Small Fry Eli takes a fiery hit of mee goreng — and declares a winner
Mark Laba
Province
Linda Rahman with dishes at Chilli Padi. Photograph by : Gerry Kahrmann, The Province
Review
Chilli Padi
Where: 5750 Fraser St.
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-323-0556
Drinks: Intriguing Malaysian juices and soft drinks
Hours: Tues.-Fri., lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m;, dinner 5 to 9 p.m.; Sat., 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun., 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Mondays
There are particular landmark moments in a parent’s life when they flush with pride to the point of popping the blood vessels in their eyes as their children reach the milestones that will teeter them toward adulthood. For my parents, I believe it was my bar mitzvah where, apparently, I was to become a man. I thought a couple of hookers, a complimentary cheese tray and a shot of whisky were supposed to take care of that, but I was wrong. Either way, it was all downhill for me after that shindig. But as a food reviewer, it wasn’t my son’s first steps, his first tooth or his first day at school that did it for me. It was his first forkful of mee goreng that said my boy’s finally grown up. And I have this new restaurant to thank for that.
Checked it out with Peaches, who is really a turkey-and-stuffing kind of gal but has been won over by Malaysian food. No wonder. As a crossroads of the east, Malaysia is renowned for not only its own indigenous and diverse regional cuisine, like Mamak and Nyonya cooking, but also all the folks who have left their edible footprints on the culinary landscape: Thai, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese, British, Dutch — everyone, it seems, except French Canadians and their poutine.
It’s a small room with pleasing wood furnishings that somehow evoke tropical climes along with the bamboo blinds in case you missed the point. But with a nod to the North American rec-room, there is an odd faux-stone façade that runs along the top of the walls and a certain tranquility emanates from the fake fireplace with a bubbling fish tank on top.
All the meat is halal, no pork on the menu, and the establishment is not licensed either, in observance of Muslim law and tradition. But the food is intoxicating enough as Peaches and I found out.
Began with a superior chicken satay and peanut sauce ($6.95), six beautifully grilled sticks that would make Col. Sanders weep and wish he got out of Kentucky more often.
We followed this with rendang daging ($8.95), an incredible beef stew redolent with coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, ginger and who knows what else, reduced to a kind of paste with tender meat and red chilies dotting the surface.
Along with this we had ayam bawang putih ($8.95), an unassuming dish of chicken with chili peppercorns and garlic. It appeared pallid and uninspired, like an overworked accountant at tax time — no sauce to speak of. But lurking in this poultry were small explosions of flavour that had an undefinable presence. Like seeing Keith Richards shopping at Zellers.
Next up was an ode to the Pacific Northwest with salmon pangang ($11.95), a spellbinding and sultry mix of salmon with chili sauce and asparagus on a banana leaf. Finally the mee goreng ($7.65), the famed Singapore-style fried noodles, the remainder of which we took home to Small Fry Eli, who was waiting with baited and chocolate-scented breath for this promised treat. Wonderous, spicy and altogether satisfying. Available with beef, chicken or seafood, too. How did it fly with Small Fry Eli? He put on a brave face, especially since the twins were watching and, after two bites, declared it good. Then he drank two glasses of water to douse the fire and finally we fed him some Alphaghetti for good measure. Now, if they had fed me this at my bar mitzvah, maybe I’d finally be half the man I never used to be.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
The soul food of Southeast Asia
RATINGS: Food: B+ Service: B+ Atmosphere: B
© The Vancouver Province 2008