Foreign Concept

I came here with my girlfriends for their Chinese New Year dinner special. The food was absolutely savory and delicious. I didn't think I would be full as the portions are more traditional "fine dining" portions, but the flavors were remarkable, and by the end of the last course I was full. I was overall very impressed with the food and service here. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. There was a Chinese Dragon Dance performance as well, it was a lot of fun to watch the dragons and to hear the drums. My girlfriends and I had a memorable experience here. I will be going back for sure.

Found this restaurant on avenue magazine and decided to give it a try. Overall I would rate is 4.5 and here is why. Pros: Nice decoration full of Asian culture, you have a choice between dining area and sit behind a bar for a quick drink. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Food is amazing. Cumin lamb is surprisingly tasty, papaya salad has all the right flavours, pork belly melts in your mouth, Peking duck is on the less greasy side and tasty,l.Winner of the night for me is the squid ink spaghetti with Tom yum coconut flavour sauce and loaded of seafood. It’s a must order. Cons: no AC on a 31+ days isn’t very pleasant, papaya salad portion is small (1-2 people), nothing special with the steelhead trout. And this one is my personal bias: one of the pictures on the wall has this lady wearing traditional clothes that’s holding a hookah used for opium back in the days (I could be wrong in terms of what she is actually holding). It didn’t set the impression right from the start, but I would still give it 4.5 rating for the incredible food.

We had one of the best dining experiences of our lives tonight at Foreign Concept! The papaya salad was sweet and delicious with its wonderful dried satay. The duck dish was just perfect and very filling, and the calamari with green curry was creative and perfectly salted to my taste. Oh and the lemon curd beignet was to die for ! Also contrary to another review I read, we felt portions were generous. What really put the meal over the top was the very kind and genuine attention from Lanny who took care of us. Another highlight of the night we appear to have by coincidence been sat next to the owner of the restaurant Duncan Ly!

Wildly exceeded any expectations, all the dishes we tasted were perfection. Between 3 of us we shared the Tuna Sushimi, brussel sprouts, Nashville fried chicken, pork belly bao buns, and the Viet Clay pot. Cocktails were light and fresh; and we were treated to a birthday dessert as well. Our server was amazing, didn’t catch the name, but really was a big part of our fantastic experience tonight. Thank you for a great evening!

Have been there couple times, enjoyed everything we tried, menu is very unique and creative. I really liked the Pork Belly & Foie Gras Steamed Buns. Pork belly had lots fat on, thick cut, lean meat part wasn’t dry. Buns were nice and fluffy. Liked the decor, good environment, good service.

Beautiful space, definitely the perfect spot for a special occasion or dinner out with a group. Revised Review! I had previously given a 4 star, and said that they did a good job, but there are better spots in town for Asian fusion. I just went back to the restaurant for Summer Feast. First time back in a year. And I have to say I was super impressed with the new menu. The food was great and the service was fantastic! But what made the experience really special was the fact that Chef Duncan Ly personally came out (not once, but multiple time) to serve and check how things were. We had a 3 course meal with wine paring, and it was fantastic. Would highly recommend trying the following items: - beef tartare - tuna poke - 72-hour sous vide short rib - sake margarita If you get a chance to try Summer Feast (August 9-18) at Foreign Concept would highly recommend!

Each dish we had, had so much flair to it. They are quite unique. Favourite dish highlights: - The sliders were savoury and melts in your mouth. - The Siu mai was to die for. - The duck with crepes was a different take on Peking duck. - The milk baos were light, not overly sweet and felt like little pillows in your mouth. Service was exceptional and the drinks were delicious too! I'd highly recommend going here. Cheers.

