I don't give many places 1 star. Look at my history. This place earned theirs. I travel around North America and eat Asian food everywhere. We had 6 in our party and everyone agreed it was poor. Some things were merely sub-par like the wonton soup being lukewarm and having little flavor. Or the chicken and mixed veggies being almost all veggies. Or that someone put far too much salt in some dishes. What drops this to a 1 star were two things. We got their special chicken which is cut up.on the bone chicken. Some of it was red raw inside. And they served that to us. Yuck. We also got the Peking pork and 4 of us found BONES in the fried pork. There aren't supposed to be bones and we are lucky no one broke a tooth or swallowed one. In short, avoid this place. read more

1st time visit from the US. We made a quick lunch stop in China town before heading to the airport. We were immediately seated as they weren't busy. Staff was very unwelcoming and unfriendly. I ordered $16 (CAD) shrimp fried rice. It was very dry and the peas were mediocre. I was not offered any sauce. Requested sweet and sour sauce. That was added to our bill. Now I see why they were not busy. There are many other restaurant options in this area. I do not recommend this restaurant based on pricing, service and food quality. read more

This was my first dim sum experience in Calgary (and only the second of my life, unless you count some great pork buns last month at the Manila Airport). So I'm definitely not claiming to wear any dim sum expertise crowns, but it's in my top two! First of all, grab at least seven other friends and make a booking or you'll end up stuck in the line down the stairs. And take at least one other friend that DOES know their dim sum and can order for you or at least help you identify what's going past you on the carts. And if you can, sit near the kitchen at the back and the food will be super fresh. I enjoyed the experience and while most of the time I had no idea what i was eating to make recommendations, my enjoyment level was always within the average to really good range. Our tea was constantly refilled and they just mark off your chosen plates on the table's card as you go. The best part? All in (including LOTS of food, tax and tip), it worked out to be $22.50 per person. read more

Really good dim sum place. I wish my dim sum places in Los Angeles were like this. Good variety of dishes. Will definitely come back next time I'm in Calgary. read more

The fam and I ended up at Silver Dragon after a long trip back from Lake Louise. We were staying at the Eau Clair Sheraton and we needed something for dinner - and it was getting late. Unlike Toronto where everything seems to open forever, it was slim pickings in the area. After eventually setting on Chinese food, because "China Town" was nearby, we started our walk over to see what was available. The only place that was opened was Silver Dragon. I know some reviews rave about Dim Sum (and some don't) and I didn't see a lot of dinner reviews, but hey, can't be too bad right? The place was a trip down memory lane when Chinese restaurants were decorated for wedding banquets. Tacky and worn out - reminds me of a Seinfeld episode with a clued out Host and a mostly Caucasian clientele. The place was sparsely populated since it was a bit late. The wait staff kept coming over and asking if we wanted the seafood specials. I've been in that situation before. The seafood menu does not have pricing and some times, the prices are made up on the spot - basically what can we charge these people today? Decided not to get into that game at this place. We ordered just a couple of dishes, rice and my older son wanted the hot and sour soup. The soup was basically the last drips off the ladle and water down to make a small bowl - my son was so hungry he just didn't care. We were worried that the rest of the order was going to be whatever they scraped together. The beef dish was surprisingly good but the chicken was bland. For the prices that they were charging, we expected so much more! A place like this would have gone under 5 times over in any of Toronto's competitive Chinatowns. read more

The service are terrible,people work there are really rude.the food weren't fresh and pricing.dont go other wise will regret.

Can I really comment on Dim Sum? I'm white. Speak no Cantonese or Mandarin, and I love all Dim Sums equally, like Jesus loved children. So, when I was invited out for Dim Sum this past weekend by a bona fide Chinese friend, I thought, yes, I will eat Dim Sum and write an insightful Yelp review by leeching off of my friend's cultural and gourmand insight. I don't know. I liked the place. Some of the best taro balls that I have ever had, the tripe was great. It was all awesome. I didn't order a thing though, as it was all done by my friend. So another experience via proxy which I felt was pretty satisfying. And Jason, maybe you went during lunch or something when all the white-ys from City Hall meander down for lunch? I went on a Monday for Dim Sum and I was one of maybe 2 white people in the place. read more

