ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION! This is to
inform you that Asian cuisine has shifted from a festive favorite to a regular
comfort food in Calgary. Now, people don’t look for those old pizzas on
weekends, but for savory, warm, spicy bowls of soup, momo, steamy rice, and
more. Why? Because fresh and warm food means stress, gone.
See, we are not degrading any cuisine, but
just explaining the goodness, richness, and health benefits of Asian food.
Pizzas are fine, too; we love them. But we think it’s time to look at the other
side of the world, where lies the ultimate culinary expertise.
So, what you can do is have pizzas on
weekdays and search for the best Asian food in Calgary on weekends with
your date, friends, family, or alone.
But where to start from, how to find the
best food, how to know it’s the best. Relax, this blog is your good guide
today. Here, we will discuss the history of Asian food in Calgary, its
specialties, some showstopper dishes, the best places, and more.
So, grab your reading glasses, notebook,
and some coffee. Why a notebook? To shortlist the places for this weekend, of
course. Let’s start, shall we?
Why Asian Food Has Become
a Culinary Staple in Calgary
Before we jump into describing the Asian
delicacies, let’s first understand the connection between Calgary and Asian
food. We are often asked why Calgarians have grown so close to Asian tastes.
Below are the reasons:
Calgary’s Growing
Multicultural Identity
Calgary isn’t home to just Calgarians but
also to people from other nationalities, including Indians, Pakistanis,
Japanese, Filipinos, and more. Asians represent around 30% of Calgary's total population.
We all know what happens when the immigrant population rises: people share their cultures, food, and lifestyle practices. When Asian people came to Calgary, they brought their recipes, cooking techniques, spices, and other culinary tips. This multicultural exposure over the years brought Calgarians closer to Asian tastes.
Seeing an opportunity, restaurant businesses invested in bringing Asian cuisine to the mainstream, with some customization of flavors. As a result, people became more open to the new cuisine and slowly found comfort in it.
Distinctive Asian Cuisine
Food habits or preferences heavily depend
on exposure and consistent habits. But this is not the only reason behind
Calgary’s love for Asian food. Some of the credit goes to the cuisine itself.
See, the American food culture heavily relies on bread, heavy sauces, and processed meat. Asian cuisine, on the other hand, prioritizes fresh, slow-cooked vegetables, animal protein, homemade sauces, spices, dips, and more. This major shift in freshness and diverse flavors gave Calgarians a new perception of food and comfort.
Evolving Dining Trends
Just because the food is local doesn’t mean
that people there will be reluctant to try something new and better. As we all
know, Calgary’s weather is windy, cold, and damp sometimes as well.
Asian cuisine primarily consists of steaming hot broths, soups, dumplings, and stir-fried meat and vegetables, all tossed in sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors. This creates a strong sense of warmth and comfort, which Calgarians really liked. Hence, this preference changed.
The Best Asian Dishes to
Try in Calgary
Okay, so we are done with the rich history
of rich flavors. Now, it’s time for your introduction to the most popular
dishes. This is to ensure that your first experience with the best Asian food in Calgary is one-of-a-kind.
Momo
How can we forget this? Momo is like the
president of Asian Cuisine. This is one of the very first dishes to be
introduced to the world. But this is not the only reason behind the unmatched
fan following. The real reason is the freshness, simplicity, and diversity.
Apparently, anything can be momo filling; you
can create your own sauce or dipping, and you can have momo in whichever
way you like, whether steamed, fried, pan-fried, or soaked in broth.
Momo is a Himalayan dish made with flour
sheets filled with freshly chopped vegetables, meat, and seafood, then steamed
and served with a variety of tomato-, soy-, or sesame-based dipping sauces.
The traditional form of momo is only the
steamed one. Later, many countries, such as India and Nepal, added their own
unique touches, creating Tandoori momo, pan-fried momo, jhol momo, fried momo,
malai momo, sizzling momo, etc. Here’s a detailed look at each variety:
Fried Momo - Usual steamed momo fried in hot oil till crisp, served with sauce.
Pan-fried Momo - Usual steamed momo fried in a pan with different sauces and
sometimes vegetables too.
Tandoori Momo - Momo mixed with spicy yogurt sauce and cooked in the traditional tandoor (Indian clay oven).
Malai Momo - Momo cooked in Malai (rich cream) and mild spices.
Jhol Momo - Usual steamed momo soaked in rich broth made of tomato, garlic, ginger, onions, bell peppers, and authentic Himalayan spices.
Sizzling Momo - Steamed Momo served on a hot stone plate with sauteed vegetables
and complimentary side dishes.
