Chin Chin www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au
The Crispy Skinned Duck, Pickled Cucumber & Ginger Salad with Sesame Salt & Fresh Lemon again was nice enough but it did not blow me away. It is exactly as it is described in the menu. The sesame salt did not add much to the dish. The duck was a tad overcooked therefore a lot drier than what you would normally get from a Chinese restaurant.
The Stir Fried Wild Boar with Red Curry paste, Snakebeans, Ginger & Basil had a good kick to it. As I love a bit of spice in my meals, this had just the right amount. Once again, this dish did not follow its name as it only had a few snakebeans thrown in, but also included asparagus, and two different types of baby eggplant. The dish was overpowered by the basil giving it a very strong aniseed flavour which is not always welcomed.
The Massaman curry had a great curry flavour and the potatoes had a smooth creamy texture. It was a great tasting dish but as well as for the other dishes, it was nothing to write home about.
Finally the roti. The texture of the roti can be summed up in one word - cardboard! It was rough, stiff and one would guess, stale. Not the hot, fluffy and fresh type that we would expect in a place like this.
On the whole, Chin Chin was an average experience, from the service through to the ambience and most importantly the food. We did want to order the banana roti for dessert, but due to the time constraint and the lackluster plain roti we were served, we decided against it. I think this restaurant is perceived as trendy and hip, and perhaps the ambience would suit some, but I felt that the food disappointed on several levels therefore I would not rush back. As Melbourne offers many restaurants in this same "genre", I have the luxury of choosing out of a high calibre of places. Hopefully next time, I am much more satisfied with the choice.
- 125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
- Dining at dinnertime
- Party of five
I think everyone is familiar with coincidentally hearing about the same thing in a condensed space of time. That was the case of how I heard about what I thought was a new, hip restaurant in Melbourne city that is Chin Chin. Turns out, it is not so new - has been around for at least six months - and in my opinion, not so hip.
One of the things I had heard and read about Chin Chin was there was always a wait for a table, and in some cases the wait would be ridiculously long. I am not quite sure why restaurants opt for this "non-booking" method. There must be a method to this madness however, I have been previously victim to waiting for a table at another restaurant for three times the length of time than what the staff had advised. This only dampened our moods as well as the dining experience.
Anyway back to Chin Chin. Our friends were in town from New Zealand, so we thought we'd try our luck at this restaurant I had heard so much about. It was a Monday night and we were already in the city so decided to give Chin Chin a crack. Turns out, we were in luck as there happened to be a vacant table for five. Only catch was it was only available for an hour. That didn't bother us as we are all capable of eating fast.
We all happened to be Kiwis and guess what, so was our waitress. She made the point of telling us that most of the staff there were also from New Zealand. She went on to explain the menu and how it is designed to be shared. This concept is not so alien to us being Asian and all but anyway, she was obviously disappointed that we didn't want any wine, then suggests we try one of their popular drinks that changes flavours each day. She then wanders off and we decide to each pick a dish...to share.
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| Coconut Crush |
The drink. This drink is called 'Coconut Crush' which includes coconut flesh, blended with ice and the flavour of day was Apple & Mint. This drink was so deliciously refreshing. The coconut gave it a tropical taste with the mint giving it slight kick. I would return to this restaurant just to have this drink - it was that good. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the meal.
When the waitress returns to take our order, we tell he what we would like. This is what generally happens when you order in restaurants, however because we wanted to order the 'Caramelised Sticky Pork with Sour Herb Salad & Chilli Vinegar' as well as the 'Stir Fried Wild Boar with Red Curry paste, Snakebeans, Ginger & Basil' she blatantly refuses and says she "can't" let us order two pork dishes. She continued to tell us what the "stand out" dishes on the menu were and suggested we go for the 'Indian Style Barbecued Goat with Cucumber & Mint Raita' or 'Twice Cooked Hopkins River Beef Short Rib with Coriander & Prik Nahm Pla'.
