DL Eats 16 Ave — Restaurant in Calgary

I would defintely classify this as a hole in the wall as I must drive past this place at least once a day and never knew there was a restaurant there. It's just a single story group of stores along 16 Ave NW and all I remember is there used to be a postal office there once. The only clue that food is sold is s sandwich board on the sidewalk. It's a small seating area with half a dozen tables. It's kinda cute, bright and cheery. I had dumplings and the cucumber salad. The dumplings would have been perfect if the filling hadn't been too salty for me. The sauce that came with them is a mix of soy sauce, house made chili oil and a dash of vinegar so i found it useless for the dumplings as they were already too salty and the sauce was mostly soy sauce. The wrapping was perfect, just the right thickness and pan-fried crispy so that the inside was juicy. I just ate the dumplings with the chili oil. The cucumber salad was ok but I found it could have had more flavour. I make mine with a hint of garlic and sesame oil at home. I was there around 4:30 pm. I understand mandarin more than I speak. It was interesting that several customers came while I was there and were clearly disappointed that the first thing, Liang Pi, that they wanted was sold out. It apparently sells out regularly and you have to come earlier. The other popular order was the Lamb soup. Staff are very pleasant and efficient. There is a huge kitchen behind the counter and a small freezer by the counter with frozen dumplings you can buy. The restaurant portion of the business is definitely not the main source of income. I would go back to try the Liang Pi and soup. Obviously this place must be authentic for so many people familiar with type of cuisine to be frequenting it. I saw people who came in refusing a menu as they knew what they wanted, another ordering ahead for Liang Pi to bring to a party. There is a parking lot beside the...

What I liked about the place was the food was not overly salty. And they prep each table with condiments like salt and soy sauce together with chilli crisp, pepper and vinegar. That way you can tailor your meal to taste. The biang biang noodle can be heard being made after you order with constant slapping of stretched dough from the kitchen. And they do a brisk take out business with third party apps. So the kitchen is busy and the food moves. What I didn’t like about it was the setting. It felt like going into a war bunker or a construction trailer except there are no windows. And in close proximity you are almost having a meal with everyone at all the tables. The other thing that happened to me was the order was prepared incorrectly and the wait staff brought out the menu to correct me. And went back to the kitchen to get the order redone. In the mean time they offered what they made incorrectly which was the 3-1 combo to another table at a discount. That felt weird especially because the other patron said ok in the spirit of saving time. The food is decent. Beats flying to Xi’an for biang biang noodle. The chilli oil is flavorful aromatic and not super spicy. I wished it was more aromatic and more spicy. Just don’t go there for a first date or for ambience. Don’t wear anything white and be prepared to splatter yourself with chilli oil as you work on your meal. They also don’t give you more than one napkin. This is a more than one napkin kind of place. Lastly what’s also weird is you order at the table and you walk to the back of the store to pay which requires you to impose your presence on the last patron seated in the last table as they eat. And right when settling the bill they will upsell you on a multi visit pass for the restaurant at a discount....

Truly a hidden gem that not nearly enough people know about; located in the most inconspicuous storefront by 16 Ave, it's a family-run business that offers a small but deliciously authentic Shaanxi style Chinese menu. Whether you like freshly made hand-ripped noodles, spicy food, or just want to experiment with a new cuisine, there's definitely something worth trying here for vegans and meat-lovers alike. Oh and it's all insanely affordable compared to most other places serving this level of quality.

My personal go to's are always between H3 biang biang noodles and the L1 liang-pi. They're the kind of rare dishes I could eat weekly for the rest of my life if I had to. But the best of all is their house special chilli oil that I always keep a jar of at home for my morning eggs – or to add a hint of spice to just about anything!

Simply can't recommend this place enough and I hope they stick around because there's nothing else like it here. P.S. It's more of a takeout joint than dine in and they're closed on Mondays (something I discovered by accidentally walking into their place one day while they were closed and the owners were still kind enough to let me buy some...