We wanted some dim sum this one day, and we’ve heard both good and bad reviews from friends and family for Ginger Beef Bistro House, but we still wanted to try it for ourselves. Normally, if it’s a new restaurant, I give it a chance plus a second chance. I like to think if it’s new, things are still a little chaotic, but, things seemed relatively smooth, and the food wasn’t bad at all!
Located in the same parking lot as the theatre in the Northeast, this restaurant is a stand alone building, with tons of parking – and tons of crazy drivers too! It’s a location that fills up quickly, especially on weekends. We arrived around 3o minutes after it opened their doors, so we didn’t have to wait in line for a table. By the time we left though, the entrance area was crammed with hungry guests waiting for a table.
We started with an order of Pineapple BBQ Pork Bun, and I am going to say that I loved it! It was fresh, the topping on the pineapple bun was excellent, and even the bbq pork that was inside of the bun was really tasty with a nice sauce to it! The tasted between the subtle sweetness and the savoury was perfect! These buns were also extremely adorable!
Then came a dish we always eat, and I’ve always enjoyed since I was a child, it would be Chinese Donut Rice Crepes. I love ordering rice crepes from here, as you can see right into their kitchen – I got to watch the lady make all the rice crepes, and that was really exciting. The rice crepe itself was thin, soft, smooth, and super fresh – making this dish one to remember!
Ah, the Pan Fried Turnip Cake is something my husband eats – always! He really enjoyed it from here, even though he says there isn’t as much ingredients in the turnip cake as the ones I make for him. But in having more “goh”, they get a really nice square cut! So, it looks wonderful for presentation. Taste wise, it wasn’t bad either.
As per usual, I eat a lot of Chicken Feet, and these like many other places are jammed packed with flavour, and tender. I think that’s most important for chicken feet, and they were able to achieve it.
Steamed Beef Tripe with Ginger and Green Onion is another one of my favourites, and it too is important that it’s tender. No complaints with my beef tripe from here!
The steamed shrimp dumpling was quite nice, the skin on the shrimp dumpling was delicate with a nice texture. Of course, the shrimp was quite fresh. The shrimp dumplings wasn’t huge but it was packed with good shrimps! It was delicious!
Now, we got our order of Deep Fried Shrimp Balls, which was a little different. The crunchiness was awesome, and the actual shrimp balls was huge – still using the good quality of shrimp as in their shrimp dumpling.
The Steamed Beef Meat Balls is something I don’t always eat, but I did for this restaurant, as everything else was really good. It wasn’t overwhelmed by the cilantro taste as some restaurants do. It was surprisingly good, and the meat was smooth and silky. Overall, it was a great meat ball.
I think the Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Dumplings was a little disappointment for me. I was expecting a nice bit of broth when I bite in, but it was just a pork dumpling that was “juicy” – but no broth. It could be the fact it may have all leaked out, but I don’t know. The texture of the pork dumpling wasn’t as smooth as I would like it, but the taste wasn’t bad. Even though this may have been my least favourite dish of the experience, by no means was it “bad” or “gross”. So, overall, I really loved my experience here and think it’s one of the better dim sum places in Calgary. I’ll definitely be back, as long as they keep up their quality without increasing their prices!
Ginger Beef Bistro House
400 388 Country Hills Blvd NE
Calgary, AB T3K5J6
(403) 265-1616
