Tag Archives: Thai restaurants Calgary

Hungry Thaiger Has Given Up the Ghost

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Hungry Thaiger is now a sit-down restaurant

Nearly a year ago, I extolled the excellence of Hungry Thaiger, a Thai ghost kitchen in Oakridge Community Centre in suburban southwest Calgary.

But owners Somp (chef from Bangkok) and Travis (Saskatoon) have just realized a bigger dream: opening a full brick-and-mortar restaurant, a stone’s throw from the original.

Before

That means sitting down to a steaming plate of pad Thai noodles instead of slurping them down in a parking lot. Ironically, for logistical reasons, takeout isn’t initially available in this new home.

After

Either way, the food is fresh and fabulous, from standards like tom yum soup to more exotic bird’s nest noodles. Indeed, it’s arguably the best, most affordable Thai I’ve enjoyed in Calgary.

Excellent drunken noodles

But I’m not the only one to discover this gem. After a surprise CBC radio visit, it was standing room only, especially on weekend evenings.

Pro tip: The quietest times are early lunchtime on weekends.

Hungry Thaiger
3109 Palliser Drive SW, Calgary
Tuesday to Thursday opens at 4 pm, Friday to Sunday at 11 am. Closed Monday
587-229-8386

Hungry Thaiger is a Thai Ghost Kitchen Winner

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Hungry Thaiger is a fabulous family-run Thai ghost kitchen in southwest Calgary

I’m a sucker for ghost kitchens, pop-up restaurants, micro bakeries and pretty much any home-based food joints. Why? It’s largely because I’ve dispensed with the middleperson and am directly dealing, and chatting, with the owner, who is often the cook. In a lot of cases, I’m picking up the meal at the proprietor’s home or little place of business.

So when I hear about Hungry Thaiger, I hustle down to the Oakridge Community Centre in Calgary’s southwest. That’s where they run a second-floor ghost kitchen, preparing delicious Thai meals for pickup and delivery. It’s a wife-and-husband operation, with Bangkok-raised Somp tending a line of smoking-hot woks and Saskatoon-born Travis assembling everything else.

From this compact commercial kitchen, they produce a plethora of Thai curries, stir-fries and noodle dishes, some 25 in all. These range from the familiar green curries and tom yum soups to the lesser-known bird’s nest noodles.

Directions to Hungry Thaiger’s upstairs kitchen in the Oakridge Community Centre

For a first visit, I stick to the conventional pad Thai. Technically, I’m here for takeout, but I never make it past my parked car, wolfing down the steaming meal with a plastic fork. It’s fabulous stuff, a bargain $17 for the quantity and quality.

Fabulous pad Thai

Hungry Thaiger has been operating in this leafy neighbourhood for about a year, with area residents Somp and Travis hoping it’s a steppingstone to a conventional restaurant nearby. Me, I kinda hope they don’t give up the ghost.

Travis and mother assembling my steaming meal

Hungry Thaiger
9504 Oakfield Drive SW, Calgary (upstairs Oakridge Community Centre)
Wednesday to Friday and Sunday 4-8 pm
587-229-8386