Little City Chinese Food — Restaurant in Calgary

Wasn't very impressed with the food at all from Little City Chinese in the NW on Centre street. I was very excited to get my (appx $50 worth of) food after not eating much all day. I am from Strathmore, and we have a couple Chinese places that are so good it makes you compare... And in this case it wasn't in the defendant's favor.

I ordered the Salt and Pepper Squid (with a request for Xtra spicy), Thin Cantonese Chow Mein Noodles, Deep Fried Chicken wings (hot), and four Spring Rolls. Once I opened it, it all looked, well, half decent. You could already tell the noodles were bone dry, and the salt and pepper squid was so dry that even in their attempt to dump more chili flakes on top (a poor excuse to add heat in my opinion), they all fell off and I was left with chewy, dry, flavorless seafood for $17. It was also a very strange take on wings. I know people have different takes on dishes, and that the amount of breading considered to be reasonable is subjective, but I had like, an inch of breading on every wing. I paid $12 to bite in to some crispy grease, more or less. And they were plain.. I mean come on, at least try to put some hot sauce on or something.

The spring rolls were a 5/10 and were the best things they had, pretty sad. Little City Chinese only got 2 ⭐'s because at least it was edible. It was not very good and I won't be back. Really is disappointing to spend $50 on sub par cuisine. Think twice before you order from...

Ordered delivery and my total was 60.60. I paid cash with 100.60. The delivery man started suspiciously slowly handing me cash back and asked me if I was good with almost $10 not returned to me (therefore to keep as his tip). I said, how about you give me the last $5 of the $10 remaining and you can keep the other $5. He said "uhhh ok", swatted the $5 bill at me, ignored my "thank you!", and muttered unkind words with his back turned to me as he shuffled off my doorstep. I live in a house, with easily accessible street parking. I think $5 for a 5 min drive delivery drive from the restaurant is certainly not offensive?

I called the restaurant with the intention of just letting them know about what happened. If it was my business, I'd want to know about these kind of experiences. The young woman answered and I explicitly asked if she was open to feedback--after hesitation she agreed, and I let her know what just happened. She gave me the vibe that she could not care less, sadly. I hope she replies to this review and can clarify for me her perspective. I want to give the benefit of the doubt but, it seemed like she just was bothered by the comment and didn't know what I wanted her to do about it. A genuine but brief apology was all that was needed and wanted. I was only trying to help. She said, "well maybe he's having a bad day or something, I don't know. Most people love his service you're the first one to complain". I find this...

An interesting spot for Chinese cuisine.

Counter service only (take-out or delivery) and the walk-in area could use a serious cleaning. Optics count when customers come in, and it generally gives people an understanding of how things are kept/cleaned ... including a kitchen.

Peering around the entrance to the kitchen shows a similar 'look' to the foyer of the place. Not great IMO. It really does appear sanitation rules aren't as important as they should be (purely appearance comment)

HOWEVER, my wife swears by the food and when she's had a hard day/week, bringing home Little City (for her) yields a 'Happy Wife' (happy life). And to be transparent, she's a papered Chef, so individual opinions aside, the fundamentals are present in the food here.

Very friendly customer service, everyone appears to be working hard. Clean up the foyer, clean up the kitchen and my rating...