Review: Chilli Secrets

admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:19:34 +0000

Chilli Secrets, or Ban Mu Yuan (半畝園) as it is known in Chinese, is a newly-opened restaurant that has already garnered quite a reputation among the chili-loving crowd of The Other Chinatown¹. Located on Leslie St. just north of Hwy 7, it is in a small plaza surrounded by industry parks. My father, who works in the area, says they have an excellent lunch special and so are quite popular with the Chinese who work nearby. But what about their dinner?
I’ve been there several times now. I was there when they first opened, then three times after that. And still, I hesitated to write a review. Why? Well, for one thing, they were new and young and gaining popularity, but could they keep it up? Consistency is a huge problem with these restaurants. Sometimes the first time you go, it’ll be the most amazing thing you’ve ever had, and the second time, it’ll be ordinary and bland, and you’re left wondering, What the hell happened?
This was the case for one of their competitors, Ba Shu Ren Jia, located in Markham. They were very popular and known for their authentic taste – it was rumoured that their chef brought over the chilies and sauces and oils that they used from China himself. Word-of-mouth traveled fast, and when the local mainland Chinese heard there was an authentic Sichuan restaurant in their midst, they flocked to it like no tomorrow. The line-ups were outrageous, sometimes around the block, with at least an hour wait. A normal patron would probably find another restaurant, but virtually no one in this line was planning to leave. They, like us, were dying to try something that had the true taste of mainland China, not the poor imitations you find in Chinese restaurants that have been here for over ten years and were modifying their taste to suit the predominantly Hong Kong Chinese population. People flocked from all over the GTA to this newly opened all-Mandarin-speaking restaurant (we, ourselves, drove all the way from Mississauga). At the peak of their popularity, their chef suddenly went on vacation, or got scouted elsewhere, or something. Either way, the authentic and delicious taste of Sichuan left with him, and the dishes afterward lacked a certain je ne sais pas that made them the good kind of mouth-numbingly spicy.
I’ve been searching high and low for another restaurant that could deliver that kind of straight-from-China kick, and finally found it in Chilli Secrets². At first, I was afraid to review this place for fear that it wouldn’t be able to keep the taste after it became popular. But by the fourth time, I decided I had to review this place. It’s actually managed to consistently deliver the kind of ma la (numbing and hot) that makes me salivate and yearn and beg for more.

On Saturday, my friend and I visited early in the evening to beat the dinner rush. Our waitress was a Cantonese-speaker but like everyone else who worked there, she was obligated to know a little Mandarin³. The clientele here is slightly more varied than some restaurants in Markham and Scarborough; while most speak Mandarin, some speak Cantonese or another dialect, and there is the occasional non-Chinese-speaking person or two (although usually accompanying a Chinese party). Like many Asian restaurants in the area, Chilli Secrets has done away with the simple, plain (and often dirty) family-restaurant feel of typical Chinese restaurants (actually spending money on interior decoration seems to be a trend in Chinese restaurants these days, especially in The Other Chinatown), and has also put their staff through some sort of customer service training.

My friend and I ordered a leng pan (appetizer) of spicy pork belly slices, an entree of spicy fried beef, and a fried rice dish of chicken and pineapple.
The spicy pork belly slices is one of my favourite dishes. It’s actually quite a large dish considering that it is an appetizer. The pork belly slices are sliced very thinly and drenched in spicy oil. The slices themselves are not marinated, so it doesn’t feel too overwhelming.

The spicy beef dish was completely different from what I expected. When the menu said “fried,” I assumed stir-fried, not deep-fried! And the beef was wrapped in batter! How very unexpected. It had a distinct aftertaste of Sichuan peppercorns, but was not initially spicy. This is probably one of the less successful dishes I’ve ordered. I think I’ll stick to pi jiu ya guo (beer duck pot) next time.

Finally, we had a chicken and pineapple fried rice that was surprisingly thoughtful and delicious. Usually, I expect fried rice to be one of the least interesting dishes – there’s oil, there’s MSG, there’s frozen peas and carrots, and there’s rice. What is there to say? But this, this fried rice came in a pineapple. It had pineapple and raisins and carrots, and it didn’t taste like MSG. I especially loved the raisins.

Other dishes I’ve had here that are also winners include jellyfish salad, and fried hot and sour potatoes. Unfortunately, this place does not do the well-known Sichuan dishes (the dishes that made the cuisine famous) as well as some other places I’ve been, such as gong bao ji ding (gong bao chicken with Chinese red lantern chilis) and fu qi fei pian (two fish filet in spicy sauce). For that, I still recommend Hot Spicy Spicy at Finch and Leslie.

Rating:

The Other Chinatown refers to the large Chinese population living in the northern GTA suburbs, such as Richmond Hill and Markham.
Yes, they spelled chili wrong in their name. No, I don’t think it was intentional.
Don’t worry, the chefs are mainland!

PaiGu » pork belly

Review: Chilli Secrets