Hot In The City
Every city in the world worth its salt has a China Town - that quintessential part of the city to which countless generations have flocked from the Middle Kingdom, enriching us all with foods, fashion, enterprise and a certain spice of life.
Melbourne is particularly blessed with a vibrant and funky China Town that stretches several blocks of Little Bourke Street, offering every conceivable style of Chinese food from Szechuan, to Yum Cha (Dim Sum to most of the rest of the world) and more.
One aspect of many of its restaurants is the speed of ordering and eating, and in that tradition this review will be speedy and efficient. We found ourselves in Pepper Chilli on a mild autumn evening, and we were immediately at ease given the decor. Simple, laminate tables, functional if utilitarian chairs, but most importantly, bright and garish red dragons and bunting adorning the walls aranged in a sporadic fashion around the room.
And so to the food. We had several very serviceable dishes, including a Kung Po chicken and cashew dish, Chinese broccoli, and Szechuan stir fry. All tasty, hearty, and quickly delivered. But what stood out was an amazing dish, for which I owe a debt of gratitude to our good friend Craig. He is a vegetarian, and whenever we dine out we always ensure that at least half the dishes are vegetarian friendly. Craig picked our last dish, and it was magic.
The dish was Mapo Tofu, and it was one of the most amazing vegetarian dishes I’ve ever eaten. It was rich, complex and had a flavour that incorporated several different styles of hot spices - szechuan pepper, chillies and black pepper - together with that wonderful “fifth flavour” of Umami in a thick broth that complemented the tofu. And the tofu itself was noteworthy, because ordinarily, I particularly dislike tofu. On any normal visit to a restaurant, I’ll joke that it is really “little firelighters”, or styrofoam, or some similar negative epithet. I typically find it bland, and the texture particularly offputting. But this tofu, and this dish, was a joy. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever willingly had seconds (and thirds) of any dish that includes tofu. It was the perfect way to carry the delicious blend of flavours, and the texture was silky without being sloppy, and gave just enough resistance to ensure one didn’t end up thinking they’d got the Chinese jelly by mistake.
Pepper Chilli is quick, tasty, busy and bustling, like almost any restaurant in any China town you care to name. But it stands out as the first place I’ve ever enjoyed tofu, and that’s enough to make me recommend it to you.
Pepper Chilli Chinese Restaurant
85 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
+61 (03) 9662 9662
Find Pepper Chilli on Google Maps