Melbourne Food Feast @ Chin Chin

I have to admit that I didn’t know much about the Melbourne food scene before my recent trip.  The last time I visited Melbourne was over 3 years ago and I was only there for a few days.

When my friends found out I was heading to Melbourne for a week, they started to drop names of restaurants and cafes I must check out.  Chin Chin was one of the recurring names I heard.  Despite the hope of amazing food, I was warned to be prepared to queue and wait in the line for a seat.

It was our second day in Melbourne and we took a train to roam around the city.  We decided to find out where Chin Chin was, just in case we wanted to go back later.  By the time we reached Flinders Lane where Chin Chin is located, it was 10 minutes till their opening time.  There were about 3 other groups of people waiting outside the ’empty’ restaurant.  We made an impromptu decision to go there for lunch since we only had to wait 10 minutes and would need to queue for far longer if we returned later in the day.

When it was time to order food, the decision was very easy.  We went with the ‘Feed Me’ option ($66pp), a ‘tasting menu’ where they bring out about 7 of the house favourites for us to try.  We had no idea what we were going to get, so we sat back and waited to be wowed!

Dish 1: Kingfish Sashimi with Lime, Chilli, Coconut & Thai Basil

Dish 2: Spicy Corn and Coriander Fritters with Iceberg Lettuce and Chilli Jam

Dish 3: Red Braised Suckling Pic with Pancakes, Slaw and Asian Herbs

Dish 4: Chinook Salmon Wrapped in Banana Leaf with Coconut Red Curry, Lime and Thai Basil

Dish 5: Crispy Barramundi and Green Apple Salad with Caramelised Pork, Peanuts, Chilli and Lemongrass

The dishes  kept coming and every single bite was full of flavour.  There were a few dishes that we wouldn’t normally order, but took us pleasantly by surprise.  D for one doesn’t like sashimi, but reckoned their Kingfish sashimi with Lime, Chilli, Coconut & Thai Basil was the dish of the day!  

We were full by the 5th dish, but couldn’t resist the temptation to try the next two dishes they served to our table.

Dish 7: Twice Cooked Grass Fed Victorian Beef Short Rib with Coriander and Prik Nahm Pla

Dish 8: Wok Fried Asian Mushrooms and Sea Succulent with Coriander Spice Paste

We couldn’t finish the last mushroom dish, but they were kind enough to pack it up for us to take home.  Yay to no food wastage!

Takeaway bag

No matter how much food you have eaten, there is always room for dessert.  D had the Palm Sugar Ice Cream Sundae which was an interesting combination of flavour: sweet, sour and salty.  As for me, I loved the Sweet Corn Ice Cream in the Coconut Sago dessert.  The crunchy Puffed Rice enhanced the texture and the Coconut Sago reduced the sweetness of the dessert.  It was just the perfect way to end the meal.

Palm Sugar Ice Cream Sundae with Salted Honeycomb and Lime Syrup

Coconut Sago with Sweetcorn Ice Cream, Praline and Puffed Wild Rice

In total we were served 8 dishes and 2 desserts. We were very satisfied with the food and will definitely recommend to friends who are visiting Melbourne.

Is it worth queuing up for?  Yes, but my limit is 1 hour.  Anything beyond that would result in a grumpy hungry me.