Our first time eating here—early Valentine’s celebration— and one of the few restaurants that live up to its hype in our opinion (yup—he and I both agreed 😆). Kudos to our attentive server for making the experience enjoyable. 1. Green Mango and Papaya Salad: A must-try! All the flavours balanced from the sourness of the green mango, refreshing basil, to the texture of the beef (normally chicken sate) jerky. 2. Lemon grass glazed duck breast & duck confit with ‘crepe’. The Asian influence and French technique work in harmony when you bite into the self-prepared wrap. Omg, the perfectly-cooked duck breast, so tender & juicy 🤤 3. Steelhead trout with scallion rice noodles with a gocchujang-based shrimp paste: This fish is the winner in my eyes because you know me and how much I love eating fish. It’s not often that you find chefs that cook fish that is tender & flakey while still delivering a perfectly crispy skin. This is a dish that you must gather all the components together—crispy skin, flakey trout, scallion noodles, and the shrimp paste to truly capture its flavour 😍😍 4. Lemon Curd Beignet with a coconut sorbet & strawberry coulis: I’ll be the first to say I’m not a huge fan of French pastries. I like it, but often find it too heavy for my tastes. Another well-executed dish where all flavours worked in harmony. The crunch of the deep-fried pastry; the light zing from the lemon curd; a touch of the mint garnish; the tartness from the strawberry; the balanced coconut sorbet—all of these flavours together had Danny & I fighting for the last bite. We can’t wait to go back there again 😋

I came here with my girlfriends for their Chinese New Year dinner special. The food was absolutely savory and delicious. I didn't think I would be full as the portions are more traditional "fine dining" portions, but the flavors were remarkable, and by the end of the last course I was full. I was overall very impressed with the food and service here. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. There was a Chinese Dragon Dance performance as well, it was a lot of fun to watch the dragons and to hear the drums. My girlfriends and I had a memorable experience here. I will be going back for sure.

Found this restaurant on avenue magazine and decided to give it a try. Overall I would rate is 4.5 and here is why. Pros: Nice decoration full of Asian culture, you have a choice between dining area and sit behind a bar for a quick drink. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Food is amazing. Cumin lamb is surprisingly tasty, papaya salad has all the right flavours, pork belly melts in your mouth, Peking duck is on the less greasy side and tasty,l.Winner of the night for me is the squid ink spaghetti with Tom yum coconut flavour sauce and loaded of seafood. It’s a must order. Cons: no AC on a 31+ days isn’t very pleasant, papaya salad portion is small (1-2 people), nothing special with the steelhead trout. And this one is my personal bias: one of the pictures on the wall has this lady wearing traditional clothes that’s holding a hookah used for opium back in the days (I could be wrong in terms of what she is actually holding). It didn’t set the impression right from the start, but I would still give it 4.5 rating for the incredible food.

We had one of the best dining experiences of our lives tonight at Foreign Concept! The papaya salad was sweet and delicious with its wonderful dried satay. The duck dish was just perfect and very filling, and the calamari with green curry was creative and perfectly salted to my taste. Oh and the lemon curd beignet was to die for ! Also contrary to another review I read, we felt portions were generous. What really put the meal over the top was the very kind and genuine attention from Lanny who took care of us. Another highlight of the night we appear to have by coincidence been sat next to the owner of the restaurant Duncan Ly!

Wildly exceeded any expectations, all the dishes we tasted were perfection. Between 3 of us we shared the Tuna Sushimi, brussel sprouts, Nashville fried chicken, pork belly bao buns, and the Viet Clay pot. Cocktails were light and fresh; and we were treated to a birthday dessert as well. Our server was amazing, didn’t catch the name, but really was a big part of our fantastic experience tonight. Thank you for a great evening!

Have been there couple times, enjoyed everything we tried, menu is very unique and creative. I really liked the Pork Belly & Foie Gras Steamed Buns. Pork belly had lots fat on, thick cut, lean meat part wasn’t dry. Buns were nice and fluffy. Liked the decor, good environment, good service.

Beautiful space, definitely the perfect spot for a special occasion or dinner out with a group. Revised Review! I had previously given a 4 star, and said that they did a good job, but there are better spots in town for Asian fusion. I just went back to the restaurant for Summer Feast. First time back in a year. And I have to say I was super impressed with the new menu. The food was great and the service was fantastic! But what made the experience really special was the fact that Chef Duncan Ly personally came out (not once, but multiple time) to serve and check how things were. We had a 3 course meal with wine paring, and it was fantastic. Would highly recommend trying the following items: - beef tartare - tuna poke - 72-hour sous vide short rib - sake margarita If you get a chance to try Summer Feast (August 9-18) at Foreign Concept would highly recommend!

