Mr Chili Noodle House

Despite some concerns over the mixed reviews, our family went to Mr. Chili Noodle House for dinner and the food was fantastic. We ordered the Seafood Laksa (extremely tasty), Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (my daughter's favourite), Shrimp Chow Mein (everyone loved this), and Curry Beef Brisket. Only the last entree was a bit of let down because while the beef brisket itself was very tasty and well cooked, the curry was not as rich or flavourful as we are used to. The service was much better than earlier reviews had indicated, with both ladies very attentive and showing good initiative and friendliness. Enough parking out back so that was not an issue. Ambiance was excellent as the decor is very clean, attractive and inviting. Overall, it was an excellent meal which our entire family of four thoroughly enjoyed. We will be back for sure.

The other day I was channeling the mantra of “Do one thing a day that scares you”. I decided to get a AXKA voucher for a meal for one to Mr Chili Noodle House and headed there for a lunch date with myself. With the voucher ($9.99) you get to pick from 3 noodle dishes, and they come with an appetizer dish of Spicy Pig Tripe, Spicy Pig Ear, Pickled Cucumber. Also supposed to come with a pop. More about that later.

This place is fairly new so I hope more people give it a try. I ordered the Seafood Laksa and I thought that it was good. It had a variety of seafood in it, which includes a large mussel, fish, fishballs and shrimp. The spice level is good and they do have spicier options I think. This place has mostly noodle dishes so I would probably go back and try more things on the menu.

Perhaps the block of East Hastings Street is a challenging location for a new restaurant to get a start in the marketplace – but the people behind Mr Chilli are not letting their location in this block dampen their enthusiasm for making delicious and SUPER spicy foods.

While the outside of the Mr Chilli restaurant is rather unassuming, the interior is warm and welcoming with lots of natural wood used in the decor.

And the food? Well, as the interior of the restaurant has a warm appearance, nearly all the food has an incredibly spicy flavour.

They use peppers in nearly every dish. Loads of peppers!

The first three dishes we were brought were all super spicy– the one with the long white rectangles is a good starting place. The white jelly strips are sort of tasteless – until you smear a little of the pepper paste onto them. Then their flavour pops.

The  "under-cooked chicken" comes  in, you guessed it, spicy pepper sauce. Although most of us at the table were nervous about the “under-cooked” chicken, I did try it and found the meat to be incredibly tender and full of flavour.

But if you want spicy – try the dish quite perfectly named “spicy chicken”. Equal amounts of red peppers with mixed with crispy bits of chicken. I avoided the peppers and enjoyed the crispy nature of the chicken. Yes, once again, there was heat in this dish – loads of heat.

One of the real surprise dishes for me was the “Spicy Fish Tofu in Soup”. From what I could tell, the dish was actually made of fish and tofu in soup. A soup of a million peppercorns!

The fish had a very nice texture and as along as I avoided biting right into the peppercorns, it was dinner time hit.

The other dish that I found to be very pleasing (I liked all the dishes but these were my two favourites) was the one listed on the menu as “rice-flavoured marinated beef.

From what I can tell, the dish is made from marinated beef mixed with a finely ground rice. Once again, it was the texture of the dish that really was a hit. The beef-rice mixture simply works really well.

Someone at our table asked if they had anything less spicy and within minutes a bowl of Wonton Soup arrived. Once again, the broth was thin, not watery, and complex and full of flavour.

The wontons were also wonderful little flavour bombs. The wrappers were like flowing gowns holding the precious morsels of meat in their centres. Creamy and delicate.

My one complaint about Mr Chilli is that if they are looking to entice a non-Chinese speaking/reading clientele into their restaurant their menu really needs have more information on it.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and I will be returning to Mr Chilli on Hastings St in Burnaby – with the understanding that it is a restaurant that serves spicy food. After all, it is pretty clear from the name of the place that they have a special relationship with chilli peppers.

Disclosure; this restaurant tasting event was organized by the people who are organizing the Chopstick Festival 2016 – a sort of Dine-Out Vancouver event for Chinese restaurants in Metro Vancouver. As such, I was not required to pay for the food that I sampled. However, as always, editorial control of what I write remains with me.