Chili Chili Restaurant
706A Somerset St. W., 613-421-6789,
restozone.ca/ottawa/chilichili
Open:
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
Prices:
main courses $13.99 to $17.99 if ordered online, large shareable items $32.95 to $79.95 if ordered online (dishes are cheaper if orders are phoned into the restaurant and picked up by customers)
Access:
Restaurant is downstairs
The Chinatown restaurant Chili Chili is easy to miss. There’s a street-level sign for the two-year-old business, but no windows to peer into, as the eatery is entirely downstairs. Eventually I spotted Chili Chili, and it piqued my interest. Finally, I popped by in mid-February for a meal that was as surprisingly pleasing as it was fiery.
A buddy and I each ordered a customized spicy stir-fry. Each plate was heaped with impeccably cooked proteins or vegetables that we had asked for, and was as tongue-teasing as we had hoped for. Each bite delivered not only the heat that lived up to the restaurant’s name but also the numbing stimulations of Sichuan peppers galore. We assuaged the thrilling sting of those orders with mouthfuls of softshell crab fried rice that did not skimp on the crab.
I left Chili Chili resolving to return with some optimism and then write about it. Then, the coronavirus descended.
Eight months later, and Chili Chili has since pivoted to offer food to go only. That’s too bad for a few reasons. For the restaurant, there’s the gloom of working in the brightly coloured and once lively setting that previously drew Chinese students for tastes of their homeland. Also, it’s unfortunate that some Chili Chili dishes that taste best fresh from the wok now degrade a bit during the trip from kitchen to home dining table.
Still, my conclusion after two recent takeout dinners from Chili Chili is that its chef concocts some splendid and authentic Chinese dishes, whether they are Sichuanese and spicy or Cantonese and comforting.
I’m going to blame COVID-19 for making me a bit timid in my ordering from Chili Chili’s interesting menu of roughly 30 items. We passed on the pork intestines with hot peppers, and also on dishes made with unshelled, head-on shrimps. Nor was our party large enough to tackle the grilled whole fish for six ($79.95).
Still, the more familiar Sichuanese and Cantonese dishes we tried were for the most part very appealing winners.
The combo stir-fry of three proteins and three vegetables, ordered medium spicy, was punchy enough to make us think it would have been punishing to have had it any spicier. Its thinly sliced chicken, lamb and pork had grown tough while in transit for 15 minutes, I think, but that too I will blame on COVID-19 rather than a cook’s mistake.
Mapo tofu was invigoratingly spicy and complex, with big chunks of tofu and minced pork swimming in a bracing brown sauce. To us, it tasted like one of the best versions of this dish in the city.
Braised eggplant with chili and garlic sauce, also known as “fish-fragrant eggplant” on some menus was also exceptional, melding its salty, sweet, spicy and sour tastes in well-calibrated harmony.
Eating diced chicken and chilies involved fishing out crisp but meaty bits of bone-in, free-range chicken from an intimidating backdrop of red chilies. But the dish did not scream with heat and made for pleasant nibbling.
Stir-fried pork belly with green peppers intrigued, but did involve considerable chewing of somewhat tough pork. Next time for pork belly, I might opt for the braised or twice-cooked preparations.
The Cantonese dish of scrambled eggs and shrimp was blessed with soft, rich, fluffy eggs and tender, shelled shrimp. While the wok-scrambled eggs might have been transcendently silky if eaten in Chili Chili’s dining room, we would still order it again for home enjoyment.
Fried rice was un-greasy and satisfying, whether it starred chunks of softshell crab, or minced pork and plenty of chili. Shanghai noodles were solidly made and easy to like.
If you’re looking to eat more cheaply, here’s a tip. Get your food the old-school way by phoning your order in to the restaurant and then picking it up yourself. Every dish that way is a few dollars cheaper, while the online prices are marked up to offset the commissions of the delivery services. Why not commend yourself not just for your love of spicy food but also your frugality?