Each dish we had, had so much flair to it. They are quite unique. Favourite dish highlights: - The sliders were savoury and melts in your mouth. - The Siu mai was to die for. - The duck with crepes was a different take on Peking duck. - The milk baos were light, not overly sweet and felt like little pillows in your mouth. Service was exceptional and the drinks were delicious too! I'd highly recommend going here. Cheers.

Our first time eating here—early Valentine’s celebration— and one of the few restaurants that live up to its hype in our opinion (yup—he and I both agreed 😆). Kudos to our attentive server for making the experience enjoyable. 1. Green Mango and Papaya Salad: A must-try! All the flavours balanced from the sourness of the green mango, refreshing basil, to the texture of the beef (normally chicken sate) jerky. 2. Lemon grass glazed duck breast & duck confit with ‘crepe’. The Asian influence and French technique work in harmony when you bite into the self-prepared wrap. Omg, the perfectly-cooked duck breast, so tender & juicy 🤤 3. Steelhead trout with scallion rice noodles with a gocchujang-based shrimp paste: This fish is the winner in my eyes because you know me and how much I love eating fish. It’s not often that you find chefs that cook fish that is tender & flakey while still delivering a perfectly crispy skin. This is a dish that you must gather all the components together—crispy skin, flakey trout, scallion noodles, and the shrimp paste to truly capture its flavour 😍😍 4. Lemon Curd Beignet with a coconut sorbet & strawberry coulis: I’ll be the first to say I’m not a huge fan of French pastries. I like it, but often find it too heavy for my tastes. Another well-executed dish where all flavours worked in harmony. The crunch of the deep-fried pastry; the light zing from the lemon curd; a touch of the mint garnish; the tartness from the strawberry; the balanced coconut sorbet—all of these flavours together had Danny & I fighting for the last bite. We can’t wait to go back there again 😋

The food here is pretty good but pricey. For the cost, I expect a bit more. We went on a weekday night. It's a bit dark and dingy inside and half the restaurant wasn't being used; this place was not super busy, and halfway through our meal, we were the only people in the restaurant. The Parrot Thief cocktail is delicious and well crafted--it's smooth and doesn't taste like alcohol, but doesn't just taste like fruity sugar water either. The server recommended one small and one large plate (for three people) but that would've been way too much food. We did two small plates and three large plates and that was still too much. We got the fish sauce Brussels sprouts and tuna sashimi for starters. I loved the sprouts--nicely charred with a sticky and sweet sauce. The tuna sashimi was served with crispy prawn crackers. For entrees, we did squid ink spaghetti, the steelhead trout, and char siu pork fried rice. The shrimp with the spaghetti was nice and blackened, and that was probably my favorite one. The steelhead trout was okay--it didn't have a ton of flavor. The fried rice was average; the meat was diced up pretty thinly. The menu items are quite creative. I think it's a good place for a nice dinner out, but a little overhyped.

Quick service, good vibe, and close to the Calgary Tower. We were in town for work and a colleague highly recommended we stop in here. Everything was delicious and I would go back just for the fried rice.

Highly recommend! Hands down one of the best fusion place I've had. Every single dish was packed with Asian flavours. We tried the fish sauce caramel brussel sprouts, spring rolls, steelhead trout cha ca la vong, and the lemongrass duck breast. Spring rolls were super crispy and the veggies that came with it were very fresh. The fish sauce caramel brussel sprouts is super unique and went together surprisingly really well. The steelhead trout was def my favourite. The skin was extra crispy and had so much flavour. The scallion oil on the noodle, gave it that extra flavour. The lemon grass duck was cooked perfectly. It was so juicy and the lemongrass flavour was different but so good. I loved all the dishes to be honest and would 10/10 recommend this place to anyone go/in Calgary!

