Chilli Fagara
G/F 24-53 Graham Street, Central
Tel: 2893 3330
Chilli Fagara has taken over from the original Shui Hu Ju, which was so popular its owners opened a second one on Peel Street, plus Water Margin in Times Square and Hutong in Tsim Sha Tsui. The new restaurant looks similar, with retro decor, stylish touches and small dark-wood tables, but Shui Hu Ju was always fully booked, whereas we were the only customers on a recent weekday evening.
Sichuan cuisine is varied and complex, but most people think of it only as being spicy (from dried chillies) and tongue-numbing (from the tiny, powerful peppercorns). Chilli Fagara's attractive black and red brocade menu lists dishes in categories of numbing, spicy and those that are neither, but the division is blurred at times.
The main problem with our meal was that the dishes were served in the wrong order: the spiciest dish came first, desensitising our taste buds for any subtleties that followed.
The meal started well, with three unordered snacks (for which we were charged $30): what the waiter described as Sichuan bean curd, but which taste- and texture-wise more resembled dense, slippery mushrooms; shredded chicken in a spicy, nutty sauce; and (oddly) whole small tomatoes.