Category: Cheap Eats

Cheap Eats · Chinese · Dim Sum

Phoenix Gate – Dim Sum in Calgary

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I haven’t lunched with Ms. Biz for the last two years, and since then, I’ve stopped eating out for dim sum. She had a way of ordering food that elevated the mediocre Chinese scene eked out in Cowtown. Now I can thank my friend Truth Serum for recommending a new gem, Phoenix Gate. For this post, let’s listen to “Pink” by Lizzo.

The first dish to arrive was the Sui Mai ($6.99). Mama mia! Check out the size of the steamed dumplings. The sui mai was three times the size of Phoenix Gate’s competitors. The pork filling was juicy, and the generous shrimp topping was toothsome. The red tobiko provided a nice little crunch to the sausage heavy dumpling. I would order this again.

The shrimp in the Ha Gow ($6.99) was steaming hot and twice as big as other dim sum joints. I liked how the dumpling wrapper was dry and still had a bite. It’s a pet peeve of mine when the rice wrapper is too gummy after being over steamed. The shrimp itself was plump with a nice crunch to it.

The wrapper on the Deep-Fried Shrimp Dumpling ($6.99) was so crunchy it was almost cracker-like. The shrimp inside was more of a spongy mousse, similar to shrimp paste at a Vietnamese restaurant, than the crunchy goodness of a whole shrimp.

I picked the Stir-Fried Turnip Cake X.O. sauce ($6.99). The turnip cubes were lightly crisp on the exterior yet hot and jiggly on the inside. This dish is a winner, and I would order it again. I tried the chili oil, which I found too hot, as you could only taste the overwhelming spicy heat and not any other aromatics. Next time, I would skip the chili oil, as the food is flavourful enough.

Also tied for best dish was the Shrimp & BBQ Rice Crepe ($6.99). This dish comes with both shrimp and BBQ pork rice rolls. Hot diggety dog! What I loved about this dish was the folds and folds of the silky soft rice roll and the generous amount of shaved pork. I enjoyed the squishy and quavery texture of the noodles in my mouth.

Truth Serum told me that sometimes the kitchen makes mistakes and cooks the wrong dish, then come out and offer it to customers at a discount. Moments later, our server came out to show us an order of seafood chowmein and spoke to her in Chinese. Truth Serum translated that the chef made the wrong dish and asked us if we wanted the seafood dish. She politely but firmly declined the accidental substitution.

The Meat and Seafood Chowmein ($16.99) is enough to feed a family of six. The noodles were swimming with pieces of BBQ pork, squid, scallops, shrimp, fish and chicken, Chinese mushrooms and bok choy.

Truth Serum mixed all the noodles with the sauce, so the crispy bits were already saturated in the gravy. I thought there was too much sauce, which made the dish soupy. I also would have preferred a little more crunch to the noodles. Truth Serum suspected the chef threw the seafood chowmein back into the wok and just added the missing meats.

Guess how much this feast cost us? A mere $55 bucks! Hip, hip, hooray! I can’t wait to check Phoenix Gate for dinner, as I hear the shrimp balls and other seafood dishes are good bets. Hitting the Sauce gives this little gem two phat thumbs up.


Want more like this? Check out my running list of Calgary’s best restaurants, date nights, and cheap eats.

Cabos San Lucas · Cheap Eats · Restaurants · Seafood

Where to Eat in Cabo San Lucas

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Cabos San Lucas is only a four-hour flight, which makes for a quick and easy vacation for us. This trip was our fourth time in Cabos. I like revisiting vacation spots because I get to know all the best places. For this post, let’s listen to “La Raspa”.

One of my new favourite restaurants is Pezcabo, a 25-minute walk from the Marina. If you aren’t familiar with Cabos, consider taking an Uber as my wi-fi was spotty and it took Chew Steel some sleuthing to find Pezcabo. The menu is only in Spanish, and even with Google Translate, it took guessing to decipher. I downloaded some photos from Google to show what I wanted, not that I needed to, as there was one server whose English was so fluent that I could tell she studied abroad. We ordered ceviche, raw clams, octopus, tuna and fish tacos, and spicy tuna tostada.

We tried two types of ceviche – a raw prawn and octopus ceviche and a mixed ceviche of fish, octopus, raw and cooked prawns. I’ve never tasted fresher seafood, so good that I didn’t bother adding any of the dozen or so sauces on our table. I would get the ceviche again.

