Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine Review: A Second Calgary Dim Sum Breakfast

We’d had dim sum the night before at Silver Dragon, five dishes between two people, and it was genuinely too much. So the next morning, walking into Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine, which sits within the Chinese Cultural Centre building itself, we ordered exactly four. It was technically less food. It might have been the better meal.

Samuel Jeffery holding chopsticks with a bite of food at a table set with shrimp rice-crepe rolls, egg tarts, and barbecued pork buns at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — Three of the four dishes on the table at once — proof that keeping the order small still left plenty of room to spread out and actually enjoy each one.

Four Dishes, Deliberately

We were the first people through the door that morning, which felt like a small victory in itself. Five dishes the previous night had left us close to a food coma, and neither of us wanted to spend the rest of the day recovering from breakfast instead of exploring the city. So this time we kept it simple: four dishes, chosen deliberately, no repeats of the excess.

Sliced zhaliang rice rolls with crispy golden fried dough visible inside the translucent rice noodle wrapper, drizzled with soy sauce, at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — The dish I’d never had before that morning — crunchy fried dough wrapped in soft rice noodle, the kind of texture contrast that makes the whole plate disappear fast.

The Rice Rolls

We started with a shrimp rice-crepe roll, the kind that comes soaked in sauce underneath, and it was immediately one of my favorites — the shrimp inside fat and succulent, the whole thing built to be a little messy in the best way. Next up was something I’d genuinely never tried before: zhaliang, a Cantonese dim sum dish that wraps crispy fried dough inside a soft rice noodle roll.

04:18 – Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine

Ours arrived with two sauces on the side, one that looked peanut-based, one closer to sesame, and trying both turned out to be the right call. The contrast is the whole point — chewy, soft rice noodle on the outside, crunchy fried dough underneath, and a sauce that ties the two textures together instead of just sitting on top of them. It’s not a dish I’d have known to order on my own. I’m glad it was on the table.

Rectangular baked barbecued pork buns with a flaky, golden-brown pastry exterior, sliced open on a plate at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — My favorite dim sum of the whole trip, and the shape gives it away — rectangular, not round, with a flaky exterior that’s more savory than sweet.

The Barbecued Pork Bun (and Why It’s the One to Remember)

This is the dish I’d tell you to go there for. In the moment, I called it my favorite dim sum of all time, and I stand by that. It immediately reminded me of Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong, though this version looked nothing like the ones I remembered — those were baked round, this one came out rectangular. The exterior was flakier than what I recalled, and the flavor leaned savory instead of sweet, which felt less like a compromise and more like a genuinely different, equally valid take on the same dish.

Close-up of a Hong Kong-style egg tart with a smooth, glossy yellow custard and flaky pastry shell at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — No caramelized top, just a clean custard finish — the visible tell that this is Hong Kong style, not Macau style.

Egg Tarts to Close

We finished with egg tarts, warm, soft custard inside a flaky, buttery shell, and the style immediately read as Hong Kong rather than Macau. The difference actually comes down to something you can see: Hong Kong-style tarts have a smooth, glossy top and a more restrained sweetness, while Macau-style tarts carry a caramelized, almost scorched top and a richer, sweeter filling. Ours had none of that caramelization, just a clean custard finish, which tracked with everything else about the meal — nothing here was chasing an over-the-top flavor, everything was just done well. Everything tasted genuinely fresh, too, and the pork buns and egg tarts in particular seemed like they’d come straight out of the oven, which is not a small thing at a restaurant serving a packed weekend dim sum crowd. Keep a napkin handy regardless. Flaky pastry has a way of ending up everywhere but your mouth, and it’s worth it anyway.

Audrey Bergner holding chopsticks at a table with shrimp rice-crepe rolls soaked in sauce at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — Audrey with the shrimp rice-crepe roll, sauce pooled underneath the way it’s meant to be — one of the first dishes we ordered and an immediate favorite.

Worth the Visit?

