A Touch of Ginger Delight

My favourite go to place in Kensington! Great prices, great food. Staff are kind, thank you!

I’ve eaten here numerous times over the years and never had a problem, in fact I’ve always enjoyed it a lot. This past weekend I stopped to grab takeout to bring to a friends house. I called ahead so the order was ready when I arrived. Before leaving, I asked if they included the sauce I asked for when I called — luckily I asked, because they forgot it. No big deal, it happens. My usual order of beef vermicelli with spring rolls tasted really good, but about 30 minutes later I got violently ill — this was the only thing I had eaten that day so I’m positive that was it. Too bad because I really liked this place!

Vietnamese phở restaurants are a dime a dozen — its not often you find one good enough for another visit.
A Touch of Ginger Delight in Kensington wasn’t one of those, which is a great thing because I’m always out and about in the area and crave phở on a regular basis.
Walking into this small restaurant on 10^th Street NW you immediately notice the exotic fish in two large fish tanks and interesting Asian décor typical of most Vietnamese restaurants.
The interior is a bit out of date but this isn’t unusual for phở restaurants. It’s not bad enough that you start wondering if you should eat there or not which is a bonus!
Apart from the interior and awesome location, the food is absolutely cheap and high quality! I always try the phở sate beef soup (spicy) — rice vermicelli, onions, cilantro and beef strips served in the house special soup as it is a good measure of how good (or bad) a phở restaurant is in my books.
Also great are the salad rolls and spring rolls. These two are always a must-​have with any phở or bun meal!
Definitely no complaints, the food was great and quickly served and our server gave us more attention than you typically receive at phở restaurants. Awesome!
Two thumbs up, check it out!

This is my go-​to place for vietnamese cravings. When I am out walking in Kensington and want a satisfying, cheap, and relatively healthy meal… this is exactly where my wandering feet take me. If I am feeling lazy, it is easy to order right to my door. Can’t argue with that.
Don’t expect to be blown away by the décor — it is pretty minimalistic, except for the fish tanks (I’m still kind of on the fence with that…)
Bottom line — this place has great value. It is THE best for those instant vietnamese cravings I get every few weeks!

This is my favorite Vietnamese place in the city.
Why? Because I am poor. I am poor, and this dainty little hole in the wall is ridiculously cheap. And delicious. That’s a winning combo for any 20-​something.
I’ve seen dubious things here. I’ve seen a fish in their decorative tank that looked like it would go meet the good Fish Lord at any second. I’ve seen children that must be no older than 12 busing tables and bringing me water. They’re cute, but I think that’s illegal. I’ve seen two patchouli-​smelling hippies groping one another in the back corner over two hot steaming bowls of soup.
But none of those things can ruin this place for me. Know why?
1. Big portions. You will not leave hungry unless you’re some sort of eating demi-​god.
2. Delicious bubble teas. You can ask for real fruit if that sort of thing is important to you. As for me, I don’t care. I just like slurping up those little bubble things.
3. Everything is good. I normally stick to my traditional vermicelli fare, but I’ve sampled other things — lemongrass something-​or-​other, spring rolls, veggie rolls, skewers, soup. it’s all good.
4. Visual aids on the menu. Seriously, I just stare at those photos until I’m hungry enough to eat something — which is usually right away.
This is your perfect dining spot if you want to get in, get loaded full of food and then roll your smiling, bloated butt back home.

True hole in the wall. This place is pretty ghetto on first glance. Tiny space, dark interior and no ambient music. The food is on the cheap. One of the things that I really liked about this place is all of the aquariums. While munching on some cheap Vietnamese food enjoy the burble of water pumps and the company of exotic fish swimming about. Not the place for a nice date, but a great hideaway for a meal in solitude.

We went here in the dead of winter and made reservations beforehand. I remember frequenting a restaurant with this name, in this vicinity in the early 90s, but I’m not sure if it was this exact location. It looked like it had been around for ages so I will assume this was it. We used to go here because it was cheap and the food was good and for a poor student that was all good.
A bit of a cramped restaurant, but everything we had ordered was very tasty. There is a big variety of items to choose from on their menu. Everything is still exceptionally priced and their service was friendly and fast. Still a great spot!

The food was delicious. There are great vegetarian options and the food is fresh and comes out quickly!

Is there anything more annoying than discovering that you lived right beside an amazing restaurant for the last year and didn’t even know it?
I actually have to thank Unilocal for this one because we were looking for a vegetarian option in Kensington and didn’t want to eat at Calgary’s usual veggie-​dish suspects (Gratitude Café, The Coup).
But because I love, love, love my meat, it was becoming difficult to decide. We agreed that Vietnamese would be a great compromise and so we looked it up on Unilocal and found Ginger Delight, which is approximately a four minute walk from my house.
I went with a native Calgarian and she said she had lost track of how many times her and her family had gone to Ginger Delight. She’d always loved it and today was no different.
We were initially shocked because the restaurant was empty when we came in. Luckily a guy on a date with his blackberry soon walked in, so it didn’t feel as awkward.
The food was absolutely great and because it was vietnamese, it was also a great value! I got a huge bowl of rice vermicelli for $ 8.95 and my friend got the vegetarian special with tofo in the shape of shrimp (!) for $ 8.50.
Service was quick, efficient and almost non-​existent, just the way I like it!
Before we knew it, our dinner was done and we were completely satisfied, what more could you want. Ginger Delight has easily become one of my favorites in Kensington!

Not my favourite Phở establishment, but a decent one nonetheless. I love their meal deals — the imperial rolls here are to die for! You can get these, a meat dish and tea for under 10 bucks. Not bad for Calgary.
The phở is alright, tasty but not the best, but it’s nice and cheap. They have a pretty big selection of crispy noodle dishes, soups (Phở and Tom Yung) and meat dishes that keeps it fresh. It’s a bit of a hole in the wall, what with the glass covered tables and low lighting, but it makes a great place to go with friends. I always end up starving in Kensington, and this is my go-​to for fast, cheap, sit-​down food.

I think I’m salivating just thinking about the place. It’s where my intense love for phở started, as well as my strange cravings for steak tar-​tar… yes, raw beef! Marinated in wine vinegar and served with cilantro and crushed peanuts, this sometimes nose scrunching appetizer will always satisfy me. Drool!
Okay, enough about my odd eating habits and back to the rest of the menu. They have a bunch of different Vietnamese favourites including vermicelli dishes and the always-​popular soup. Their phở is absolutely delicious and is available in two sizes: meal size for those that are really hungry, or appetizer size for the little guys. I usually find it nice to order a bunch of appetizers instead of one big meal. That way you get a little taste of everything they have.
The nice thing about Touch of Ginger is that it’s not going to cost you a whole lot to feel extremely satisfied. Two can easily dine for less than twenty bucks, excluding alcoholic beverages. If you’re thirsty I’d recommend having a bubble tea. It’s pretty cheap and will last through your meal… not to mention it’s delicious!
The ladies serving you are always very enjoyable to be around. They seem to notice (and appreciate) their regular customers but are welcoming to newcomers and first-​timers too. I’ve never experienced the place to be too busy, so you’ll get the attention you need from the ladies. It’s a quiet meal, to say the least, but a pleasant one at that!
They’ve also got an enormous fish tank with some pretty impressive fish swimming around. It’s a somewhat interesting conversation piece. The tank used to contain a stingray, but it’s not there anymore. It’s too bad because it was creepy and fascinating all at the same time… much like the steak tar-​tar.
So I know you’re probably not going to try the raw meat, but at least try the restaurant out. It’s definitely one of my favourites for Vietnamese!