Big flavours in The Little Chilli House

The plan was to get to Hurstville and just find somewhere, anywhere, the first place we saw, to eat as noon was getting a little late for breakfast.

With parking being a bit of a hassle and lucky dip, we really could have ended up anywhere along the main road of Hurstville. Our luck would have it that we spotted The Little Chilli House first – its colourful photo covered front window obscuring the view within.

Spicy shredded pork from The Little Chilli House, Forest Road, Hurstville

The menu photos promised dumplings so in we went to a mostly empty restaurant save for a couple of tables of families.

A quick scan of the menu photos plastering the inside walls brought us to order the shiny looking spicy shredded pork; a Northern style Chinese dish with bold vinegar and contrasting sweet flavours.

Tossed with bamboo shoots, shallots and sliced red chilli, this was ideal with a bowl of steamed rice.

Boiled pork and chive dumplings

A little ordering mishap meant we were having two types of pork and chive dumplings for lunch – these boiled ones were on the petite side and needed their dipping soy sauce for more of a flavour kick.

Pan fried dumplings

The larger pan fried dumplings seemed to have slightly-too-thick skins, but were nonetheless gobbled up with vinegar sauce and a chilli oil/paste available on every table.

The three dishes were unbelievably filling between two as the first meal of the day. The dinner offerings looked even more enticing with some very interesting Northern Chinese specialties – I’ll have to leave this for another big eating session.