Kalvin's is quite popular and busy. They have a variety of Szechuan food. It is quite cramped in here so you will probably have to wait for a table during peak hours. Their organ stew is delicious if you're into that.
Great food, very busy and probably will run out of good stuff early, so I recommend coming earlier for dinner! I wanted to try their duck but unfortunately they were sold out and I got there around 8:30pm.
My husband and I go past this restaurant so many times and it's always full house. So one day we decided to dine here and we got the last table. We ordered one stir fry chicken dish and one mixed organ meat with veggies hot pot. It was very different taste from other Chinese restaurants we had tried in the past due to the fact we really hadn't dine at many taiwanese restaurant. I thought the food wasn't bad and above average but my husband didn't like the taste. The price is bit pricier than other Chinese restaurants though. I would like to try different dishes there but have to do without the husband since he whines every time I want to go there.
After a weekened movie, we decided to grab dinner at Kalvin’s Szechuan Restaurant on Victoria Drive. In spite of “Szechuan” in the restaurant’s name, this is not really Szechuan restaurant. The menu offers dishes that span not just Szechuan region, but also Shanghainese and Taiwanese cuisine.
Just a friendly reminder to customers that Kalvin's Restaurant is on holiday this month and will reopen in April. Customers were reminded when they visited early this month & signs were also posted outside the restaurant as well; however in case some people have not received notice, I am posting it here so everyone knows (:
○great service
○my go-to place for Taiwanese/szechuan food/ favorite dishes are spicy pork/ beef with chili peppers , halibut with fried soy bean
○very affordable price for quality and quantitym
○hard to find parking
○small restaurant / family friendly but a little tight
○reserve first so you don't wait long
○if I had to choose 1 dish: pan fried black fish
○would I go back? Definitely
Nice authentic Taiwanese-Szechwan food, but unfortunately, they don't serve stinky tofu anymore, which was a huge disappointment because I've been scouring the city for it, but otherwise, the food was really good. It can be a bit on the salty side, so a lot of the dishes are best served with white rice.
Solid chinese food with GREAT SERVICE which is rare! Had the beef rolls, 3 spice chicken ( bit too salty, and beef and bamboo chili pepper. Would definitely good back
I grew up in this neighbourhood so coming back here after so many years was nostalgic for me. The food has not changed but the interior is no longer old and decaying! It has now been transformed into a beautiful restaurant, equipped wit the lazy susans and white tablecloths and also a very cute washroom doorway curtain.
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The place is rather small, hole in the wall type and ordered a few items previously, for take out and it was definitely slightlly above average. right and -cash only- and will need to reserve a table prior to coming.
I also went here for my grad dinner, and pre-ordered some items that are needed to be ordered a few days prior to coming, and so far the wood is wonderful i'll say, it's more to the subtle taste, and it's something that i like, so that when i do eat a lot i don't numb my tongue by having too many strong flavours. With that being said, i ordered quite a few number of items, i didn't take a picture on most of the items, on most of the items they are good indeed. the soup that i preordered i think it's very good too the name is chicken and garlic in hotpot, it reminded me of my mom's cooking the broth of the soup is base on the boiled chicken. the shrimp with lettuce is just okay though, but still good.
other than that, the restaurant in general is nice, and i would definitely recommend the place, and be sure to pre-order your pre-orders and be on time, and enjoy the dinner :)
*****CASH ONLY**** highly recommend that you call for reservations. Kalvin's is small and set up for traditional family style service. Food is excellent and the service is extremely friendly.
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Kalvin's Szechuen is a small family-owned restaurant that serves delicious Taiwanese/Chinese food. It was already fully-packed around 5:30 pm, so it'd be a better idea to make a reservation ahead of time. They only have big tables (except for 1 or 2 small tables) that fit about 6-9 people, and the dishes are pretty big too. I recommend to go with at least 3 or 4 people.. Not ideal for two people. We got PRESERVED EGGS WITH TOFU for our appetizer. It was a simple cold dish consisted of preserved eggs and tofu, topped with green onions, dried bonito flakes and hoisin sauce. It was a good start. Pretty light, and the combination of each ingredient was good. SPARE RIBS IN HONEY GARLIC was better than I expected. Although I like honey garlic flavour in general, I barely order in Chinese restaurant. Since my friend insisted me trying this dish here, I gave it a try and it tasted really good. The meat was soft and juicy while holding a rich flavour. The outside was crispy, not soggy at all. The sweetness didn't overwhelm the whole flavour of the dish. BEEF AND TON CHOY IN BBQ SAUCE was really tasty with a bowl of rice together. It is oily but that is what makes this dish tastier! The beef was tender and the stem of ton choy had a nice crunchy texture. The sauce was somewhat nutty (?) which I personally liked about. This is my first time trying this dish, so I can't really compare with other restaurants, but the Chinese-food expert J said it is just the average. He said he could make a better one at home (I doubt). FIVE SPICE BEEF IN CHINESE PANCAKE was another dish I tried for the first time on this day. It looked like a snack-size for me yet it is definitely filling... I couldn't continue eating after this. Since the portion here is very big, the 4 dishes and 2 bowls of rice for 2 people were too much in the end.... As I mentioned earlier come here with bunch of people. You will get to try a variety of dishes :) PROS + Great tasty food + Affordable price CONS - Desig
Awesome family-run little place. My group of 10 were very impressed with Kalvin's tonight. Standout dishes: the duck; eggplant with garlic & pork; special noodles with seafood & pork; deep fried red fermented pork chop; chicken with dried szechuen peppers & friend peanuts. We ordered 2 big steamers full of XLB's and they were good too. It's worth noting that we ordered 10+ large dishes (including a duck) and had loads of leftovers for $15 each including tax & tip.