Great food and a good selection. My friends were raving about this place and brought my here before I returned to Toronto. I do admit the food was delicious. The server did recommend 1 small and 1 large plate per person. (That is way too much food and would be very expensive). Let's just say we did not order that much and were satisfied because the portion sizes are quite fair. Our small plates were the brussel sprouts and the cauliflower. Both were good but the brussel sprouts were a little burnt. We also ordered the fried rice and pork belly. I would have tried more dishes but we were pretty full already. Would definitely come back during my next trip to Calgary.

Innovative and every dish is incredible. Great cocktails too. Perfect for a crowd sharing family style. Plus they do delivery with door dash. It's not your typical Asian restaurant.

So much to eat and so little time. We were able to squeeze Foreign Concept in for a cocktail drink and snack during my Weekend in Calgary. A Pan-Asian restaurant with Jinhee Lee as Executive Chef in the kitchen. She had won various Culinary competitions and was the Top 3 finalists in Top Chef Canada Season 6. 2 Asian Inspired Cocktails and a Beef Tataki Love the plating. I love those little flowers. Cocktails were A OK but I would not say they were well crafted. I do like the more innovative approach which made them more unique. Sitting at the bar in an empty restaurant was a little awkward. Service was attentive. 3 Star for now. But back in the future for a full meal.

I was taken here on a Saturday night by a friend since I love fusion food and was told I must have food here. Atmosphere is delightful here. The walls are just the right tone with Asian floral. I really love it. It is situated near the Calgary tower downtown and parking is reasonable. Staff were friendly and responsive. The 2 large dishes were later than we expected and the server followed up, communicated the orders of trout and duck had been forgotten, and issued an apology. We were ok with that, Saturday night no rush to our next venue to meet friend at her house guests. Food itself was amazing. 1) For the small plates, we chose Brussel sprouts - I absolutely love brussels sprouts in general and the flavouring on this with sweet yet also flavourful with some soy sauce base. The crispy chips were tasty and light. I do not usually care for them particularly in general but here they were good As for the two large plates that we had - Alberta trout, and duck. who knew Alberta had such a great trout? 1) trout - The inside of the trout was perfect - just enough raw in the center. Side vermicelli was great. 2) The duck reminded us of our childhood - we both instantly recognized the taste-soy sauce with star anaise. We met Owner-Chef Duncan who introduced himself to us and mentioned he added coconut milk to the mix. Delightful. My friend who is Chinese also mentioned he like how the meat of the duck just melted off the bone, and also recognized the duck's flavour. Biggest compliment from him: this soy sauce/star anise/coconut milk duck was better than the way his lovely mother makes it. (Our parents/the generation before us would only want us to improve upon what they offered and achieved I suppose) Glad we had a chance to say directly that to Duncan directly! :) Dessert had Vietnamese version of what I felt was tiramisu. Drier than expected but still delicious. Bravo. I really liked this place overall.

We had read about executive chef Jinhee Lee winning the 2017 Canadian Culinary awards and knew we had to come here. The restaurant stayed full past 10:00 pm so reservations are recommended. Atmosphere: Not too loud. Sat by the kitchen and watched all the dishes come out. Albacore tuna carpaccio-nice and light. Very refreshing served with crispy fried onions for crunchy texture. Soy garlic caramel roasted eggplant - nice thick slices with pickled vegetables and herbs. Meaty eggplant that makes your tongue dance. Nice hint of sweetness. Char sui pork with foie gras steam buns- their signature dish. Served with cucumber, pickled kimchi, sliced compressed Pear, hoisin based sauce. Fantastic! Beef tenderloin forbidden fried rice-break the onsen egg and mix into the rice. Touch of truffle oil and lemongrass. Vietnamese coffee parfait-if you like dark chocolate go for it Passion fruit mango cheesecake-toasted coconut on the sides. Side of vanilla ice cream on passion fruit. Wow this was great. Our second visit here so we are fans of chef Jinhee and of course the food!