Yes, and on its own terms, not as a lesser echo of the meal we’d had the night before. This restaurant offered plenty we didn’t get to — a full pastry case and a broader menu we simply didn’t have room for after choosing to keep things light. Here’s the practical rundown:

A printed dim sum menu page from Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, listing dishes such as har gow, siu mai, and steamed B.B.Q. pork bun with prices in Canadian dollars. — The printed menu, for anyone who wants to see the full dim sum lineup before going — steamed B.B.Q. pork bun is listed here too, a different item from the baked version I ordered.

Detail	Information
Location	197 1st Street SW, Suite 88, within the Chinese Cultural Centre building, Calgary, Alberta
Cuisine	Cantonese dim sum, Peking duck, seafood
General Hours	Mon–Thu 8:30am–9:30pm · Fri–Sun 8:30am–10:30pm (check current hours before visiting)
Dim Sum Service	Weekend mornings; exact start time worth confirming directly, as it may have changed since our visit
What We Ordered	Shrimp rice-crepe roll, zhaliang (fried dough rice roll), barbecued pork bun, Hong Kong-style egg tarts
Also on the Menu	A full pastry case and broader all-day menu we didn’t get to

Audrey Bergner descending a staircase toward the "Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine" restaurant sign at the entrance within the Chinese Cultural Centre building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — This is what “located within the Cultural Centre” actually looks like — down a staircase, not next door, which explains why we remembered the walk differently.

What I can tell you with confidence is this: order the barbecued pork bun. If zhaliang is available, get that too. Four dishes, chosen with a little restraint, turned out to be plenty. Chinatown sits right at the edge of downtown, so if you’re still working out where to base yourself for a Calgary trip, you can check current downtown Calgary hotel availability within easy walking distance of here.

Close-up of a shrimp rice-crepe roll with visible shrimp filling, soaking in dark soy sauce on a plate at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — Fat, succulent shrimp under a soft rice wrapper, sitting in exactly the amount of sauce it needed — one of the four dishes that made keeping the order small an easy decision.

And if you’re stringing together a full day of Chinatown eating rather than just this one stop, Calgary’s downtown food-tasting tour is worth a look — you can compare what a guided food tour covers against building the day yourself the way we did.

Close-up of a dual dipping sauce with peanut sauce on one side and dark hoisin sauce on the other, sprinkled with sesame seeds, served alongside zhaliang at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. — Peanut on one side, hoisin on the other, sesame seeds scattered across both — the “try them both” instruction turned out to be the right advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is zhaliang?

Zhaliang is a Cantonese dim sum dish made by wrapping crispy fried dough inside a soft rice noodle roll, usually served with a dual dipping sauce. It was one of the standout dishes during my visit.

What’s the difference between the baked and steamed barbecued pork bun?

The version I ordered was baked, with a rectangular shape and a flaky, savory exterior. The restaurant’s printed menu also lists a steamed version, which is a different item with its own texture and presentation.

How can you tell Hong Kong-style egg tarts from Macau-style ones?

Hong Kong-style egg tarts have a smooth, glossy top and a more restrained sweetness, while Macau-style tarts have a caramelized, almost scorched top and a richer, sweeter filling. The tarts I had were Hong Kong style.

Is Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine located inside the Chinese Cultural Centre building?

Yes, the restaurant is located within the Chinese Cultural Centre complex in Calgary, reached by a staircase down from street level.

How does this compare to Silver Dragon?

I’m not ranking the two against each other. We visited Silver Dragon the night before and ordered five dishes, then deliberately kept it to four dishes here the next morning. Both meals stood on their own, and this review focuses on what made this specific breakfast worth it.

What should I order at Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine?

Based on my visit, the baked barbecued pork bun is the dish worth prioritizing, followed by the zhaliang if it’s available. The shrimp rice-crepe roll and Hong Kong-style egg tarts rounded out a satisfying four-dish order.

This article is also available in Spanish. [Leé la versión en castellano: Reseña de Chinese Cultural Centre Cuisine: Un segundo desayuno dim sum en Calgary]

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