Good to know: it's cash only; there were lots of servers running food and one lady (an owner?) was exceptionally attentive and lovely; Kalvin checked up on us numerous times and gave us ordering suggestions; the chairs are nice and actually comfy (unexpected! it's really tiny inside the restaurant but the owners' care is evident in the details).
Excellent Taiwanese food. I love coming to Kalvin's for one dish, the red fermented fried pork chop on rice, it is the best in town! It is cooked to perfection. The xiao long biao is also quite good, it is filled with soup and the dumpling skin is nice and thin, the pork filling is cooked nice, I have not tried much of the other dishes on the dinner menu. I have only came for lunch most of the time, but I assume their dishes are well executed and tasty as well. They are very busy every day, a 30 minute wait by the door is normal.
Excellent authentic homestyle Taiwanese cuisine. Reasonably priced. Don't miss the beef noodle in soup and steamed dumplings for lunch. And if you're adventurous, try the cubed pork blood with intestines. ;)
Kalvin doesn't cook much.... I came here today with my parents. They suggested I try some authentic Taiwanese Szechuan. I agreed. The place is tiny. Eight tables and probably 30 seats. Make reservation if needed. We were quickly seated and looked over our menu. Lots of choices and the bickering began from the parent table. Once it stopped they agreed upon the Special Fried Noodles w/ Seafood, Pork and Vegetables, pig stomach and vegetable soup, Salty Peppery Chicken and Shanghai steamed buns.
The dishes came out with in 15 minutes. Fast and hot. The chef (Kalvin?) came out and greeted the regular patrons. He looks like a older Jackie Chan and very much like a Mainlander. He sat at some of the patron's table and chatted up a storm. I wondered if he is just for show and someone else does the cooking?
Yes, this is truly a family owned place. It's is sort of a hole in the wall, but a worthy return from future lunches and dinner.
Authentic Taiwanese Food. This restaurant has been a regular spot for my family to eat since it's opening. It provides yummy authentic Taiwanese food - basically one of the best in Vancouver. Whether it's the appetizers or the entrees, most dishes are full of flavor. The satay beef/lamb with vegetables along with the wu gen chang wong (stew) and three cup chicken (san bei ji) are some family favourites.
Although Kalvin's is located in a small place that's not easy to spot, you will want to return again and again after the first try. Keep your eyes out for this hidden gem!
Hidden gem. I really felt like having some good pork dumplings and Kalvins did not disappoint. The fried pork dumplings were flavourful and juicy. My family ordered the salty peppery chicken and I must say, it was better than Beefy Beef . The chicken was juicy and tender. I notice that recent renovations had just been completed and the room is much nicer and cleaner. It was a delightful lunch and I will be back.
This resturant is good... But they don't open on Wednesdays ):
All in all, I would say that I was very impressed with Taiwanese cuisine. Sure, their ingredients may be on the more exotic side (if you don’t particularly enjoy the feeling of hesitatation originating from considerate sensibility when being asked about dinner, then Taiwanese cuisine might not be for you), but the sheer variety of tastes blew me away. It’s places like these that really reward adventurous taste buds. I’m glad that I moved on from fried fish with creamed corn… although if you put that in front of me right now, I’d demolish the whole plate before you can say “oh wow, did he just inhale that entire plate through his mouth?”
We went to Kalvin's for my birthday. I always like going with a bunch of people because that means we can order more food and try a variety of dishes - granted, we always order the same dishes. We return often and recommend reservations.
