After 35 years, this Chinatown favourite is winning over a whole new generation of fans

Lantern-adorned eatery Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet has been a constant through unpredictable times, serving comforting congee and pillowy youtiao.Mother Chu’s Taiwanese GourmetTaiwanese$Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet was 25 years old when I (belatedly) joined its fan club. This was back in 2016, when chef Toby Wilson described the short distance between his Ghostboy Cantina pop-up and the Chinatown institution as “pure upside”, and I finally registered this place as something special. Wilson’s enthusiasm for Mother Chu’s beef noodle soup and Taiwanese breakfasts converted me; a decade on, I’ve archived memories from many visits. I recall ordering congee after an environmental rally, where protesters held signs saying: “Don’t let the world get as hot as Fabio” and “You can’t combover climate change”. It was the first place I dined after the 2021 COVID lockdown lifted, savouring fried rice rippled with shiitake (the mushrooms stir-fried twice in soy sauce for maximum impact). My companion that time was a big toy frog the restaurant placed at my table for social distancing reasons. Ashley Chu (left) and Alan Chu.Oscar ColmanMy friends and I once stopped at the lantern-adorned eatery for braised pork belly on rice, Taiwanese beers and Mother Chu’s signature soy milk and youtiao (fried breadsticks) – this Christmas-ish progressive lunch through Chinatown also included Hong Kong French toast at neighbouring Kowloon Cafe and red-bean buns at Nanjing Dumpling around the corner. Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet has been a constant during unpredictable times. But when the 35-year-old restaurant recently announced major changes to ensure economic survival, it reminded me: never take any place for granted. The 14-page menu is now one laminated sheet. All-day breakfast cuts off at 2pm. Certain labour-intensive dishes are gone. Alan Chu, the restaurant’s second-generation owner, had to make the hard call. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.Sign upThe self-described “rascal” grew up at the restaurant, disrupting waitresses and running around the kitchen. The business is even older than he is. His parents opened it as a spin-off from Mother Chu’s Vegetarian Kitchen nearby (both restaurants are named after his grandmother). When his father tragically died of a brain tumour in 2014, Chu took over: he was only 18. This allowed his brother Ashley (who waits tables here) to pursue his music career. “He’s composing an album dedicated to our dad,” Chu says. It will be released on November 5, their father’s birthday.The restaurant is another way they memorialise him. When his father was too unwell to teach Chu all the youtiao-mastering steps, the second-generation restaurateur learnt by trial and error. The soft, golden breadsticks are entirely crafted by hand: the dough mixed, kneaded, rested, cut into strips, pressed together and lightly pulled like ribbons and dropped into 180-degree oil. Staff constantly rotate the youtiao with giant chopsticks, allowing them to uniformly puff up and tan all over. Clockwise from top right: Vegetarian combination congee; shallot pancake and youtiao with sweet soy sauce; chicken fillet congee; egg pancake and youtiao; soy pudding in brown sugar; Taiwanese hot and sour soup.Oscar ColmanThe breadsticks are especially good when gift-wrapped in shallot pancake and fried egg layers. The pillowy youtiao softens under your touch, yet the ridges and corners snap and crunch in all the right places. It’s exactly what you want on a Sunday morning (a sentiment my boyfriend shares as he dips youtiao into soothing chicken-fillet congee). The congee options have all-hours appeal: I welcome a rice-thick, veg-loaded broth for dinner after a brain-zapping workday. Its warm, gloopy comfort is even better after I tip garlicky soy-marinated egg halves into the bowl and enjoy a pickled radish omelette on the side. Mother Chu’s shorter new menu means I can’t repeat a past evening ritual of savoury soy milk with crunchy youtiao pieces (it’s a daytime-only order now), but other great things endure. You’ll appreciate the egg pancakes with smoky, sweet soy sauce even more after learning the dough is rolled until it’s thin and sheer as spring-roll wrappers (producing a stack can take five hours). Ask for the vegetarian and vegan menu and you’ll realise there are many Buddhist-style meat-free options. Hot-and-sour soup is a must-order, dark and tangy with black vinegar and soy sauce, sharp with white pepper and swirling with egg whites resembling weather-report clouds. Soy milk, freshly made from beans ground on site, is still worth sipping, but also try the rice milk. Thick and reminiscent of smoky hojicha and genmaicha teas, it reminds my sister of Taiwan (so do the fruit beers – the lychee one tastes like a sweet tropical soda). After introducing her to the restaurant, she returns days later and orders the sesame-crusted black pepper pork buns, which popular vlogger Kevin La (better known as Sydney Food Boy) calls the best local version of what’s found at Taipei’s famous Raohe Street market. My boyfriend, another first-timer, asks when we can return for the curry fried rice. Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet might have downsized its menu, but its fan club continues to grow.The low-down Atmosphere: A literal bright spot in Chinatown (Emperor’s Garden opposite remains dark) where owner Alan Chu’s good-humoured, generous hospitality is a constant Go-to dishes: Shallot pancake with youtiao and fried egg ($14.30); congee (various options from $14.80); Taiwanese hot-and-sour soup ($10.80) Drinks: Smoky oolong and other teas, house-made soy and rice milks, a boozy line-up that matches all the Taiwanese beers posters on the wall Cost: About $60 for two, excluding drinks Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.More:HaymarketFor subscribersSydneyAccepts bookingsBreakfastFamily-friendlyGluten-free optionsLicensedOutdoor diningVegetarian-friendlyWheelchair accessTaiwaneseReviewsGood for solo dinersVegan-friendlyPet-friendlyTakeawayBudget friendlyRestaurantTakeawayMother Chu’s Taiwanese GourmetFrom our partners