This restaurant was underwhelming. Went on a double date as part of a work dinner. We had reservations. My guest wanted to check it out. The hostess greeted us and asked if we wanted to sit restaurant or lounge side. They said the lounge side would have dim sum service - so we went to the lounge. We ordered a quite a bit of food. The experience started poorly but got better. - I would not recommend the charcuterie board. The mix of Asian inspired meats and pickled vegetables wasn't desirable or tasty. - we then split albacore tuna poke and the beef tataki. The poke was flavourful and plentiful - delicious. The beef tataki was also executed very well, great taste and texture to the dish. Both recommended. - for mains, the charsiu pork and foie gras deconstructed steam Bun was excellent. If you go here - definitely try that. The Alberta Trout was just good - nothing super memorable. - We also tried all the desserts as well, which were good. There was a Vietnamese Coffee Parfait that was the most popular - thought personally I was happiest with the coconut and pineapple gelato . The reason for two stars was really the service. I can't stand going to places where either a) they don't deliver on their promises or b) they basically "forget" about your table. - the dim sum service we were promised never came. No apologies, just a shoulder shrug from our server and an "I guess it's not coming". - very slow on water and sake replenishment. I served the table the sake bottle I ordered (we did not get any recommendation on sake despite the staff saying they learning/ learned about sake). - frequently had to hail down staff to ask for items. Outside of the service, the wall decor is interesting but the furnishings and table settings/ chairs are plain and uninspired. I wouldn't go back, nor would I recommend to friends.

We came to Calgary for my birthday and I wanted to try this place so badly after hearing about them on Twitter. I think the ideas are good, but the execution just didn't do it for me. The space itself is pretty and the staff were friendly. We were seated in the dining room (the lounge side seems a bit more casual, but they both share the same menu) and we had a direct view of the kitchen from our table. Starting off, I had the bourbon Vietnamese coffee, and let me tell you - it was delicious. Pricy, but this is a fancier Asian restaurant, after all. I was curious to see how they took simple, homestyle dishes that I grew up on and elevated them to "fine dining" - let's be clear here. This is not a typical inexpensive Asian restaurant so it is definitely pricier than say, going to Chinatown. Which we expected. But with the caveat that if you're going to be charging that much, I want it to be elevated - I want to taste why you're charging me 2-3x more for something that I can get at an "authentic" place for bigger portions and less money. We tried the beef tataki (tasty - you could taste that it was a good quality beef they used, but the sauce it was in could have used more flavour) followed by the bulgogi imperial rolls (crispy fried spring rolls that was in dire need of salt or other flavour with lettuce and daikon kimchi to make your own wraps. Texturally, I liked these, but it was so very very bland.) For our mains we did the fisherman's stew (again, lots of fresh tasting ingredients, but no flavour anywhere. There was also two pieces of Chinese doughnut that was blackened with squid ink - which, surprise surprise, also had no flavour) and the ling cod claypot (this was pretty good, but I'm also in love with ling cod - it was cooked very well and there was a decent sized piece of fish in the pot alongside peppers and rice cakes. The rice cakes were a really weird edition to it - this is definitely not something I'm used to in Vietnamese food - maybe Korean - but it didn't compliment the dish in any way) I think it's ok - it's not amazing, and it's not terrible, but I wanted it to be so much more.

I picked Foreign Concept for my birthday dinner. I was impressed with how smoothly the restaurant ran, from the hostess, servers to the food runners. On a Friday night, the entire restaurant was full, and it seemed to get busier as the night wore on. I liked that even though it was packed, the servers weren't rushing customers out after they finished their meal. The music was good, it was chill and upbeat. The volume was loud enough that you felt energized and felt like you were "out" but you could still carry a conversation without shouting. Drinks were reasonably priced and there was something for everyone. My husband enjoyed the Tokyo Direct from Last Best Brewery, a hoppy beer. The food was imaginative and delicious. We ordered the sweet potato cheese dish, salmon roll, Scotch egg, and Alberta trout. One of my favourite dishes was the salmon fresh roll, the ikura literally made this dish pop with the taste of the sea. The Scotch egg was another winner. The trout was perfectly cooked. This was the first time my husband and I tried trout and enjoyed eating it. The whole time I was eating, I was thinking of the line in Zoolander when Jacobim Mugatu kept saying about Hansel, "He's so hot right now". That's so applicable to Foreign Concept. Foreign Concept is so hot right now. The food is truly unique. It's not what I think of when I think of Asian fusion (heavy, deep-fried, gluttinous) . The food here is refined, with clean, unique flavours.