They have a 96% rating on Urbanspoon and a 4 star rating on yelp, which is pretty impressive! Kalvin's is a Taiwanese - Szechuan restaurant famous among the chinese community for their take on classic taiwanese dishes like red fermented pork, pork skirt meat and san bei chicken! They also have a large selection of spicy szechuan dishes. They even have dim sum items like XLB and dumplings. You can also buy their dim sum frozen if you ask. Service Kalvin's has surprisingly good service. The waitresses were real
Kalvin does spicy very nicely. Maybe that’s where the ‘Szecuhen’ comes into play but who knows? Lo Pan recommends any spicy dish at Kal’s. Eggplant/fried tofu/pork/beef in chili garlic sauce are bloody awesome. The kung pow looks glorious though Lo Pan’s tongue hasn’t been tickled by it as of yet. The spicy hot pots are famous here as well. Just look for “fondue” on the menu. Because of course, spicy Chinese hot pot is just like cheesy or chocolaty treats from the Swiss Alps. We all know Heidi and the Von Trapp family were famous for cooking up Peking Duck and sucking back xiao long baos. Irregardless many patrons seem to indeed be yodeling with delight as they enjoy these spicy cauldrons of innards and mystery meat (maybe Kalvin has included Hobbes in the menu).
I would definitely come here again. GREAT food and service, especially loved the Deep Fried Bean Curd Roll and the pork! Friendly service is plentiful here!
BitterSweetLife Food
+4.5
This is a what someone might call a "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant location, because it was pretty hard to spot and pretty easy to miss as we drive by it xD All worth the confusion though. So glad my mom made reservations because, this restaurant really only has like...10 tables (about 2x 10-person table, 2x 6/8-person table, 4x 4/6-person table, and 2x 2-person table) I was surprised though, this place seems to be pretty well-known, so I expected something a bit bigger :) There were a lot of people who came in and were told to try again another day =/
Hidden on Victoria Drive is a family operated Taiwanese restaurant called Kalvin's. The food is fresh. The service efficient. The selection covers the regular dim sum and Chinese food fare, but some interesting other dishes or dishes made with different twist than typical Chinese restaurants. Our choice was a dim sum selection presented below. Good portions and all you see was about $30.00. I think a dinner at Kalvin's will be an even more interesting experience. Anyone wants to join me? Meanwhile, here's our dim sum. Five Spice Beef in Chinese Pancake - a twist on beef roll with lighter dough and nicer spicing Pan Fried Chives Dumpling - oily but packed with chives Red Bean Paste Cake - heavier than most other places, but tastier and just the right sweetness 10 Shanghai Style Dumplings - the most soup filled ones I have had in the city; very well done. Kalvin's Restaurant 5225 Victoria Drive Vancouver, BC 604-321-2888
Evaluating this restaurant based on taste and value it definitely rates well in my books. The promptness does need to improve. Very hard to get back to work on time if the food takes so long to come out. Or, I would recommend you come when you are not restricted by time.
Food was absolutely delicious!! Authentic Taiwanese food. Great value esp if you dine with a group. Food was served really fast!
A month or so ago, there was a discussion on Chowtimes about having a chowdown at Kalvin's Restaurant. After much discussion, Kevin from 604foodtography decided to take charge of the chowdown. He put up a post on his blog and sure enough, a great group of 15 got together to have the ultimate chowdown at Kalvin's Restaurant. I met a few other bloggers too which was super exciting. The ones that were in attendance were - The Friday Lunch , The Petite Foodie , The Daily Slif , Sea Salt with Food , Ed Eats , Chowtimes , Sherman Food Adventures , Yum O Rama , and of course 604Foodtography . There were also non bloggers too that join in on the festivities. I've actually never heard of Kalvin's Restaurant until I saw it posted on Chowtimes. This is why I love reading other blogs as well; you really discover all the hidden gems in and around the city. Kalvin's Restaurant looks like any other Chinese restaurant, so it is quite easy to miss as you are wandering around Victoria Drive. I arrived p
About a month ago, in the midst of a whole bunch of stupidity , Kevin from 604foodtography , suggested a big ol' chowdown at Kalvin's Restaurant . Within a day or so, thirteen of us responded with a resounding " Hell, yeah! ". From a rather depressing, unfortunate day, the focus was returned to where it should always be in the food blogging community…on the food! After all, that's what we're only here for…right? Other bloggers at this night's feast included: Sherman from Sherman's Food Adventures Ben & Suanne from Chowtimes Angie from Sea Salt With Food Jessica from Yum-O-Rama Ed from Ed Eats Diana from Foodology Russell from The Daily Slif Strange thing about Kalvin's …the awning says " Kalvin's Szechuen Restaurant " so I was all geared up for a fiery, chile-laden feast. Turns out they put up mostly Taiwanese fare. No problem…I'm game for anything! There were a few spicy dishes and some interesting Taiwanese I'd not yet tried. This'd be one of those dishes I'd put in the " I'l
Overall, everyone thought their food was delicious and perfect over rice (most dishes are very saucy). However this restaurant is small, make sure you make reservation no matter your group size. Even with reservation, there is no guarantee (like my first experience). So my one piece of advice, go on weekdays or before 6pm on weekend to avoid the crowd.
Kalvin's Restaurant is as authentically Taiwanese as you can get in Vancouver. Though the restaurant space is small, no bigger than my room, they serve up Taiwanese & Szechuan style food every night to the hungry & homesick (like me). You are warned, they
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