Noodles
You say the best Asian food in Calgary, we hear noodles. It can be something else for you, but we love noodles for the same reason as momo. Yes, they can be customized in 100 different ways, and all of them are hits.
So, noodles are served in two major ways: 1) with soup, 2) stir-fried. You can choose any of these based on the day, your mood, and the place's specialty.
If you are planning to have an Asian dinner on a cold evening, soupy noodles will be a good match. It’s soft, chewy noodles, dipped in a light broth made with herbs, slow-cooked meat, egg, and mild spices. You can choose the veggies and meats for your broth.
The stir-fried noodles are a perfect match
for a chill day or evening outing. It’s for the days when you want flavors,
spice, and heat in your food. This dish consists of soft, chewy noodles cooked
with wok-fried vegetables, meat, sauces, and aromatic spices. Unlike the soupy
one, stir-fried noodles have rich, tangy, spicy, and sweet flavors.
Rice Dishes
Here comes the comfort food of all Asians.
A typical Asian day begins with rice and ends with rice. They are filling, can
be eaten in a thousand different ways, give good energy, and are easy to make.
Yes, my friend, you just need water, rice, and a rice cooker or even a saucepan
to do the work.
Listing all Asian rice dishes here isn't
possible because the list is super long. If you have never tried rice-based
dishes, start with traditional Chinese fried rice or Korean bibimbap, which
includes rice, meat, eggs, fresh vegetables, sauces like soy or fish sauce, and
pickles too (Korean Kimchi).
If you want it all like the spice, the
meat, the richness, everything –then South Asian preparations such as pulao, or
Biryani
would be perfect for you.
Biryani is rice and meat or vegetable curry
cooked in layers with a lot of whole and ground spices, ghee, and other
aromatics. Pulao is rice cooked with meat or vegetables, with all the spices
together. Unlike Biryani, it’s easy to cook and lightweight.
Street Favorites
Going shopping? Grab a bao bun on the way.
Bargaining with vendors? Have some skewers. Need a small break, have some fried
momo, chowmein, chatpate, sandheko aloo, spring rolls, fried squid, and more.
Asian street favorites just go on and on.
No matter how busy you are, you will always have time to have these because
they are quick, easy to eat, and lightweight. What about customization? Yes,
you can do that here too. Just ask for your favorite spices, sauces, or meat
and enjoy.
Desserts
The best Asian food
in Calgary can’t be described without the desserts. Oh my oh my, Asian
desserts are out of this world. Nope, it isn’t an exaggeration. Even we used to
believe that ice creams, donuts, or cookies were at the top until we took a
bite of mochi, gulab jamun, jian dui, kheer, etc.
Asian desserts don’t just focus on sweetness; they combine aromas and other flavors with it. Take Mochi, for example, it’s chewy rice dough filled with sweet red bean paste. Balanced sweetness with chewy texture.
Our personal favorite is the South Asian gulab jamun, which are fried flour balls soaked in a rich, sugary syrup flavored with cardamom and cinnamon—a highly rich taste.
How to Find the Best
Authentic Asian Food in Calgary
Now, let’s talk about how you can find the best Asian food in Calgary. No, no, no, choosing the
most aesthetically pleasing restaurant isn’t the right thing to do. If you
visit restaurants often, you’d know that it’s not always what you see. The
interiors can be straight out of a Korean movie, but the food may not be.
So, how can one see through those decorations and find out about the food quality before trying it? These simple tricks will help you.
Look for Family-Owned and
Culturally Rooted Restaurants
We know it sounds weird, but it’s one of
the most accurate practices. Before you visit the restaurant in person,
research the owners, chefs, and others. It’s not stalking, just finding out the
origin of the business.
It has been found that restaurant owners of Asian families are far more authentic with their food quality than others. It happens because of the strong cultural connection. Let’s understand this in simpler terms, you are eating pizza at an Italian’s place and at an American’s place. Which one would taste better? The Italian’s, right? Because Pizza is a native recipe to them, and they have the skills to bring out the authentic taste.
Pay Attention to the Menu
— Depth Matters
The next piece of evidence is the menu.
It’s starting to sound like a crime thriller.
Anyways, the menu tells a lot about the place's authenticity and
culinary skills. There should be real names of the dishes, not translations. If
it’s Guobaorou, it should be the same, not “Korean
sweet pork.”
Moreover, each dish should have a small description of the ingredients used and the cooking process. No, it’s not the entire recipe but the primary method. For example, slow-cooked beef in soy sauce. Reading this, you will have an idea of how it would taste; you are already thinking, don’t you?