By far one of the best Chinese restaurants in Calgary! With over 200 menu items available, all of which are expertly prepared by the 15 Chefs on-site, Silver Dragon is as good as it gets. For someone who had never tried Dim Sum, this was the perfect place to have my very first experience. They had a ton of variety, as well as THE best hot and sour soup I have had in town! Plus I'm told that their ginger beef cannot be paralleled. You'll have to try it and let me know what you think. The service was efficient and insanely quick, and the prices were extremely reasonable. No complaints here, just a whole lotta eatin' ;) read more

I'd heard great things about this place, and folks had suggested I go there for "great Chinese food in Calgary". Seeing that Silver Dragon is located in the heart of China Town, I had such high hopes. But I really cannot even say that the meal was okay. Certain elements were okay, and a few even good, but overall, it was not worth the time or money we spent. And I regret our decision to waste one of our few meals in Calgary at this restaurant. First, the good aspects: the vegetable dumplings we ordered as an appetizer gave us high hopes for the meal. They were huge! And delicious. And grilled to perfection. The sauces they were served with were nothing special, but the dumplings on their own were so nice, I really didn't need a sauce. Now, the okay: the eggplant dish was fine. It was tasty, though not particularly memorable. A little soy sauce and chili sauce perked it up a bit. But I really feel as if the chef should be creating the sauces, not me. Finally, the bad: the scallops and tofu in black bean sauce was abysmal. Sure, tofu on it's own has no really distinct flavour. But anyone who has ever cooked tofu knows it absorbs the flavours around it. So I was greatly disappointed when I took a bite of tofu and it still has absolutely no flavour. The black bean sauce was so bland that my Norwegian partner commented that he makes a better black bean sauce, and you know what? He does! I have never had a black bean sauce with no depth of flavour. No seasoning at all. And no amount of soy sauce or chili sauce could redeem this dish. We did take the leftover eggplant and dumplings home with us, but we left over 2/3 of the scallop dish right there on the table. We just couldn't eat it. And believe me, we are NOT picky eaters. If you are in Calgary's China Town, I urge you to skip the fancier decor of Silver Dragon and head next door to the run down Happy Valley. The food there is outstanding and the service is much more attentive than the overpriced Silver Dragon. read more

After an evening of celebrations at Telus Spark/Beakerhead, we wrapped up our evening with a late dinner at the Silver Dragon. Amongst friends, this place is also known as home of the "crack fish"...fish so delicious that it barely makes it one round of the table and it is all gone. I can hear Captain Jack Sparrow saying "why is the fish always gone?" after sampling this delicate delight. What makes this fish so special, you ask? Let me start with a batter so light, it melts in your mouth. Yes, it's fried but it is never greasy or tough. The sauce, oh the sauce...yes, the sauce...mmm...the fish is tossed in this lovely, sauce that isn't too sweet, isn't too salty or sticky. It's just like something out of Goldilocks and the Three Bears - it's just right. The proper name for this dish, of course, is Golden Soy Sauce Fish. So, did we order anything else? We sure did, and we enjoyed every bite. However, the fish, oh the fish...yes, the fish was epic! read more

Our new favourite dim sum hangout. Carts are plentiful and filled with a wide variety of dim sum favourites as well as unusual items. Everything is super fresh and arrives at the table piping hot. If you are lucky, they even have soup dumplings on the carts occasionally. There are often line ups on the weekend but they usually go through them pretty fast. read more

Silver Dragon Restaurant - Silver dragon is our new favourite dim sum place! #yyc - Chinese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

I'm still in search of a great Dim Sum place in Calgary. It's quite hard as I always compare to my favourite spots in Toronto! This place is actually quite good! Very busy and we were at a nice big table for 8 of us with a great lazy susan table to assist with serving. We had reservations and thankfully didn't wait too long. But there was a constant line-up at the door - always a good sign! I love Dim Sum with carts as it makes it more of an interactive event. The servers were quick and friendly. Always mentioning both the Chinese name and english definitions which is nice for those who aren't familiar with items. The carts were constant and had definite variety. We had all the essentials and was very impressed by their BBQ Pork Steamed bums - MY FAV! They were fresh, hot and the filling was awesome. I also enjoyed the chicken feet - yup I said it! I love em! The rest of the party enjoyed everything else including the Shangai Pork Dumplings, Ginger Beef and other dumplings. The tea was steeped nicely and I enjoyed the constant filling up of water to wash everything down. Great job Silver Dragon! I will be back! read more