We tried to stand our ground to have both pork dishes but she pushed back and would not let us so we decide on the wild boar and beef short rib. Perhaps she felt she was being helpful however we felt that she was not very tactful in her suggestions. Anyway, our other dishes inculded 'Grilled Roti Madtarbk filled with Indian Spiced Beef & a Cucumber Relish' for entree, 'Crispy Barramundi and Green Apple Salad with Caramelised Pork, Chilli & Lemongrass', 'Massaman Curry of Coconut Braised Hopkins, River Beef Brisket with Pink Fur Apple, Potatoes & Crispy Shallots' and 'Crispy Skinned Duck, Pickled Cucumber & Ginger Salad with Sesame Salt & Fresh Lemon'. We also ordered two sides of Roti bread and of course, what Asian meal would be complete without the rice.
We tried to stand our ground to have both pork dishes but she pushed back and would not let us so we decide on the wild boar and beef short rib. Perhaps she felt she was being helpful however we felt that she was not very tactful in her suggestions. Anyway, our other dishes inculded 'Grilled Roti Madtarbk filled with Indian Spiced Beef & a Cucumber Relish' for entree, 'Crispy Barramundi and Green Apple Salad with Caramelised Pork, Chilli & Lemongrass', 'Massaman Curry of Coconut Braised Hopkins, River Beef Brisket with Pink Fur Apple, Potatoes & Crispy Shallots' and 'Crispy Skinned Duck, Pickled Cucumber & Ginger Salad with Sesame Salt & Fresh Lemon'. We also ordered two sides of Roti bread and of course, what Asian meal would be complete without the rice.
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| Madtarbak |
The Madtarbak for entree, was nice enough. It went well with the cucumber relish and the roti was perfectly crispy. Having said that, this entree is not worth raving about and I wouldn't order it again.
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| Barramundi salad |
The Crispy Barramundi and Green Apple Salad with Caramelised Pork, Chilli & Lemongrass came under "Green Stuff" on the menu. The Pork was so sweet and tasty, together with the tartness of the apple, this combination was great. The salad was not so green and noticeably lacked barramundi which did not fulfil the expectation of this salad. Slightly disappointing in that respect but still undeniably tasty.
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| Crispy Duck |
The Crispy Skinned Duck, Pickled Cucumber & Ginger Salad with Sesame Salt & Fresh Lemon again was nice enough but it did not blow me away. It is exactly as it is described in the menu. The sesame salt did not add much to the dish. The duck was a tad overcooked therefore a lot drier than what you would normally get from a Chinese restaurant.
 |
| Wild Boar stir-fry |
The Stir Fried Wild Boar with Red Curry paste, Snakebeans, Ginger & Basil had a good kick to it. As I love a bit of spice in my meals, this had just the right amount. Once again, this dish did not follow its name as it only had a few snakebeans thrown in, but also included asparagus, and two different types of baby eggplant. The dish was overpowered by the basil giving it a very strong aniseed flavour which is not always welcomed.
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| Beef short rib |
This was the dish that the waitress claimed to wow many patrons - Twice Cooked Hopkins River Beef Short Rib with Coriander & Prik Nahm Pla. It was good, the beef was very tender and fell of the bone. The Prik Nahm Pla is very similar to a dipping sauce that my mum makes so once I tasted the flavours of this sauce it brought me to a familiar place, although the sauce was definitely not as good as my mums! This dish was good but not exceptional as I would expect it to be given the amount of hype.
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| Massaman Curry |
The Massaman curry had a great curry flavour and the potatoes had a smooth creamy texture. It was a great tasting dish but as well as for the other dishes, it was nothing to write home about.
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| Roti |
Finally the roti. The texture of the roti can be summed up in one word - cardboard! It was rough, stiff and one would guess, stale. Not the hot, fluffy and fresh type that we would expect in a place like this.
On the whole, Chin Chin was an average experience, from the service through to the ambience and most importantly the food. We did want to order the banana roti for dessert, but due to the time constraint and the lackluster plain roti we were served, we decided against it. I think this restaurant is perceived as trendy and hip, and perhaps the ambience would suit some, but I felt that the food disappointed on several levels therefore I would not rush back. As Melbourne offers many restaurants in this same "genre", I have the luxury of choosing out of a high calibre of places. Hopefully next time, I am much more satisfied with the choice.
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