Observe the Ingredients
and Preparation Style
The next is watching the ingredients and
preparation style. You must be wondering how you can do that, right? Most Asian
restaurants have an open kitchen where people can see the unique cooking
process; it’s a great way to show the authenticity. You can actually see
whether the slow-cooked meat is actually slow-cooked or not.
However, it doesn’t mean that an Asian
restaurant without an open kitchen isn’t a good one. You can always find out
through the menu or ask the servers about the dishes.
Read Reviews with a
Critical Eye
Another way to find the best Asian food in Calgary is to read reviews.
No, you can’t trust a random Karen just repeating amazing food three times.
Look for the ones that include more details about the food and its taste,
ingredients, portions, freshness, and cooking process.
Explore Calgary’s Cultural
Food Hubs
To be on the safer side, you can start
exploring Chinatown and Northeast Calgary, as those areas have plenty of
authentic Asian food options. However, the above rules will be the same.
Ask About Regional
Specialties
If you really want the best Asian food in
Calgary, ask the staff about the local favorites, what they eat in their
hometown that’s on the menu, or what they like the most. Their suggestions will
help you choose dishes that are closer to the roots.
Discover Authentic Asian
Flavors at Calgary Momo House
If you don’t want to do all the tricks and
solve a jigsaw puzzle to taste the best Asian food in Calgary, come to Calgary
Momo House because here, authenticity isn’t rare, it’s everyday.
A Taste of the Himalayas
in Calgary
Spoiler alert, Calgary Momo House isn’t the
mainstream Asian cuisine. Here, you’ll come across the authentic dishes from
the Himalayas. So, if you are into earthy herbs, unique spices, and fresh
ingredients, this is your spot.
The restaurant primarily serves Nepalese
dishes, as the owners are from Nepal. The thought behind establishing this
place was to break the Asian food stereotype and introduce the Himalayan
cuisine to Calgary.
Signature Dishes You
Shouldn’t Miss
Calgary Momo House is known for serving the
best
momo in Calgary. You’ll find a wide range of momo, including Timur
momo, fried momo, traditional steamed ones, sizzling momo, malai momo, tandoori
momo, chili momo, and many more. Apart from that, you can also try authentic
Nepalese street food such as sandheko aaloo, sukuti sandheko, chatpate, soy
chapp choila, chow mein, thukpa, etc.
If you are looking for more filling dishes,
try our showstopper Nepalese thali, which includes rice, naan, your
choice of meat curry, lentil soup, and side dishes. This thali is enough to
experience the Himalayan cooking at once.
Notice: we
have some new arrivals you might like too.
Why Locals Keep Coming
Back
We are often asked what the secret is
behind our consistent customer footfall. Well, it’s the fresh flavors that keep
them coming again and again. Calgary Momo House abides by these rules that keep
the Asian fire alive:
- Fresh,
locally sourced ingredients - From vegetables
to meat, everything comes from local farms.
- Same-day
cooking - The food is prepared daily to retain
authentic flavors and freshness.
- Cooking
in small batches to reduce food waste - The
chefs here don’t cook for the entire day; they cook in small batches
throughout, so each customer gets hour-fresh food.
- Importing
authentic Himalayan spices - To bring the
authentic Himalayan taste, the spices and herbs are sourced from the
Himalayas.
- Supporting
local businesses - Our restaurant partners with local
farmers and businesses rather than commercial suppliers to ensure better
quality and sustainability.
- Customizing dishes then and there as per their preferences - Though authenticity is the core principle of this place, our chefs always adjust the spice levels or other cooking methods to better match customers’ taste buds. This is done to ensure that each customer can enjoy Himalayan food without being exposed to flavors that are too strong or unfamiliar.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the best Asian food to try in
Calgary?
Momo is one of the best dishes that you
should try as your first Asian food experience in Calgary.
2. Where can I find authentic momos in Calgary?
Calgary Momo House serves the most
authentic momo in Calgary.
3. What makes Nepalese momos different from Chinese dumplings?
Nepalese momo’s dough layer is a bit
thicker, and can be served with a wide range of sauces or side dishes. The
Chinese dumpling wrappers are thin and are mostly served with soy- and
sesame-based sauces.
4. Do Asian restaurants in Calgary offer spicy food options?
Yes, most restaurants offer spicy food
options. However, it is better to cross-check the spice levels as per your
tolerance.
5. Are there gluten-free Asian food options in Calgary?
It depends on the restaurant you are
visiting. Not all Asian restaurants serve gluten-free options. Therefore, it’s
better to cross-check.
6. What is Himalayan cuisine, and where can I try it in Calgary?
Himalayan cuisine is the food from the
Himalayan region, including Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. Calgary Momo House serves
the most authentic Himalayan cuisine.