Sigh. What a bland place. On all counts. Perhaps dim sum just doesn't do it for me, but I'm pretty sure that my issue with the food was that, although it was objectively okay, it had an objectively low flavour content. Almost worst for me was the dim sum service; the service was as convenient as a buffet and just as charming. Again, perhaps this is how it should be, but the servers didn't even pretend to care what we might find interesting. They were not in the least bit interested in making suggestions. Whatever. They didn't care. I don't care. The space is huge though. I bet they can fit a million people here. So there's that I guess. Oh, and the tea was excellent (even if tied to the teapot with a plastic tie). Yes, the tea. If I visit Silver Dragon again, I'll take the yum cha, hold the food. read more

Nice restaurant in Chinatown, hear it's been an institution here, so pretty well explains their customer service. Decor is up to par w/ the ones back home actually, wedding banquet style. But the food's blah. Dim sum---it's tough to compete with Vancouver/Richmond, but seriously, if I lived here, this wouldn't be a regular weekly thing. Shrimp dumplings skin wasn't delicate, for starters. However, it's the attitude shown by a server, almost like annoying him to ask for napkins, XO sauce. read more

Oldschool classic place, nothing here is all that standout, but this is Calgary Chinese in a nutshell. There isn't much better around the city, so you can't really ding them too badly. The service was terrible, but the food was decent. read more

I'm back at Silver Dragon. This time it's for dim sum (yum cha). The heart of Silver Dragon is its dim sum. Conducted in a traditional fashion, carts of fresh tapas-sized dishes roll out from the kitchen in a uniformed parade. There are two seatings (11am and 1pm) for dim sum, and the general rule is that if you can arrive before these times you'll have first picks on the popular dishes like ha gow (shrimp dumpling) and sui mai (pork dumpling). I've been eating dim sum in many parts of the world, and one personal guide that I use to gauge the quality of the restaurant is to ask if there is a dish called "ha doast-ee" (shrimp on toast) on the menu. It's rarely served (maybe during Chinese New Years) or included in the menu--an indication of how special this dish is. To my surprise, the waitress delivers this exceptional dish to our table; I am in heaven and the rest of the table approves. There are many variations of the shrimp toast. My favourite is a shrimp mixture in a creamy sauce set on top of a hard toast point. At Silver Dragon it's like a shrimp ball fried in a breaded mixture (almost identical to the dish served at The Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen, Hong Kong). It's good so try it out, and ask for a red vinaigrette dipping sauce too. The rest of the dishes ordered are just as stellar, fresh, not too greasy, and well crafted and prepared. For example, is the famous Mainland/Mandarin style dish "xiao long bao" (Shanghai soup dumpling). Unlike other dumplings, this one explodes with hot won ton flavoured broth with chicken and pork (be careful and let the dumplings sit before you devour it). It takes an experienced and highly skilled chef to make these dumplings without it breaking apart-- just the time and effort alone adds depth and appreciation to the dining experience. Like Peter A's post, it does help to have a "bona fide Chinese friend" to describe or order foods off the menu. However, like all great food explorers, observing others (discretely of course) and asking questions is helpful and perfectly acceptable. The dim sum atmosphere encourages you to engage and participate. Eating exotic food is essential to learning and living in one's cultural and regional space. So check out Calgary's Silver Dragon for dim sum on a Sunday afternoon. read more

Awesome dim sum and good service for a Chinese restaurant. Always a line on weekends. Come early to avoid the wait. read more

