Dinner at Chin Chin Melbourne
According to one of the ever reputable tabloid papers, Chin Chin is Australia’s most reviewed restaurant. Always a fan of the bandwagon, I thought I might as well join the herd and write my own post.
When I got to Melbourne for my month long medical elective, I had about 3 people recommend Chin Chin to me. Considering I only knew 3 people, I thought it must be pretty special.
The recommendations also came with a warning to get there early as the queue for a spot at Melbourne’s hottest table is infamous. We paid heed to this advice and arrived just before 6pm during a weekday and there was still a 30 minute wait for a table for 2.
One way to get around this is to book a table for 8+ people, anything less than that is walk in only.
To kill time we hit the bar section downstairs which served up some delicious cocktails. It also had a neon sign whose meaning was beyond us, but we presumed it was probably very deep and inspirational.
When a space did open up we were seated at the bar and given two XXX 18+ ONLY menus… so rebellious!
The menu is pan-Asian and takes its inspo from favourite street food dishes as well as some more traditional cuisine. The restaurant design is (apparently) based on Bangkok’s workman dining halls. As I haven’t been to a dining hall in Bangkok I couldn’t possibly stay how it matches up, but there was a semi-industrial feel with exposed brick walls and bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.
I am always a little worried when it comes to overly hyped places that the food won’t live up to expectation. I went to a highly recommended brunch place in Toronto a couple weeks back to find the food was basically thrown at us by a waitress with thinly veiled disdain for customers. Thankfully this was not the case at all with Chin Chin.
No food was thrown, in fact the staff were very attentive despite how chaotic the place got.
For a starter we shared the Chin Chin Pork Roll-Ups after spying them on the table next to us. To the table next to us – you made a good call, they were tasty! I especially liked the zingy sauce and the softer-than-tissue texture of the pulled pork.
For the mains we ordered the Rendang Curry of Wagyu Beef and the BBQ Ora King Salmon. The two dishes couldn’t be more different. The Rendang Curry was a very full on taste with a rich earthy flavour, while the Salmon had a much cleaner, lighter vibe going on.
We were fairly full post several bowls of rice with curry but the Banana Roti on the dessert menu caught my eye, or to be real, the word “nutella” is what sealed the deal. We both scarfed it down but it definitely wasn’t the best dessert I have ever had, I suppose just “nice” would be a decent way to describe it.
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