Chin Chin

Location: 125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
Phone: (03) 8663 2000
Link: www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au

Cuisine: South East Asian

After a good 6 months or so of waiting, I finally made it to Chin Chin for lunch last Friday. And the best part was that there was no line - we were seated almost immediately!

I've heard mixed reviews about the place. Some like the food, some don't. Sometimes the service is good, sometimes not so good. We were lucky, this was one of their good days, and we had decent food and pleasant service.

kingfish sashimi with lime, chilli, coconut & Thai basil

I love kingfish sashimi. Not the biggest fan of cooked kingfish, but when it's served fresh or cured, it has a beautiful delicate texture. And this was probably the best kingfish I have ever had. Thinly slices of amazing fresh kingfish was dressed with tangy lime and a kick of chilli. Coconut cream was used creatively like a mayonnaise and drizzled over the sashimi, and the dish was finished off with fresh basil.

crispy barramundi & green apple salad with caramelised pork, chilli & lemongrass

One of the 'larger' dishes. The barramundi pieces were crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside and well seasoned. The caramelised pork was sweet and fall-apart-tender. The apple pieces provided a nice refreshing crunchy texture to the dish.

grilled roti madtarbak filled with Indian spiced beef & cucumber relish

This caught my eye on the menu following Mindy's winning dish in the MasterChef sandwich invention test a couple of weeks ago. When it arrived, I was a little disappointed - it looked nothing like Mindy's dish. But the roti was crispy, thin and buttery, the mince was nicely flavoured and the cucumber relish was deliciously refreshing. Not exactly a 'wow' dish, but it was quite tasty.

"son in law" eggs with chilli jam

If you're looking for Gingerboy's famous 'son in law' eggs, this is not it. Gingerboy's version is soft boiled and quickly deep fried so that when you put the whole thing into your mouth, the yolk bursts in your mouth. These ones were different. The egg was closer to being hard boiled than soft boiled, and the yolk was relatively solid. You can imagine the disappointment that the eggs have already been cut in half, and there is no yolk to break into. 

The chilli jam was nice, as were the condiments which added some extra flavours and textures to the dish. But my verdict goes in Gingerboy's favour.

For a first visit, I was happy. The food was tasty and interesting, and that kingfish sashimi was definitely the best dish of the day. Will happily return, there are still lots of things to try from the menu1

Overall Impression: 8.5/10