Super league

At Super Ling, chef Michael Li plays with classic Chinese flavours for all-in good times.

- Michael Harden

Is the ma po tofu jaffle a contender for the Aussie-Chinese hall of fame? Michael Li’s version at Carlton’s Super Ling suggests so. His toasted sandwich is the stuff of cravings, a sesame prawn toast for a new generation that starts with everything that makes ma po great – fermented chilli bean paste, garlic, chilli oil, soy, black vinegar, ginger, minced pork, tofu, water chestnut for texture – and then encases it in a jaffle’s essential toasted fluffy white bread shell. Crunch, spice, heat, familiarity, comfort; it’s a cross-cultural snack engineered for maximum happiness.

The same applies to Super Ling as a whole. Owner Iain Ling is a master of mucking with formula while preserving essence. He also knows how to bring the fun. At The Lincoln, a few doors from Super Ling, he seamlessly blends an egalitarian pub atmosphere and attitude with trend-conscious wine, beer and food lists, footy on TV and eclectic playlists. Here at his 30-seat shopfront diner, he and Michael Li combine a gaggle of influences – their Hakka Chinese heritage, the food Li’s mother cooked when he was growing up in Mauritius, modern mid-range Melbourne bistros, classic Aussie-Chinese restaurants – and blend them into a clever whole that’s seriously delicious without being too serious.