed to order a number of items as we stopped in for a weekend lunch. For the soft opening, if you spend $35, you can choose a small gift to take with you: there's some cute staplers, decorative utensils, etc. If you're only interested in drinks and snacks, there's a kiosk you can use right inside the entrance for quick and easy ordering. If you want real food for a meal, you have to order at the counter. They actually have a very authentic pick-your-own-hot-pot-ingredient and/or malatang area inside, where there's a large fridge with displays of vegetables, meat, starches, and other goodies that you can pick up with tongs and place in your bowl. You then bring it up to the weigh station where they weigh and cook it all for you. The current price is $11.99/lb, with a one pound minimum. This setup is pretty common in Asia, but it's the first time I've seen it in the US. Curry Chicken Chops with Rice ($14.99) - Starting with the good - the chicken is breaded and fried well, with an excellent crisp on the exterior. The potatoes and carrots are cooked until tender and are soaked into the curry, giving a fragrant taste. The long grain rice is cooked until tender and fluffy. Unfortunately, the chicken is a bit too fatty, with an entire strip of fried fat, and it seems to be white meat chicken that isn't pounded flat, resulting in an interior that's dry. There isn't nearly enough curry for the amount of ingredients. It soaks into the rice, imparting a golden yellow color, but isn't very flavorful, having been diluted by everything else in the dish. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese curry in the first place but I was expecting a little more. (3/5) Braised Rice with Pork and Soy Sauce ($12.99) - This dish feels like a dish that you'd get at home, very reminiscent of what my mother used to cook. Tender cubed chunks of pork marinated and braised in a thick sauce that's sweet and savory. Bok choy is served on the side, which seems to have been blanched previously and dumped in the bowl cold. There's a braised egg on top, perfectly hard boiled, with a yolk that's completely set, but with no green ring surrounding it. This is all on top of a mound of fluffy long grain rice. The sauce soaks into the rice, adding richness. It's the taste of home cooking rather than normal restaurant food. (4/5) Stir-fried Spicy Pot (Custom), 1 lb, medium spicy ($11.99) - As mentioned above, for this item, you pick your own ingredients and then they take your bowl to the back to add sauce and cook. The sauce they use is decently spicy, with a chili kick but also a mala tongue numbing sensation from Sichaun peppercorns. It's fragrant with spices and easy to eat. We added a bunch of lamb, beef, potatoes, spinach, fish balls, and noodles. I thought it tasted a little soapy for some reason (I am not one of those people who think cilantro tastes like soap), and I found the gamey lamb taste really permeated the dish. (4/5) Milk Tea with Boba, 50% Sweet, Less Ice ($5.99) - This drink has the perfect not-too-sweet sweetness at 50%, which allows all the flavors of the milk powder, tea, and sugar to meld together into a tasty drink. The boba is cooked evenly, resulting in pearls that are evenly and pleasantly chewy throughout. The pearls are of a smaller variety than most other places and for some reason, they don't soak them in any sort of sugar mixture, resulting them in being bland when compared to the drink. Drink Rating: 4/5 Boba Rating: 4/5 Fresh Milk Black Tea, 50% Sweet, Less Ice w/ Mini Taro Balls ($7.25) - We got this the same sweetness as the Milk Tea, but this one felt way less sweet. Again, the tea fragrance does come out and mixes with the dairy-forward milk well. We got this with the mini taro/yam/ube balls, which are essentially mashed taro/yam/ube mixed with rice flour and cooked into mini spheres. You can easily find the larger taro balls around (very popular in Chinese desserts), but drinkable mini taro balls are much rarer. They give a very nice flavorful earthy taste. The interior is a bit floury with a firmer texture than boba, yet very chewy. The exterior is a bit grainy from the taro mash. And they actually do soak the mini taro balls in a sugar syrup, so it helps make it not so abrupt when you transition from the drink to the toppings. Drink Rating: 4/5 We are looking forward to the grand opening to try more food/drinks from Light Cantine! Bathrooms - Two unisex rooms, one in each dining area. Overall rating of the food this visit: 3.8/5 read more
This is actually a full service sit down menu not just dessert and bubble tea. Menu is EXTENSIVE and yummy! There is counter bar to order to go and bubble tea but large super cute dining room divided into two sections. Lunch service was quick, and extremely friendly. Food was excellent! Definitely would return, so many dishes to try! My favorite was the pork green beans served with rice and the soup dumplings. Cucumber salad was PERFECT! Large portions. read more
3 months ago
1 year ago
The best face-melting spicy Sichuan food in Madison Heights. Highly recommend the spicy fried chicken and mapo tofu. This is great for Asian and American guests. Menu in Chinese is a signal this place is legitimately delicious. read more
6 months ago
1 year ago
2 years ago
I like the food offerings here because they offer some warm food along with the typical desserts like boba tea or shaved ice bowls. The day I went I only tried a brown sugar shaved ice bowl and a boba tea. Next time I will try other the personal hot pot bowl or a pork belly bowl. read more
Excellent place! Got their Ma La Tang. Basically like hotpot where you choose your own ingredients and spice level. Portion is huge. Price is very reasonable. Ingredients are very fresh and clean. Soup broth was slightly saltier for my liking but overall good tasting! Service and ambiance also excellent. Lots of cool decorations around the place. Would definitely return to try their desserts and other food entrees. read more
2 years ago
The restaurant and staff were amazing and very welcoming. The shaved ice was a hit ! The decor and music added a nice touch as well. read more
10 months ago
2 years ago
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2 years ago
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Tingjun Y.
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2 years ago
Love the ambiance, customer service, and flavors. We ordered a boba milk tea and strawberry milk shaved ice and both were delicious! Will definitely be back! read more
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
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32701 John R Rd
Madison Heights, MI 48071
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(248) 660-8888
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