Silver Dragon Restaurant - Dim sum standards - Chinese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Wow this place is bad. We were visiting from Toronto, but we don't have high standards. We definitely had good Chinese food on our trip to Calgary, but this place was terrible. We checked reviews from a few different websites, which led us here. The restaurant is located upstairs which was challenging for frail family members to go up. We were greeted by the owner. The restaurant was maybe 25% full at that time, with mostly Caucasian customers. Despite the restaurant being empty, we waited several minutes to be seated. After ordering, we didn't wait long for soup. But then it took another hour before our second dish arrived. Every dish was bland, except beef on cast iron, which was too salty. They couldn't refill our tea fast enough. Our plate of vegetables was surprisingly small, and it looked like they didn't bother spending time plating it. We ordered a second plate because the first plate wasn't enough. It turns out they actually ran out of vegetables, which was why the first plate was so small. We were still charged full price. We ordered the drunken chicken (醉地鸡), but it looked and tasted like they just boiled a chicken and gave it to us. Dessert was just cut up sour orange slices. We weren't going to tip, but they added gratuity because we were a family of 8. Don't eat here. read more

As I crossed the border to Canada, the immigration staff asked my destination. He recommended the Silver Dragon for Chinese food in Calgary. All in all, it was OK. Potstickers were large, crisp on on side, and yummy. Noodles had barbecue pork, ginger and low mein. Mongolian beef had curry sauce and the egg plant had minced pork. read more

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We come here for dim sum. Tasty dim sum and solid service. I love the cart service, and the cart ladies are very helpful. Once we had to wait, but typically they handle their crowd well. read more

My husband's family has been coming here for many many years. I finally went with them for the first time. The food was excellent. So was the Jasmine tea. The service was not great and our food took forever to arrive, although we were a larger party and ordered a ton of food. We would have preferred if they brought things out as they were ready instead of bringing it all at once, especially as it is served family style. Another problem we had is the air conditioning was blasting and our entire table was like a refrigerator. When we asked if they could adjust it we were told that it wouldn't be polite to the other guests, even though we were the only ones mentioning the temperature. Not cool. read more

Sweet mother of Dim Sum!!! Silver Dragon why did I have to find you so close to the end of my time in Calgary? Finding the time to schedule a final Dim Sum feast with R wasn't easy, we could only come up with a weekday time and after asking for some Yelper's input (thanks all!) we decided to try Silver Dragon. We arrived shortly after 11 as we had read that it can get busy and we were immediately taken to a table. We had our tea, our water, our chopsticks and our appetites... And then we had Dim Sum! The carts started to make the rounds pretty quickly and there was so much selection! Every dish was piping hot and there was nothing that we didn't like. The best part was the abundance of items that I have not seen at other places. We had shrimp balls, taro dumplings, shrimp toasts (these were to DIE for), Gai Bao (chicken buns) and a few other things. It was all delicious and of course there were lots of left-overs. If I am only comparing Dim Sum then I think I have to say it's the best in Calgary. My usual favourite has some AMAZING non DS dishes which is the reason we usually go there. When it comes to Dim Sum I will have to hail the new ruler........ Silver Dragon! read more

K always enjoy the push cart yamcha style. Lots of good stuff here. Big portions n really friendly ppl here. Its a china town classic. U gotta come here! read more

Great food and atmosphere! We were traveling through Calgary after 2weeks in Banff and Lake Louise and found this on yelp. The food was amazing! We had a feast and the prices are reasonable. The dumplings and pot stickers were fantastic. We had the Mongolian Beef and Ginger beef and some fried rice options. It was fantastic. I highly recommend. read more

I had high hopes for this place but I must say that it is just okay and after living here the last two years, i give up on finding a decent chinese restaurant. I am super picky being raised in a traditional chinese family. I grade based on three elements: quality, taste,and importantly authenticity! My order consist of: mongolian beef, egg drop soup, cashew nut chicken, bok choy with black mushrooms( by request). First the soup: it was very good. My only complaint is the consistency. I like cornstarch in my soup to add thickness, but otherwise it was prepared well. Next the bok choy with black mushrooms: very good as well with nice crisp bok choy and large black mushroom. Brown sauce was also prepared well. Now the cashew nut chicken: this is where they fail and are a rip off! Barely any chicken and all veggies. To all you non- asian people! A meat dish should be prepared with all meat and not filled with crap veggies.... Thats where asians are ripping you off. Tis was filled with celery, red bell peppers,etc! The sauce was tasty and good. Lastly, the mongolian beef: the worst! It wasnt even mongolian beef rather chinese yellow curry beef. I honestly think they just made a mistake. As my father would alway say to me, eat all your meat! The rice and veggies are cheap compare to the meat. Aso i didnt see many asians dining here, a clear sign. read more

