Native tongues is not expensive.
Elbow River Casino consistently has good Chinese food. Fun fact --
Duncan Ly used to be their executive head chef before running/opening up a bunch of his own restaurants around Calgary and winning a bunch of awards.
You picked the best answer. Friend is from out of town -- go to 17th. Trolley 5 is the de facto headquarters. Blanco across makes some decent tacos/margaritas. Ship is a Calgary landmark. Good Viet subs around. N9na for interesting stuffed burgers. Lots of options.