For the Love of...: ...Sun's BBQ Restaurant (Calgary)

Overall - 7.5/10
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Food - 9/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10

Chinese bistro style cooking is how I would describe the food at Sun Chiu Kee. Located conveniently in the Lamda Grocery store and open early till late, you could easily eat and shop after being inspired by the delicious Chinese dishes you just had. The food is offered from a number of different menus that vary by the time of day. At first ordering can be a bit of a challenge to the novice eater in particular trying to figure out which menu to order from.


In the morning their breakfast menu incorporates many of the chinese staples including congee (rice porridge), and soy sauce fried noodles as well as many other tasty options all for a great price. For lunch noodles topped with the in-house made BBQ meats including pork, char-sui and roasted duck cannot be beat. Later on in the afternoon some cheap eats can be had until 5pm with an assortment of fried noodles and baked rice dishes. The dinner menu is vast and will take a number of visits to fully appreciate. For the night owls, an evening menu full of smaller late night snack items is available and the perfect way to cap off a night on the town.


During one of our lunch visits even though the menu has a number of different offerings we always end up choosing the assorted BBQ meats served over noodles. The windowed display of the days BBQ'ed meats that you walk past on the way to your table is just too good to resist. The roasted pork is tender, with just the right amount of fat and crispy skin while the roasted duck too is moist and nicely flavoured with five spice and star anise. Our favourite though must be the Char-sui which is pork glazed with a special honey soy sauce roasted to sticky perfection.

BBQ Pork and Duck Noodle Soup

BBQ Pork and Char Sui Noodle Soup

In my opinion though, lunch is not complete until a 'Yin-yang' coffee is had. This uniquely Hong Kong-ese beverage combines both coffee and tea with condensed milk and really is the best of both worlds. I'm really surprised Starbuck's hasn't jumped on board yet!

'Yin-Yang' Coffee and Lemon Iced Tea

Below are some selections from the afternoon snack menu. Looking at the portions though the word snack is an understatement. The fried noodles were topped with melt in your mouth braised beef flank and the crispy pork chop is smothered in a Portuguese curry sauce and baked over fried rice. For only $7.50 - $8.50 per dish which includes a complimentary drink its definitely worth it to show up before 5pm for this deal.

Braised Beef Flank Chow Mein

Portuguese Style Baked Pork Chop on Fried Rice

If however you want to try out the dinner menu remember that there are two to choose from. One is full of the classic Hong Kong diner fare which is a fusion of western ingredients and sauces with cantonese cooking techniques. The other menu has more traditional offerings made up of communal dishes to be shared amongst the table with white rice.


On the evening we dined we were lucky as there was still a wide assortment of BBQ meats available. Show up later in the evening though and don't be surprised if the lights in the BBQ display are dark and there is no more BBQ meat to be had. In addition to our BBQ meat platter we enjoyed a fried tofu dish which was flavoured with green onion and salted egg yolk. Seemingly a strange combination but the richness of salted egg yolks makes the perfect crust around the tofu which can often be flat and bland. Next was a hot pot of bitter melon and pork spare ribs in a black bean sauce. When prepared well as it was this evening the melon's bitterness is quite pleasant and balances the sweet saltiness of the pork and black bean sauce.

BBQ Pork, Duck and Char-Sui Platter

Salted Egg Yolk Crusted Tofu

Bitter Mellon, Pork Spare Rib Hot Pot

Having eaten here on multiple occasions we continue to be drawn back by the fabulous chinese BBQ, endless variety and affordable prices.