We always come here for Chinese food. All of their food is absolutely delicious! They have big portion sizes, and very reasonable prices. They have all kinds of options. The ambience here is nice, and the bathrooms are clean, but not as nicely put together. The service here is not 'to die for' but it is overall pretty good. read more

Came here for my grandma's birthday dinner. It's just a typical Chinese restaurant so nothing special in my opinion. We had really great service and the food was decent. The waitress made sure we had clean plates and bowls throughout our dinner and I really appreciated that. I find that Chinese restaurants normally add too much salt or MSG in their food but I thought it was fine here. I really enjoyed the lobster and the sweet chicken but the complimentary dessert soup was really thick and I was only able to have a couple bites. It was a great dining experience but nothing spectacular or unique compared to other Chinese restaurants. I would come back to try the dim sum or have another dinner here read more

I took the family and friends to Silver Dragon for dinner last weekend and had a great meal. I use to eat here often in the 80's and for convenience have been eating at local Chinese restaurants in the burbs...my loss! The service was very good and the food was fresh, hot & flavourful. The prices may be a little higher than I am use to but, as they say, you get what you pay for! Extensive menu makes choosing difficult but the waiter was helpful. We are looking forward to our next meal here! read more

Had not been to the Silver Dragon in years, but we went at the invitation of our travel agent and friend. There were 7 of us which allowed us to get a good mix of dishes. Our host also ordered a special noodle dish (her favourite) with black bean sauce, and Peking duck, which was amazing. Always fun to be here. Lots of families and a great mix of folks. The food is consistent. Classic Chinatown! Atmosphere ***** Service **** Food **** read more

Wow, is this place ever busy on a Sunday afternoon ! We had Dim Sum. It was my first time, and it was excellent. I love this place. We shared a whole bunch of things, and everyone of them was most delicious . The service was great. I did not pay the bill, so I have no idea how expensive or inexpensive it was. But, the place was packed to the rafters ! So that is a very good sign. Sure hope to come back one day . read more

Food was DELICIOUS and the waitstaff quick but the bartending (done by waiter) was HORRIBLE. Ordered a mai-tai (first mistake) and was brought a green drink, cut with Mountain Dew, I sent it back and drank water, all the while the waiter insisted it was a MaiTai.... Anyway, food was delish. Did I say how good the food is? read more

I heart dim sum. The first time I had it was only a year ago....*gasp* ..i know I know ...i lived under a rock as a child SORRY! I went with some girlfriends from work along with our language barrier breaking friend. I would just tell her what I wanted in English and she would wave her hand and quickly rattle off what I asked for...heaven!. She was a life saver that's for sure. I still don't know what half of the items are called but I do know its all amazing! We would usually go at lunch time and it would always be full when we walked in with more people standing at the door patiently waiting. I'd recommend making a reservation! The ladies roll their carts of goodies around the floor and ask each table if they would like some. They come on small plates that can be easily shared using the Lazy Susan in the middle of the table. I love love love their shrimp toast. It is very rich and you can only eat a couple but they are delish! The prices are good, its always really reasonable when we come with a large group. I have never gone there for anything but dim sum so I'm not sure what their menu entails. Even if you don't speak Cantonese or mandarin you can still get along just fine, the ladies always have somebody to translate amongst the staff. Its a great experience to have and there is so much to choose from you have to try it out! read more

Hey there--in town for the Calgary Folk festival and was recommended this restaurant by one of the hotel staff where I was staying. This restaurant is known for for its dim sum apparently. That's about all I would order if I ever go there again. My entree suffered from the "hey let's give the Caucasian guy lots of filler/vegetables and no chicken/meat syndrome" and he won't notice trick. I travel the world and have been in thousands of these type restaurants. Even after asking TWICE I never got nearly the same caliber of entree as my Chinese neighbors at the next table over. Not a pleasant experience my friends. I hate being taken advantage of. read more

