Gwailo: New Hong Kong-inspired restaurant opens in Calgary
Gwailo, a fun new Hong Kong-inspired restaurant and bar, just opened in Calgary.
Serving killer cocktails, craft beer, amazing wine, and delicious Hong Kong-adjacent cuisine, this Inglewood spot is a heck of a time.
This bar and eatery is found right underneath the very popular Rain Dog Bar.
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Gwailo is a Chinese term that translates to “Ghost Man”, and is commonly used when referring to Chinese food dishes that have been Westernized in some way.
Chef and co-owner Chris Wong embraces the term by making it the restaurants namesake, which places fun, modern, and Western twists on traditional dishes.
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The menu at Gwailo is perfect for enjoying cold beer and crushable cocktails.
It’s made up of sharable starters, bowls, larger plates, desserts, and even shoa kao sticks, which are traditional charcoal-grilled sticks served with a side of house tare.
Both salty and sweet options are all over the menu here, as well as spicy if that’s your thing.
For starters, there’s house-made kimchi (a solid sign for any food spot), house-made steam buns, tempura-style crab rangoon, and “strange flavoured” peanuts, to name a few.
The unique shoa kao sticks, which we’ve never really seen done in Calgary before, are served with both vegetarian and meat options, like halloumi grilled cheese with honey, or the lamp rump with hoisin and cumin spice.
The bowls and plates are perfect examples of Westernized classics, like a dan dan style-bolognese, steak fried rice, or the beef burger, a charcoal-grilled patty served with tempura mushroom confit, pickled cucumber, butter lettuce, and a black garlic and peppercorn aioli.
All of these amazing items are even better enjoyed in the darkly lit space, with great tunes and eclectic décor.
Check out this Hong Kong bar with a speakeasy feel and try some incredible new food dishes.
Gwailo
Address: 1214 9th Avenue SE, Calgary