Checking out up & coming venues can be a hit or miss, and unfortunately for Foreign Concept - it was a miss. Understandably, there will always be some wrinkles to iron out when a business opens (we were offered complimentary wine due to a hiccup in their liquor license), and I had high hopes that there would finally be a good Asian fusion restaurant in Calgary but was left disappointed. Encouraged to have a "family style" experience, we ordered a few small plates and a couple big plates to share amongst ourselves. The Vietnamese style Scotch egg and miso baked sweet potato with cheese curds (I imagined a poutine!) were interesting concepts and well received with us. The salmon floss in the Thai style butternut squash slaw was overwhelming as the fishiness was the only thing you could taste after a couple bites. Thinking the veggies listed with the lemongrass chicken could tide over our vegetarian friend, it arrived with dollops of puree (for $26 you'd think you'd get actual vegetables) so we had to put in an order for gai lan for her. Granted, four huge prawns were served with the wild gulf big plate, but they were served "Asian style" (aka heads and shells still attached) and I could see how this was slightly off putting for my friends. Asian flavoring has a boldness that can enhance the taste & aroma of food, but only when the right balance is used. I think once that's figured out here at Foreign, people will become more receptive to the dishes.

Some of the things were done really well, others not so much. Atmosphere and service were excellent. Liked the decor and the waitress was so stealthy, I didn't even realize when my drink order had come or when my water glass had been refilled. Food-wise, we got the crispy lemon chicken which was good and tasted as expected. The brussel sprouts had a lovely soy garlic caramel glaze and were crisped to perfection. However, I have to admit that in this day and age, if you can't offer a perfectly cooked brussel sprouts option, I think you should just shutter your doors...the beets and goat cheese were a bit whatever. While I would have preferred my beets warm (esp in winter!), I recognize this is personal taste. My biggest complaint was probably the cheese to beet ratio which was like 5:1. With such a strong flavored cheese, I think the dish is better served with the reverse ratio. I typically don't like main courses or large plates as they are usually not done as well and less inventive so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the short rib! It was very tender and accompaniments matched nicely and were delicious. Dessert was very disappointing - we ordered the trio of ice cream (vanilla, matcha and coconut) and basically had a bite each and couldn't eat anymore. The texture tasted like ice cream that had melted and been refrozen and I couldn't even detect much flavor over the sickly sugary sweet taste. Not sure how you screw up ice cream...refer to my earlier comment about doors shuttering. Probably won't be back but it's nice if you don't expect too much and just want to go somewhere with good ambience and service.

This place is pure deliciousness and indulgence! If you haven't eaten here and have a celebration or even need a great date night place restaurant you should consider this restaurant! The food is brilliant and the service and room is really great too! Go eat at this restaurant!! I really love it here!

I ordered the Crispy Chicken Banh Mi for a cost of $18 and two Imperial Rolls which cost $6.50. The service was slow at the start, then decent during the meal, then when time to leave the server Emmy seemed to disappear.

Didn't eat left to go to Model Milk because they sat us at a decrepit uncomfortable table from the 70s, tucked away to the side. Bad atmosphere to say the least.

New to Calgary, I tried this restaurant after reading about it in an article that talked highly about it. A nice fusion restaurant, this one scores high on the ambience, theme and service. If you are a fan of charcuterie (branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products), this one is for you. I am not into that. I tried the crispy lemon chicken and it was delicious. The large dish - free range chicken was okay. The dessert Vietnamese coffee parafit was terrific. If you are a vegan or a vegetarian, there aren't many options for you as most of the dishes use a fish broth. I am going to remember this place more for the ambience than the food.