We went here for dim sum on a Friday afternoon. Parking is expensive around Chinatown! $5/hr. This restaurant was recommended to us and it pulled through. Fresh dishes pushed through carts, service was great, something unexpected from a popular Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Half of the patrons there were not Chinese so I guess other people agree with me. A little pricey and limited choices although we got all the basics today: har gow siu mai, chicken feet, tofu meat rolls and rice shrimp rolls sticky rice. One of the severs even volunteered to order shrimp rolls for us when there was none and we asked her if her cart had any - wonderful! Her name was Amy - thanks Amy! I also wanted some congee but they gave me a menu that only has scallop congee. I would return here again. read more

They got the best ginger beef and hot pots here. They invented ginger beef and many others try to imitate it but they can never duplicate it. Been coming here for over 20 year. They are the best. read more

Once again, Chinese food in Calgary is way better here than back home. Silver Dragon is a fancier chinese restaurant with authentic food. My coworker ordered in Cantonese so I can't tell you what we got but see the picture I'm attaching for an idea. read more

Silver Dragon Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

Team Fam came here for lunch and we had the following: Shrimp Dumplings ($5.50) Pork Dumplings ($5.50) Chive Dumplings ($5.15) Beef Rice Flour Rolls ($5.15) Radish Cake ($4.50) Water Chestnut Cake ($4.15) Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gao) are pretty much the hallmark of dim sum. Theywere unsatisfying here. While the shrimp balls were juicy, the skin of the dumpling was mushy and lacked a chewy texture. The Pork Dumplings (Siu Mai) were also disappointing. The pork filling tasted old and lacked a fresh feeling in each bite. They certainly looked the part though. The Chive Dumplings (Gao Choy Gao) were the best out of the three dumpling dishes we had. These were juicy, full of shrimp and chive, and this time the skin had a chewy texture that made eating the dumplings exciting. The Beef Rice Flour Rolls (Ngao Yook Cheung Fun) were disappointing in that the skin was mushy and the beef inside had too much of a bitter aftertasteassociated. It was around this time I began to feel our table was getting a lot of lukewarm dishes and the kitchen was just trying to offload dishes it couldn't during the lunch rush. The Radish Cake we ordered straight from the kitchen and these were amazing. Super fluffy but with the right amount of oil and flavour is how I like my Radish Cake and the restaurant delivered. These went great with the vinegar and we ended up having two orders. The Water Chestnut Cake is a dessert that looks like a kind of jello. It was a mix of jello and nut in the taste department and while it's not something I'd try again, my mom loved it, so it's worth a try if you are interested in hot Chinese desserts. read more

I am not a Chinese food connoisseur, but I'm going to venture to say, that this is the best Chinese food in town. Service is ok, kind of basic, but they are polite. I know where I'm going to be going whenever I get Chinese food cravings :) read more

I was here for dinner recently - the food was really good. I highly recommend the ginger chicken and the asian greens in oyster sauce. The cashew chicken dish we ordered had very little chicken and the vegetables were chopped fairly small that only a spoon was suitable - unless you used chop sticks to eat the small pieces of green pepper one by one. I did not mind the price of the food as it was much better than most Chinese restaurants in Calgary. My main issue that night was a man seated a table not too far from us and was making Skype or FaceTime calls on his iPad without ear phones to multiple people. He was not eating while we were there. The host went over to him - I thought he was going to ask him to be more respectful of people who were actually eating - but I have a feeling he was either staff or a regular, because the host chatted with him on several occasions between calls. read more

We scouted this place for dim sum to find the horrible customer service. We were sitted all the way back with no utensils and an unclean table. The servers were visually unhappy and were shouting in chinese. They thought we couldn't understand, but we knew that they were throwing profanities towards each other. The vegetables were really pricy, but the dim sum is good. The front desk person with short hair is really rude. We paid and she was so unhappy with us. Never recommend this place to anyone. Restaurant experience is not suppose to be all about the food, it's about the atmosphere too. read more