A hole in the wall is a dent left by my fist after losing in an online video whilst being cussed out by a fourteen year old who is claiming to have an intimate relationship with my mother.

Another definition (and one that appears to be more widespread) is a small, dingy but lovable restaurant with the goods. Kinda like Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet in Chinatown.

A longstanding Chinatown institution, Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet (not to be confused for Mother Chu’s Vegetarian Kitchen) has recently gone through a renovation in order to house even more hungry patrons with a hankering for authentic Taiwanese cuisine.

First edible cab off the ranks was a small plate of spicy pig ears. Nope, not a euphemism for anything, they’re literally cut up pig ears swash buckled in some spicy oil.

Kinda crunchy but not in a deep fried way, more like when you’re munching on cartilage. And no, I don’t mean a cartridge like what you put in a Game Boy or a printer; but I guess if you’re really desperate you could be munching on a cartridge too.

Willing to bet they won’t taste as good as these pig ears though.

Shallot pancakes with youtiao (aka Chinese doughnuts or deep fried bread) was easily the most delicious think I had at Mother Chu’s. Think crunch, think flake and general greasy goodness prescribed from the Gods of Gluttony themselves. Just one of those simple things that make me happy, like walking into a room just as a very appropriate entrance song is playing (for me, it always makes a lot of sense that Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake is blaring whenever I enter a meeting).

Next up is the pork mince over white rice. This was a dish I fell in love with when I visited Taiwan so I was very keen to dig into Mother Chu’s take on the classic. The pork mince was rich, tasty and served as a great gravy on top of the rice. The rice was a tad under cooked but everyone knows I was there too get a face full of pork.

Every restaurant I wander into, the kitchen knows to send me noods before I’ve even placed my butt on a seat. So to no one’s surprise, a bowl of lovely beef noodles was on the docket in record time.

The soup was laced with herbs and had a medicinal feel. I’m not referring to Panadol or Neurofen but Chinese medicine that your mother would force down your throat if you had even the slightest of flu like symptoms. In saying all that, this soup was divine and I poured broth down my throat with no need for my mother whatsoever.

The beef was also absurdly tender as it dissolved upon making contact with my mouth. Mix that up with some classic Choy sum and noodles and you’ve got the type of medicine you’ll want even when you’re not sick.

Here’s the TL;DR for why you should Chus Mother Chu’s for your next culinary adventure:

• Mother Chu is the epitome of all mothers who still have children living at home who refuse to leave because they’re not willing (or ready) to face the outside world and because well…mum’s cooking is just so good.
• This is a tangent but related; I’m writing a cookbook! It’s due to be released at the end of the year and will be titled: “Imperfect Recipes Vol.1.” It’ll be a free eBook so stay tuned and make sure you save some megabytes on the old Kindle to store it on.

Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet

1-5/84-88 Dixon St, Sydney NSW 2000

Opening Hours:

Open 7 Days: 8:30am – 8:30pm