PDA

View Full Version : Review: Fire Kirin



flipstah
01-30-2012, 01:36 PM
Fire Kirin
Unit 500 - 12101 Lake Fraser Drive SE
Calgary, AB T2J 7G4
Tel: (403) 278-8018

Another culinary adventure was taking place and this time, it was in the deep south where I visited a ‘contemporary Asian’ restaurant called Fire Kirin.

At first glance, the place is decorated wonderfully; classy, modern, clean. A lot of dark accents for my liking (dark wood for example) and too many decorations but it works. It was my first time being there and with the recommendations of a good friend of mine, I went for a ride that I will never forget.

Remembering what was ordered is hard because they have two different menus and only one is available in the website. We ordered a lot of food too so I’ll just talk about the ones that stood out to me. From what I can see though, order from the smaller menu (one-page, double-sided, beige-colored)

The Kung Pao Chicken was sweet with a little kick that chases you after. It was inviting and adds a pinch of burn in the tip of your tongue.

Next up was this peppercorn chicken dish and if you dive in too quickly, the heat knocks you out in a good way! With dried chiles in its arsenal, it’s a delicious meal that can be soothed with steamed rice, Kirin string beans, and tofu. Not too salty and not too spicy to the point that it’s not even edible; a little over the margin, which is good (for me).

There was also a spicy fish soup that was a bit sour and spicy… sort of reminded me of Malaysian-style cooking. Can’t remember what it was called…

To cool down I got the Imperial Pastry, which is the only time I can actually stomach red beans. Most of the time, I can’t eat anything with red beans (hate it) but somehow, this place made it work. I switched the green tea ice cream with coconut ice cream and it was perfect. The pastry was soft but piping hot so you have to wait for it to cool a bit.

This place is now one of my favorite restaurants in town but I’m just sad that it’s so far in the south! For all you Fish Creek peeps though, visit this place and you won’t regret it! Price is a bit higher than usual Asian resto’s but definitely worth the price and the drive.

To top it all off, I heard they do fresh, hand-made noodles if you call in advance! Totally going back!

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5

TomcoPDR
02-28-2012, 12:49 AM
Just a re-enforce of the review above... went to Fire Kirin last week.

DISCLAIMER: I used to work as a dish-pig in my younger days, and the owner/head chef of this place is someone I know. But I'm still trying to write an unbias review.

A couple of old "restaurant crew" friends called me up, saying they wanna check out this place because it's opened/owned by a chef we used to work with. (percentage of ownership shares or how the agreements go, I have no idea)

But this is a pretty top notch Calgary chef that's been around the sushi, Asian, and just restaurant scene in general... Out of all the chefs I've worked with, Ken's one of the most memorable and respected chefs I know... I remember in the days, (different restaurant), he never look down on anyone (most the time a lot of head chefs I've seen do try to act like "Ramsay" bitch or hit on the waitress, degrade the dish-pigs and bus boys, etc...)

But I'll always remember Ken treated everyone well, whether it's the owner, or the guy pouring water at the tables (i.e. ME)... Made sure everyone is well feed at the begining of the shifts, or between shifts and during break.... Always use his PERSONAL time, to come up with new dishes (i.e. during 2-4pm break time, he would be inventing different dishes, and we'd get a chance to try; this isn't at Fire Kirin, a different restaurant)


Anyways, So our table did get a little bit of a speical treatment, there were a couple of "on the house" stuff... (don't want to trick anyone here)

The setting/renovation... it was a brush up from the last restaurant "Royal Thai" (I've eaten there as well)... It's setup up where you can have privacy, private chats, I'll be honest, it's not really a "high end" setting... I'd say it'd be a good version of a "nice place" if you're in high school or college... for the 25yo and older, it'd be a normal Moxie's, Earl's type of sit down.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_1173.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_1172.jpg

I really like their menu logo... I told Ken he should look into trademarking that... Because we joked about the original restaurant that started on that property was called D.F. Chan's... which had an enforcement claimed against it based on infriging on the copyrights (or trademark) of a franschise named P.F. Chang based in the States... kinda why they closed down and then turned into a Sushi place "Yomuzua" or something and then a Thai place.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_1171.jpg

I have no idea what we ordered, because as stated, some dishes (I won't lie) were on the house, and some were ordered by the crew... I'm just there to purely eat.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_1174.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_1175.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_1178.jpg

The main focus of this restaurant is that he's trying to combine his experience from different styles of cooking he knows incorporated into one setting. The whole "contemporary Asian cuisine" feel... he does have background in a variety of cooking styles.

He did warn, the bases of this place has some deep, heavy spices... so some of the dishes would be an aquired taste.

I remember one dish, where it was "meat" (I thought it was beef), but later on they told me it was lamb. :( (not really hardcore on the baaaaaa, but by then I've already chowed down like it was my favour anicent Asian dish: The Ginger Beef)

But Ken didn't just entertain/chill with us (as a crew he knows), he actually spends time with other customers as well... At this time he's actually the only chef that cooks all your meal, so you're getting the owner/head chef cooking your food directly... His daughter does do some of the cooking as well, but mostly prep for now.

At some point, there'll be sushi incorporated at this place as well, however, unfortuntely, his master sushi Japanese chef has taken some time off to deal with family related things effected by the tsunami. :( All the best to him.




Food: 4/5 (includes presentation)... deep spices, possibly an aquired taste
Ambiance: 3/5 (depends on what you're going for, good for dates, but not cool with couple of dudes)
Service: 4.5/5, has potential if owner adds in some "Moxie's, or Catus" type of babes

phreezee
02-28-2012, 10:35 PM
Looks like a cool place. What's the pricing/value rating?

flipstah
02-28-2012, 10:37 PM
Mid-range ($15-20/dish).

If I like it, it's good.

If TomCo approves it, then you know it's the place to go!

TomcoPDR
02-29-2012, 12:31 AM
Originally posted by phreezee
Looks like a cool place. What's the pricing/value rating?

Ah sorry, yea Flipstah is correct... 3 people, came out to $80 something (mind you, some were on the house for us)...


Originally posted by flipstah
Mid-range ($15-20/dish).

If I like it, it's good.

If TomCo approves it, then you know it's the place to go!

Quite the opposite, when I chill in Richmond Vancouver, I love going to that 24 hours "9" won ton place in the Future Shop mall on No.3, all the authentic Azn ppl tell me its disgusting, but that's the first place I go the first midnight arriving in Van.

BigDL
02-29-2012, 09:26 AM
Originally posted by TomcoPDR


Quite the opposite, when I chill in Richmond Vancouver, I love going to that 24 hours "9" won ton place in the Future Shop mall on No.3, all the authentic Azn ppl tell me its disgusting, but that's the first place I go the first midnight arriving in Van.

Mmmm that place is good especially when your hungry late at night.

max_boost
02-29-2012, 09:27 AM
Originally posted by TomcoPDR


Ah sorry, yea Flipstah is correct... 3 people, came out to $80 something (mind you, some were on the house for us)...



Quite the opposite, when I chill in Richmond Vancouver, I love going to that 24 hours "9" won ton place in the Future Shop mall on No.3, all the authentic Azn ppl tell me its disgusting, but that's the first place I go the first midnight arriving in Van.

:werd: to #9.

Why is it called 9 anyway?

flipstah
02-29-2012, 10:05 AM
Originally posted by max_boost


:werd: to #9.

Why is it called 9 anyway?

#8 was taken. :rofl: