Ask around about Silver Dragon and you’ll hear the same sentence every time: it’s where you get ginger beef. That’s true, and it’s a reasonable reason to walk in the door. It’s also a shame, because ginger beef wasn’t even the best thing I ate there. Silver Dragon has been in Chinatown since 1966, it’s picked up the Consumer Choice Award for Southern Alberta more than once, and it currently ranks around #115 out of nearly 2,800 restaurants in Calgary on Tripadvisor. None of that reputation is riding on one dish. We ordered five that first night, and four of them turned out to matter more than the one everyone already knows about.
Ginger Beef Gets You in the Door
I’d been waiting years to eat this again, ever since my Edmonton days, and it delivered exactly what I remembered: tender underneath, crispy on the outside, that sweet-and-sour sauce doing its job. Good. Order it. It’s earned its reputation. But treat it as the appetizer to the meal, not the meal itself, because everything that came after outperformed it.
The Rest of the Order Is Better
We started with something I’d never tried before, shrimp wrapped in bacon and deep-fried, chosen mostly out of curiosity about how that combination would even work. It worked. Soft, juicy shrimp under a crispy bacon shell, the kind of textural contrast that makes a dish memorable rather than just good. It fought me a little with the chopsticks, enough that I gave up and pierced it just to get a grip, which is a minor complaint against a dish I’d happily order again.
Then came har gow, and this is where the meal actually peaked. Har gow is the classic Cantonese shrimp dumpling, wrapped in a thin, almost see-through skin made from wheat and tapioca starch, and it’s considered one of dim sum’s essential dishes for good reason. Silver Dragon’s version arrived plump and generous, one dumpling splitting open to reveal two or three whole shrimp packed inside. This is the dish I order every single time now, no exceptions, no curiosity about alternatives. If ginger beef gets people through the door, har gow is what should be keeping them coming back.
The lotus-leaf sticky rice was right behind it. It’s a Cantonese dish properly called lo mai gai, glutinous rice steamed inside a lotus leaf with chicken, mushroom, and Chinese sausage folded through it, and ours came out rich and a little sweet, with enough going on inside that every bite tasted slightly different from the last. We kept calling it our favorite mid-meal, which in hindsight was probably unfair to the har gow, but that’s how good it was in the moment.
Dessert was sesame balls, technically jian dui, deep-fried glutinous rice dough rolled in sesame seeds with a sweet paste hidden inside. We’d deliberately saved this one for last, which turned out to be the right call: crispy shell giving way to something soft and sweet is a genuinely satisfying way to end a meal that had, up to that point, been mostly savory. Total contrast, texture and flavor both, and exactly the kind of dish that makes “save room for dessert” good advice even at a dim sum table.
What to Know Before You Go
Silver Dragon runs a cart service for dim sum, daily, generally until mid-afternoon — dishes get wheeled table to table and you point at whatever looks good as it passes, which is likely how we ended up trying the bacon-wrapped shrimp in the first place. It’s a genuinely fun way to eat, though it does mean you’re at the mercy of what’s currently circulating rather than ordering everything up front. Here’s the practical rundown:
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Location | 106 3 Ave SE, Chinatown, Calgary, Alberta |
| Cuisine | Cantonese and Szechuan |
| Established | 1966 |
| Dim Sum Service | Daily cart service, generally until mid-afternoon |
| Hours | Mon–Thu 10am–10pm · Fri–Sat 9am–11:30pm · Sun 9am–9:30/10pm (check current hours before visiting) |
| Recognition | Consumer Choice Award winner (Southern Alberta); ranked among Calgary’s top restaurants on Tripadvisor |
| What We Ordered | Ginger beef, bacon-wrapped shrimp, har gow, lotus-leaf sticky rice (lo mai gai), sesame balls (jian dui) |
We were staying in Chinatown for this trip, so getting there was never a logistics problem, and if you’re planning a Calgary visit around exploring this neighborhood, that’s worth factoring into where you book — you can compare current downtown Calgary hotel options within easy walking distance of Chinatown. One more practical note: come hungry. Portions here are generous, and five dishes between two people was genuinely a lot of food by the end.
Worth the Visit?
Yes, and not narrowly. Silver Dragon earned its reputation the honest way, through six decades of consistency, an actual industry award, and a strong current standing among a city with nearly three thousand restaurants to compete against. Ginger beef will always be the reason most people walk in. Just don’t let it be the only thing you order. Get the har gow. Get the lotus-leaf rice if it comes around on the cart. Save room for the sesame balls. The dish with the famous origin story is good. Everything else at that table was better.
If Silver Dragon turns out to be just the start of your Chinatown appetite, Calgary also runs a downtown food-tasting tour covering several other local specialties — worth a look if you’d rather see the itinerary for a guided food tour than build the rest of your food stops one restaurant at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ginger beef the best dish to order at Silver Dragon?
Not in my experience. It’s the dish that draws most people in, and it’s genuinely good, but the har gow, the lotus-leaf sticky rice, and the sesame balls all impressed me more during my visit.
How does dim sum ordering work at Silver Dragon?
It runs on a cart service, with dishes wheeled table to table daily, generally until mid-afternoon. You point at whatever looks good as it passes rather than ordering everything up front from a menu.
What is har gow?
Har gow is a classic Cantonese shrimp dumpling with a thin, translucent wrapper made from wheat and tapioca starch. It’s considered one of dim sum’s essential dishes, and it was the standout of my meal.
What is lo mai gai?
Lo mai gai is glutinous sticky rice steamed inside a lotus leaf, typically with chicken, mushroom, and Chinese sausage mixed through it. My order came out rich and slightly sweet, with a different flavor in nearly every bite.
Where is Silver Dragon located in Calgary?
It’s at 106 3 Ave SE, in the heart of Chinatown, and has been operating there since 1966.
Is Silver Dragon a well-regarded restaurant in Calgary?
Yes. It’s a repeat Consumer Choice Award winner for Southern Alberta and currently ranks around #115 out of nearly 2,800 restaurants in Calgary on Tripadvisor.
Should I come hungry to Silver Dragon?
Yes. Portions are generous, and five dishes between two people was genuinely a lot of food by the end of our meal.
This article is also available in Spanish. [Leé la versión en castellano: Reseña de Silver Dragon en Calgary: Dim sum y ginger beef en el barrio chino]
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