Restaurant Serving Traditional Cantonese Tim Sum Cuisines

My Favorite Tim Sum Cuisine - Braised Chicken Feet

I was in Calgary with the family and we were treated to tim sum by a friend. Another Malaysian friend that we have befriended from one of my son's reacquaintance with his former high school classmate that is going to school in Canada. We were invited to Tea Pot China Bristo on Harvest Hills Boulevard located on the North East side of Calgary. This tim sum place seems to be popular with the people in Calgary, especially those living within the area.

Shrimp Stuffed Chee Cheong Fun

I was amazed with the crowd even at eleven o'clock in the morning. The diner were already full inside and more people were still trying to come in to the restaurant. Apparently, this tim sum place is famous for their late opening hours and longer opening times. They serve tim sum until three in the afternoon. There were just a consistent flow of people coming in and leaving the diner. This was just the opposite of what recession looks like.

Steamed Glutinous Rice

At least from my personal observation and how I have imagined it to be. I am amazed, most restaurants are still doing well in spite of the economic down turn in Alberta. The prices of essential goods and food in Alberta is higher than British Columbia in general. And business such as restaurants are doing well. For some even better than before the economic downturn. I actually asked one of the restaurant managers about this positive trend and was told that the restaurant has been doing good as if the slower economy has not affected the business at all.

Marinated Pork Ribs

The manager also told me that Tea Pot China Bristo belongs to and is managed by a company operating a group of restaurants with different brand names catering to different demographics and all their restaurants were doing as well. Diners today are looking for uniqueness. They are not so particular with taste and flavours. So long as the food taste decent enough and has appealing presentation, the main priority would be a place to hang out with people of the same age group and of similar interest.

Tea Pot's Signature Barbecue Pork Buns

In general the tim sum that I have eaten at Tea Pot China Bristo was authentic and tasty. The dining experience was just like walking into a tim sum restaurant in one of those luxury tim sum restaurants in Hong Kong. I fairly enjoyed the atmosphere in the diner. The crowd and the noises really adds to the ambiance of a tim sum restaurant. The tim sum cuisines that were served in the diner wasn't exactly different from any others but the crowd makes it seem liked how a tim sum place should be.

Bean Curd Sheets with Enoki Mushroom in Abalone Sauce

I have been to many tim sum restaurants, be it in Vancouver or any other parts of the world. This one is just vibrant and the ambiance was just right. But having said that, the important element for a successful tim sum place lies in the crowd. Therefore, location is the main key. The people that still visits this traditionally old breakfast hang out are ethnic Chinese. A tim sum place will only be successful if there were enough older Chinese leaving in the area. Because the right ambiance to hang out with friends and sharing a pot of Chinese tea is the reason to do tim sum.

Fried Shrimp Wuntun

Rice Porridge

Siew Mai

Curry Squid