The raw clams came chopped up and only needed a squirt of fresh lime. The clams were sweet and clean tasting with a pleasant chew. Lately, I’ve been more on a clam kick than oysters because I find the flavour and texture more appetizing.

The spicy tuna tostada was a winner, taking on Asian flavours from the heavy mayonnaise and sesame seeds. The portion was so much that I asked Chew Steel to help me finish it. The diced tuna was cool in temperature and firm, and you could still taste the quality of the fish.

My octopus taco was delicious. The octopus was tender to the tooth, stewed with onions and cooked in a soy-based sauce. I would get the octopus tacos again.

On our second visit, one of the servers brought us complimentary shots of mescal with slices of orange. I found this liquor so smooth that I wanted to order a second one but restrained myself as it was a long walk back to our hotel. Next time we visit, I would like to try fried pork, tuna ceviche, baked clams, and oysters.

For the best fish tacos, visit the One and Only Tacos. The owner uses seabass, and you can taste the difference in the silkiness of the fillet. You have to wait a while at this seafood shack because they cook to order, but that ensures everything arrives piping hot. The salsa, hot sauce and cilantro sauces are homemade and a cut above their competitors; the flavours are lighter and brighter and don’t mask the star ingredients.

For tripe and asada tacos, El Paisa gets top marks. The tripe was creamy and decadent, reminding me a little of beef tendon. The regular steak is my preference over the more expensive, less greasy version, as its fat makes each bite squirt with flavour. With each order, you get homemade guacamole, cucumber, and other toppings.

Tacos Gardenias is a goodie for the shrimp tacos. I get three giant shrimp per taco, three times the size of other places. The shrimp has this incredible toothsome crunch with a golden-brown batter. There are bottles of sauces and a tray of cabbage, salsa, hot peppers and pickled onions to top your tacos.

Our go-to evening spot is La Lupita for the service, ambience, live music and some of the best chorizo and al pastor tacos. The chorizo is a flavour bomb – crunchy from fried pork skin and juicy from the homemade sausage. I ordered two chorizos, and the second proved too rich even for me. Except for the al pastor, most of the tacos are two or three times the cost of other places, but the amount of filling and creativity in each dish makes it more than worth it.

If you have any recommendations, let me know. I’m always eager to taco ’bout the best eats.

Banh Mi · Cheap Eats · Vietnamese

Banh Mi Date #14 – Van Express

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Update: Van Express is now located at 500 4 Ave SW, Suite 200.

Office Guardian walked over to Dimples and asked her where she wanted to go for lunch. Dimples pointed to Office Guardian’s belly and suggested wherever the baby wanted. They turned to me and asked for a recommendation. Let’s listen to “Possession” by Sarah McLachlan for this post. 

I suggested they head to Van Express for the pho or various soups as it was raining, and they wouldn’t have to walk outside. Office Guardian ran to get M to join and asked if I wanted to come along. I told them I would go for a walk, as it is tricky to navigate in the +15, but I would drop them off and continue on to Wise & Wright. Please note that all the pictures below were taken by Dimples.

When we arrived, the food smelled so good and the company so fun I decided to forgo my walk and join them. Eating here would also mean getting closer to my goal of 19 banh mi dates, even though it wasn’t L taking me. 

Office Guardian ordered Tom Yum ($11.90), Dimples ordered wonton noodle soup with vegetables and noodles ($11.50), and M and I both ordered a beef sate sub ($8.81). I was impressed that Tom Yum was packed with seafood, such as shrimp, fish balls, imitation crab, and fresh basil leaves. Office Guardian said the soup was nice and flavourful and not overly spicy. 

Dimples wonton soup looked good, too. The pork wontons were big and round, packed with meat. I told Dimples it was a pet peeve of mine when the wonton is more noodles than filling. The egg noodles looked properly cooked, thin and al dente. I could smell the cilantro in both their soups. She could only eat half, as she found the portion so filling. 

Our banh mi was the size of a foot-long sub. M mentioned that the bread, melted white cheese and meat tasted similar to Thi Thi. The carrots were cold and pickled, just the way I like them. The addition of onions and jalapeno gave it a nice bite. Price-wise, this is one of the cheapest and largest in the downtown core, aside from Thi Thien, who still only charges $4.99 for an assorted banh mi. I like this beef sate sub more than To Me, Secret Vietnamese Cafe and Thi Thien, but less than Pho 99, Pho Soc Trang or Banh Mi Nu Y. Compared to other spots in the city, this lands somewhere in the middle, still worth knowing if you’re working through the banh mi in Calgary options.

