You can learn much about the history of by sampling its famously fiery dishes. There’s Chongqing hotpot, a soul-affirming stew of beef tallow, chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns, invented during the Qing dynasty. There’s xiao mian, a kind of wheat noodle soup topped with everything from marinated pork mince to spicy intestines, devoured — often for breakfast — by the city’s working and middle classes. And there’s dan dan mian, a Sichuan favourite named for the bamboo rods used by vendors who carried the concoction on their backs to sell on the streets.
Chongqing, a futuristic city on the banks of the Yangze River, owes its culinary history to the fact that it was part of the Sichuan Province, a region known for punchy, face-numbing flavours, until the 1990s.
It also has a second claim to fame. It’s the birthplace of Meng Fei, better known as Mr Meng, the host of SBS’s cult Chinese dating show and the focus of , his cult noodle empire. Last month, Mr Meng opened the newest branch of the eatery - which has 11 outposts in China and one in Melbourne - at , a new restaurant precinct on the second floor of Sydney’s Market City.
Skewers with braised beef and tripe at Haymarket's new Mr Meng Chongqing Gourmet. Source: Anna Kucera
1909, a space lit by Edison bulbs and dotted with leather banquettes, is a fittingly glitzy home for a noodle house with celebrity credentials; forget the grimy food courts of your youth and picture a dining precinct as imagined by Mad Men’s Don Draper. It’s also home to YAYOI, the upmarket Japanese restaurant that specialises in teishoku, a cuisine that revolves around balance and seasonality. There’s also Dolar Shop, a 200-seat restaurant chain that serves seafood-heavy Macau-style hotpot. And the latest addition is , a Korean BBQ restaurant where you can savour 15 different types of wagyu from the comfort of your padded booth.
1909, which has just announced Adam Liaw as an ambassador and will play host to eight eateries in total, is set to become a port of call for high-end dining, with an emphasis on regional cuisines that you’d be hard-pressed to fine anywhere else in the Sydney CBD.
Sydney’s newest food court, 1909 combines regional cuisine and high-end sheen. Source: Supplied
But if the queues are anything to go by, it’s hard to top Mr Meng’s. Here, the Chongqing spicy noodles come crowned with a choice of pork ribs, chicken giblets or chunks of fall-apart stewed beef. The dan dan mien, topped with peanuts, shallots and greens, register an extra kick — thanks to a base of Sichuan peppercorns, garlic and chilli oil.
Mr Meng, who opened his first noodle shop in 2014, tells SBS that the restaurant is a love letter to the place that’s shaped him.
Spicy Chongqing noodles are given an extra kick thanks to a base of Sichuan peppercorns, garlic and chilli oil. Source: Anna Kucera
“My happiest memories from my childhood [involve] eating food from Chongqing,” he says. “The food from this region is spicy, flavourful and brings a warm feeling that has stayed in my mind. Once you eat it, the flavours will remain in your memory. I hope Sydney diners will experience [the dishes] I love and enjoy too.”
Daily 10am - 10pm
9/13 Hay St, Haymarket, NSW
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