Restaurant review: Mili 宅小馆

Chaussée de Boondael 356, 1050 Ixelles

What’s good? While many Chinese restaurants in Europe try to adapt their dishes to local palates, Mili 宅小馆 serves unabashedly traditional flavors. These authentic Sichuanese dishes deliver all the salt, acid and heat that is to be expected from the southern region of China (spice-averse clientele, be warned!)

We visited the restaurant as an unconventional mix of vegans and avid meat eaters, but Mili was able to cater to us all. The result was a table complete with spicy braised pork trotters, an eggplant stir fry, vegan mapo tofu, spicy sautéed pork intestine, sesame noodles and cold bottles of Tsingtao, a Chinese beer, to wash it all down. Every dish was flavorful and packed a punch. 

And the menu doesn’t stop there! Neighboring tables were wolfing down dry-fried green beans and a spicy white fish in chili oil, as well as a northeastern Chinese street food known as chuan’r, meat or seafood skewers seasoned with cumin and five-spice.

What’s not? Don’t arrive to the restaurant hangry, as the dishes take some time to arrive.

Vibe: Relaxed and unpretentious, the food is the focus.

Who’s picking up the check? Starters are about €9 while mains range from €15 to €20. The traditional Chinese “family style” of sharing dishes is the way to go here, but that means you can quickly rack up a substantial bill.

Spotted: The small space is filled with friend groups and families alike, with quite a few Mandarin-speaking customers, a good sign in our books for any Chinese restaurant.

Insider tip: While many veggie dishes in China come seasoned with minced pork, Mili lets you decide if you want your vegetable dishes to come with … just vegetables.

Fun fact: Sichuanese food is known for its málà flavor profile, a “numbing” spice that comes from the infamous Sichuan peppercorn. The numbness is down to a chemical that causes a tingling sensation in your mouth — so get ready to sweat!

How to get there: Located south of Etterbeek, between the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Bois de la Cambre.

Review published on  June 20, 2024. Illustration by Dato Parulava/POLITICO