I wanted to really enjoy Foreign Concept and waited for weeks before going, but found it not that unique and expensive for what you get. Being Vietnamese myself, didn't find the descriptions for the Vietnamese inspired dishes accurate... We ordered a couple of small plates and a couple of big plates to share. Was expecting more flavour from the yuzu cured salmon fresh rolls but was not bad. Miso sweet potato poutine was a bit better but was missing something to round out the dish. The char shiu pork and foie gras steamed buns were pretty good and the best part of the meal. Recommend these for sure if going to the restaurant. We also ordered the trout - the fish itself was done well (not cha ca per the menu?) but the rice noodles they came with were lacking in seasoning and were oily. We were thrown off by the persimmon chutney on the trout as it didn't jive with the other components in the dish... Presentation was beautiful for all dishes. The restaurant was nicely decorated and had a good atmosphere. Service was great throughout and short wait times for food and drinks. I had the sweet temper cocktail (was average) and royal Jamaican ginger beer (delicious!). Overall wasn't blown away but it was good.

Dropped in last minute for date night. Despite the place being quite busy (at 6:45pm on a Friday!) we were able to get a table for two without a problem. The space is open and airy and casual. The menu is split between smaller sharing plates and larger plates. We ordered 4 small plates and rice for two people. Lemon chicken Beef tatake Eggplant Spring rolls And lime coconut rice Our waitress brought the plates out slowly, one at a time, then three at the end. Everything was delicious. I especially loved the tatake and the eggplant. My hubby liked the lemon chicken. Spring rolls were okay, sort of tasted like meatballs in egg rolls. Great service. Only thing that kept me from giving it a 5 was the fact that the food could have come out faster. We were no longer hungry by the time the eggplant, egg rolls and rice came out (about an hour after we had initially ordered). I would space the plates closer together next time. Would go back. There were more menu items that I am curious to try!

Went here with 5 friends a few weekends ago and have been meaning to post a review about it. I'm rarely blown away by every dish that comes out but this restaurant fit the bill. We had 5 appies and 5 mains which gave us a very good cross section of the menu, and all were great. I'll be back for sure.

Liked it but could be better. Our server was nice but was brand new and struggled to keep up on a quiet night. We enjoyed the lettuce wraps but they are too similar to the spring rolls in any Vietnamese restaurant. The steamed buns filled with pork belly ( described incorrectly as ' char siu ' on the menu ) and foie gras were good but just too rich. The other dishes were also very heavy with the exception of a crunchy slaw... which while nice, was an odd thing to eat on a freezing cold evening. Drinks are ok, they were out of an organic sake which might have paired well with our dishes. Prices are very high. On the plus side, most everything was tasty and the bathrooms are lovely.

I had high expectations when I came here because it's fairly new and the owner is apparently supposed to be amazing. I don't know if it was the high expectations that left me feeling like there was going to be more to the experience than what I got, or if it really is that dismal. Myself and my girlfriends tried it out and ordered a bunch of plates to share but there wasn't much to eat. And we ordered a lot! The items on the menu sounded really delicious but when they got to the table we thought, ok... Where is the rest? Add to that the pricing was high, which we expected, but we definitely didnt get what we paid for. I get that it's a fancy new restaurant, but it seems to be hype. We ended up having to go out for pizza after because we were starving. I will say however, the drinks we had were sooooo good(Vietnamese coffee, as recommended by previous reviewer), we got a table right away, and the service was super friendly and made it a better experience.

Service is good. The menu is fairly mixed though the flavours aren't quite exotic, they are trying to play it a bit on the plain side for a 'fusion' concept. The menu falls a bit short on the beverages (wine/cocktails) side though they have a full bar.