Banh mi date 14 out of 19. Only five more to go to accomplish my goal of going out on 19 banh mi dates. It’s important to have serious life goals.

Best bánh mì in Calgary → full list here: Best Banh Mi in Calgary.

Cheap Eats · Indian

Nooren Samosas: Top samosas in Calgary

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I’m obsessed with Nooren Samosas, and I’ve been ordering more often since I learned they deliver city-wide for only ten bucks. If the Calgary Eyeopener ever does another article on Quest for the best: These are the top samosas in Calgary, I hope the critics hit up Nooren Samosas. For this post, let’s listen to “My Name” by Adam Townsend.

I usually buy a dozen ($18) of the chicken, beef and vegetarian samosas and request extra packets of mint chutney. I always buy extra samosas and then do a drop-off for my friends because something this delicious deserves to be shared with kindred spirits.

What sets Nooren Samosa apart from its competitors is the pastry shell, the tastiness of the filling, and the mint chutney. I love taking that first bite into the brittle, crunchy exterior, so thick and decadent it tastes similar to a thin pie crust.

I also like how each type of samosa tastes distinctly different. The beef samosa is a flavour bomb of soft, marinated onions and fragrantly spiced ground meat. The vegetarian version is more toothsome, with wholesome chunks of potatoes, peas, and sweet corn. The chicken is also a winner. The meat is shredded and fluffy, so it soaks up all the flavour of the chutney in each bite.

The green chutney is so damn good, Nooren Samosas should sell bottles of it. The mint is lively and tangy, refreshing and cooling against the spices. I heard from a friend that the owner adds cilantro in the sauce, but I couldn’t detect it.

Pro-tip, if you are ordering for a party, get it delivered right before your guests arrive. Nooren cooks each order straight before it is delivered, which ensures the samosa arrives crunchy and toasty warm. Also, make sure to tip the driver, as he’s making the trip all the way from Erin Woods.

Want more like this? Check out my running list of Calgary’s best restaurants, date nights, and cheap eats.

Cheap Eats · Fast Food · Korean

Chicken Omnibus

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L and I visited our adorable nephew in Bowness. After a successful playdate, we decided to order dinner from Chicken Omnibus. I’m glad we checked it out, as this is our new favourite place for Korean-style fried chicken. For this post, let’s listen to “Do You Believe in Magic” by The Loving’ Spoonful.

I noticed K-Pop music playing in the background when we entered the restaurant. The interior is bright and colourful. While we waited to order, we looked at the pictures on the menu, which described each item in detail. We ordered the Dak Gang Jeong Combo ($12.99), Chicken Combo ($12.99), and Onion Rings ($5.50).

Our combos came with a pop and a sauce. We each asked for the sauce on the side because we planned on eating our food at home and didn’t want the chicken to become soggy. But after seeing some of the food come out of the kitchen, I told L we would eat at the restaurant.

This small mom-and-pop operation cooks everything fresh. Our food arrived at our table within ten minutes, so hot I burned the roof of my mouth.

The portions are generous. The double-battered fries were piled high on our basket. The coating on the potatoes reminded me of Costco fries. The onion rings looked like it was the frozen type, but it was still good. The batter was thin and melted in your mouth. We dipped our onion rings in the spicy aioli, ranch, and a sweet, spicy sauce.

The star of the show is the chicken. My pieces were juicy and meaty. The chicken tasted real, unlike the congealed stuff KFC sells and superior to the texture and flavour of Popeye’s. The batter was light, crusty, and so well seasoned that I didn’t need any of the sauces. The plumpness of Omnibus’s chicken reminds me of Church’s and LA Chicken in Richmond, BC, but with a crunchier, tastier batter.

L liked my chicken over his Dak Gang Jeong (sweet, crispy boneless chicken). I tried his nugget-like meat, and I also preferred my order of regular bone-in chicken.

L said the food tasted authentic, and Omnibus reminded him of the local places he would frequent in Korea. Omnibus isn’t a chain, and the chef was so genuinely friendly it made me want to return. I heard two customers exclaim this was the best chicken they ever ate. I saw another customer digging into a plate overflowing with katsu (breaded chicken cutlet) that looked delicious.

The next time I have a cheat meal, I’m getting the fried chicken again or perhaps a chicken burger. Hitting the Sauce gives Omnibus two phat thumbs up.