Going for a late night stroll through Kensington, looking for soup with Michelle, we stumbled across the fact that the popular over-priced Vietnamese restaurant, "Indocine Bistro", is no longer and has been replaced by a cheap, North-American-Chinese restaurant, "Wok n' Roll".
The sign outside is black and green and looks cheesy and cheap, but once you step inside and look at the menu, you can tell it wasn't the same graphic designer that designed the menus. The menus are simple but nice. (Maybe it's because they're black, and I really like black anything.)
Not in the mood for much else, we only had their large Wor Won Ton soup ($10.99) that night, which was easily enough to feed 4-6 adults. Big. The wonton wrapping was too thick, (but our waiter came to our table to acknowledge this fact and explained that when they ordered the wonton wrappers, they realized too late that they were sent the wrong ones), and the filling was just "average". Still, the quantity and quality of all the other ingredients was very good, especially for the price. Overall, it was a slightly-above-average Wor Won Ton Soup by Calgary's standards.
We returned the following night and ordered their Grilled Pork & Vegetable Dumplings (10) which were good (only a notch or two below the ones at "Ginger Beef" in Brentwood), but at $8.99 for ten of them, quite the bargain. For my taste, they lacked just a tad bit more ginger, and some more green onion, but that's me...
In addition to the dumplings, we also ordered some Cantonese Chow Mein ($10.99) which was a huge serving. Unfortunately, while the chow mein was palatable and did have a "good" taste, it's not at all what one expects with chow mein and though we did finish it, it's surely the worst chow mein we've ever had. The noodles were soft (but not fried), there was no "sauce" and I'm really not a big fan of bean sprouts (filler?) in chow mein.
Since then, we've been back three more times (for a total of five visits) and if I were to summarize Wok n' Roll in only three words, it would be "cheap huge portions". Their appetizer "Platter for Four" (#8 – $12.99) includes 4 jumbo spring rolls, 4 grilled dumplings, 4 turkey-sized chicken wings and enough dry garlic spareribs to fill the plate. I can't stress enough how big the portions are. My favorite dish there (so far) is easily the dry spareribs (which aren't very dry at all, very juicy) and #61 – Pan Fried Prawns with Mixed Vegetables ($13.99) which is very garlicy and delicious, but most importantly, actually has a lot of prawns (unlike most places that offer "prawn" dishes that are mostly vegetables).
We've spoken to the owner (Kitty) on every visit, and on our last visit, she revealed to us (in related conversation) that she's well aware that her portion sizes are huge, and cheap. To her, she's just charging "a fair price" and says if it's too much food, you can always take it to go. Two dishes are definitely enough for two people to walk away stuffed, maybe even have some left over. (Oh, and she says she's always more than happy to make half-size orders too!) Kitty used to own a larger restaurant in Cochrane and told us that her father used to own "The Golden Inn" in Chinatown and her uncle (now working as her chef) used to be the chef at "Charlie Chan's" in Kensington years ago...
If you're looking for authentic Chinese food, Chinatown is still your best bet – but Wok n' Roll is full aware that they're a "North-American-Chinese" food restaurant and are intentionally trying to appeal to conservative, Canadian palates... Which for me, makes it a great place to go for cheap eats in a pinch (especially since it's less than a block away from home) but still not an alternative to authentic Chinese restaurants in Chinatown (which are also not always 100% exclusive either – you have to know how/what to order). But if conservative North American Chinese is your thing...
I'm not sure if this is a grand opening promotion, or if Wok n' Roll intends to keep this going indefinitely, but for every $10 you spend, you get $1 in Wok n' Roll money. Since you can use it right away, it's basically 10% off for everyone. Makes their prices even cheaper and seem too good to be true, I know! Check it out and let me know what you think...
Classic Wok n'Roll Chinese Bistro
314 – D 10th Street NW
Calgary, AB
+1 (403) 283-8608
Post a comment below and let me know what you think!
12 Responses on Classic Wok n' Roll Chinese Bistro
Wok n Roll,
It was a great place to go because I'm a student at SAIT and coming from China, I want real Chinese food and not the fake shit. But the owner there, "Kitty", was willing to make me what she had. So my first night there, I had take-out because my parents had been in town from China. We had:
So we were really happy because of what they would do to make their customers happy.
Thank you.
I have personally known the owner of Golden Inn Restaurant since the day it was open, and have 1 known owner, please get your fact straight before you would make a post to promote a restaurant like classic wok n roll.
Hi Ken:
Are you suggesting that I was lied to by the owner of Classic Wok 'n Roll and that her father never actually owned the Golden Inn?
For what it's worth, I never did say myself that this is true, I simply said that that's what she told us...
Let me know – thanks!
DM
To my knowledge you have been lied to, her father never did own the Golden Inn, I have known the owner of Golden Inn for 35 years now.
I just wanted to say I've myself known the owners of Wok n' Roll for a very long time. Are you sure she didn't say uncle? I am 100% sure her dad didn't own the place, but of my knowledge, her uncle does own Golden Inn. Please do not call her a liar if things have not been cleared. Thank you.
WOW! That is what I would like to say. The price is so cheap and you're getting so much food. The owner (Kitty) is very good at picking out food that you could/would like. So if you guys don't know what you want, ask for her and she will sure enough help you find the best! I spent $100 for 15 people and plus I got these coupons, so that's an extra 10% off my meal. I highly recommend this place to people who like the Western Chinese food.
I'm glad to hear that after all this time (almost a year later) the portions are still big. Indeed, Kitty is very personable and the prices are incredible, especially for the Kensington area.
Thanks for your comment.
DM
The food at Classic Wok n' Roll has always been fresh and always full of flavor! Never failed to meet up to the customer's expectation!
I had just gotten back to Calgary after a long road trip and was itching for some good Chinese food in the evening and happened to stumble upon Wok n' Roll. The restaurant name caught my attention and it went uphill from there.
The service at the restaurant was very engaging; the waiters were extremely friendly and they were able to make a special order for our friend that was unable to ingest gluten.
Once the orders came out, we had realized that the proportions were out of this world. They were HUGE. Their house special fried rice was delicious. As me and my friends are very health conscious, the most appealing part of the meal was the minimal use of msg/oil. We go there often now.
Ever since my boyfriend took me out to this restaurant, I couldn't stop coming back!
I just wanted to say that other than their HUMONGOUS portions that they have an excellent service and a sanitary place to enjoy a very meal.
I have gone to Wok n' Roll a couple times, and I have to say that the food is good and the prices are great. Also, the restaurant itself is very nice inside and a nice place to enjoy your meal at.
I've been there a few times, and the foods is incredible amazing there, just the way I like it. The service is excellent there, the server Kitty, has pick out a few items out of the menu for me. AND DAMN! She has chosen the right food for me!. I'm still dropping by and eating there still am.