I was disappointed. The menu looked very interesting but the food just wasn't that great - not that tasty and not necessarily cooked well, especially for the prices. The eggplant appetizer was tasty as well as the fisherman's stew (which came with lovely big prawns). The Chinese doughnut however was hard and tasteless. We also had the fried rice which came with very little meat and was pretty....meh, just ok. I was most disappointed in the crepes which contain octopus. I've had different octopus dishes at a few restaurants in Calgary and really loved it, but in this dish it was overcooked and the dish was rather bland. I thought for sure it would be a winner! So, it wasn't an awful experience but definitely not worth it for the price. With all the great restaurants here in Calgary to choose from I won't be returning.

Had the trout. Perfectly crispy skin and tender juicy meats. Rice noodles mixed with the shrimp sauce was amazing.

One word... Amazing! If you are looking for a date night or sharing plates with your friends this is the place for that. I am drooling thinking about the hanging steak right now. The steamed buns are to die for. Lemon chicken like you have never tasted before. The staff are professional, polite, educated on what they are serving you. And the atmosphere is welcoming. Price is average and well worth every dollar. Enjoy!

I typically LOVE Asian fusion restaurants, but I was not blown away by Foreign Concept by any means. The interior is trendy and had a great date-night vibe. The service was friendly and prompt as well. The cocktails we had were the highlight of the night. The peach sake cocktail was one of the best cocktails I've had in a while. We tried the yuzu salmon rolls to start. They tasted just like regular salad rolls you can make at home. Not even the gochujang added any flavor to the rolls. Next we had the lemon grass chicken main. The chicken was very moist, but I could not make out any lemon grass flavor. The cauliflower side was refreshing at least. The plate also came with a side of "honey butter" chips, which are also featured on the bar menu. I love honey butter ANYTHING... but the chips had no honey butter flavor at all. The trout cha ca la vong was nicely seared and cooked. But the bed of noodles it was on was bland. Overall the food at Foreign Concept did not draw enough flavor from it's Asian inspirations. If you're looking for an Asian fusion restaurant I would recommend Anju or even Raw Bar (Duncan Ly's other better restaurant).

Going to agree with Angelo for the most part: the real winners here are the sharing plates. I would consider a couple of the large plates to be sharing plates too, specifically the steam buns and the fried rice, which along with the crispy chicken tatami and poke small plates. The large plate beef exemplifies a dish that is executed properly but disappointing by comparison to the others with regards to pricing and flavour pop. There is definitely a lot of thought and work that goes into a dish like the fried rice with onset egg, with a great balance of earthy, herbaceous and sour tones. The char siu pork was just as good, with home made pickled vegetables balancing the fatting pork belly, and the foie gras helping justify the price tag. The strong Asian flavourings of the crispy chicken and tataki beef were a nice change of pace from subtle versions of these dishes at other restaurants. The poke had good flavour but a too soft texture, though the homemade crisps has a great texture. If you've got some money burning a hole in your pocket, and some friends who enjoy sharing, check this place out.

Food was ok but not what I was expecting based on its high rating in the country for top restaurants. Went for lunch. Maybe dinner has the better menu

On May 11, 2017 I took my parents here for dinner to celebrate their birthdays. Everything we ordered was outstanding, and we tried a number of their dishes. Duncan Ly's signature dish, Charsiu Pork & Foie Gras Steamed Buns and the Alberta Trout Cha Ca La Vong, were both delicious! Duncan came over to our table during the evening to see how we were enjoying our meal. In conversation I had mentioned we were celebrating my parents' birthdays. At the end of the evening, he personally brought over to our table a platter of their desserts with a birthday candle and thanked us for celebrating this special occassion at his restaurant. He really made them feel special. I would highly reccommend dining here, I can't wait to return!

Went to Foreign Concept with a group of friends and was very disappointed overall. Our server was unpleasant the entire evening which soured the experience from the beginning. The smaller plates on the menu were decent but the larger plates were really not worth the money. It could have been a nice evening with the mediocre food but the staff were really rude. I was quite surprised by this. I have never written a negative review before for any restaurant, but our experience was just awful. The bill was a big one and was certainly not the worth the money spent. Wouldn't recommend to friends and definitely won't go back.