Owner and chef Shan Tien Han with his popular garlic pork.

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Hans

Frustrated by the lack of fresh Chinese food options in town, my boyfriend and I have been preparing our own Chinese food at home, guided by Barbara Fisher’s amazing food blog, Tigers and Strawberries.

Week after week we wondered why we couldn’t find fresh wok creations in Calgary, and why every menu we came across featured syrupy ginger beef and no fresh options like Kung Pao chicken.

Finally, after doing some online research and checking out a few local food blogs, I found Hans, a tiny eatery in Chinatown’s City Plaza located across from Thai Tai.

Entering through the restaurant’s screen door on a lovely Thursday night, my boyfriend and I find an unassuming small space brimming with activity and delectable aromas. The tiny restaurant is nearly full, and from what we see on the tables, we know we’re in for a treat.

What Hans lacks in ambience, it more than makes up for in awesome cuisine. Owner Shan-Tien Han came to Calgary from Taiwan in 1997 and has over 32 years of experience preparing tantalizing Taiwanese and Szechuan dishes. He and his wife Homei (our server for the evening) opened Han’s in 2004, and I’m happy they did.

Looking over the menu, we are tempted by a wide variety of dishes. Deciding on five, Homei stops us at four and says: “That’s enough, save some for your next visit.” We smile. She already knows we’ll be back.

Within minutes she is back with rice and our first dish, the Palace Style chicken with dried pepper (a.k.a. Kung Pao chicken, $12.50). Sizzling fresh from the wok, the dish consists of tender diced cubes of chicken, green and red peppers, whole bird peppers (hot!) and dried peppercorns. We like that the bird peppers are whole, and take nibbles here and there in an effort to control the heat of the dish. The dried peppercorns are also whole and offer a solid crunch.

The next dish to arrive is the sliced garlic pork on soya sauce ($10.50). It’s love at first bite. Topped with fresh green onion, the thinly sliced pork melts in our mouths with delectably salty-sweet soya sauce. This dish is not to be missed on your visit to Hans. Trust me.

Next we try the stir-fried spare ribs in sweet and sour sauce ($13.50). I admit not being the biggest fan of this dish — although we liked the sauce and the flavour, the ribs were a little too chewy. I’ll pass on these next time and try the crisp fried tofu instead.

The braised long beans in soya sauce was possibly the best dish of the night ($12.50). Hailing from the Szechuan region in western China, this dish is prepared by “dry frying” the beans until they are golden brown and perfectly tender. Hans tops this dish with dried shrimp, ginger, minced pork and green onions. The result is mouth-watering — bursting with fresh flavour and a fantastic complement to the other dishes.

At just $55, we have plenty of food for leftovers. Couples can easily get by with just two dishes on a visit to Han’s. If you’re like me and love leftover stir-fries, however, you’ll want to get a little extra for the next day. These dishes are exceptionally good, even on the second go round.