Melbourne-based Lanzhou food franchise Bowltiful takes its owner Charlie Zhang back to the flavours of his hometown: think tart, salty, fresh and spicy – tastes that he hopes lesser-accustomed palates will love.
"Our food has a stronger flavour profile in comparison to other regions in China," says Zhang of Lanzhou, a city in Gansu province in northwest China that once formed part of the Silk Road trade route and is home to a Muslim population.
"We tend to pack in the flavour in our broths, particularly in the colder seasons as this warms the body from the inside."
We tend to pack in the flavour in our broths, particularly in the colder seasons as this warms the body from the inside.
Zhang says that many people are surprised that soy sauce doesn't play a big role in the Muslim-friendly cuisine. Instead, peppercorns, dried chilli powder, cumin, lanxangia tsaoko (amomum tsao-ko), galangal and fennel feature.
"Bowltiful reminds me of home, and every dish we serve is just as important as the last. They're all from my family to yours."
Zhang moved to Melbourne as a high schooler and soon began missing the food he grew up with. "I found that there were next to no northern Chinese restaurants that had the food of my hometown," Zhang says. "Moving to a foreign country where I struggled to understand the language was hard enough, but the lack of places to eat was also an issue."
Every dish we serve is just as important as the last.
He decided to open a restaurant featuring his family recipes, including noodle soups – Zhang's favourites and which he learned to cook as a young child.
"Noodle soups were a staple in my household. I learned to cook them from my mother and grandmothers," he says. "We spent most afternoons in the kitchen together. Nothing beats the nostalgic scent of broth cooking away on the stove, and noodles being freshly pulled."
His mum showed him how to pull noodles by hand, a technique she learned from her own mum. "It takes around three to four years to master," Zhang explains, who now trains his Bowltiful chefs the same way.
Charlie Zhang. Source: Bowltiful
Hand-pulled noodles
Zhang sticks to tradition by ensuring his hand-pulled noodles are halal. He also offers nine different noodle sizes. "My family was big on authenticity when it came to creating meals so I'd like to continue that throughout my restaurants," Zhang says.
My family was big on authenticity when it came to creating meals so I'd like to continue that throughout my restaurants.
"Hand-pulled noodles with soybean paste and minced beef and lamb skewers are now available at our Swanston Street store. [They both mean a lot to me because] when I first moved to Melbourne and would cook out of my apartment; they were my go-to easy meals."
Bowltiful, which Zhang plans to expand into Sydney, is also currently working towards an inclusive menu with vegan items.
"Not many people are educated on the different cuisines in China and tend to assume that they are all the same, but they're all different. [The] flavour profiles are unique."
382-384 Elizabeth St, Melbourne, Vic – Monday-Sunday, 10am-2pm
249 Swanston St, Melbourne, Vic – Monday-Sunday, 10am-2pm
595-597 Station St, Box Hill, Vic – Monday-Sunday, 10am-10pm
