Chin Chin: Asian, CBD Melbourne (25 May 2012)

125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000 

http://www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au

Melbourne's chinny chin chin

“At Chin Chin it's all about sharing & enjoying the experience, while having fun tasting lots of different dishes from the exotic & varied flavours of our menu.”

Arriving to a dinner queue at 5.49 pm reminds me of my visit to Mamasita. Their popularity is quickly evident and thankfully my experience was worth the wait. The Coriander ($15) and Chilli infused vodka ($15) cocktails hit the spot for a refreshing start. I enjoyed the flavours of the Kingfish sashimi with lime, chilli, cocounut & Thai basil ($18) and Omelette of Coffin Bay oyster with chilli & garlic sauce ($15) with plump oysters providing a pop of texture and flavour. The Chin Chin pork 'roll ups' red braised suckling pig with pancakes, slaw & Asian herbs ($18) was enjoyable but I probably wouldn't order again as I felt other dishes would probably be more interesting. The Crispy barramundi and green apple salad with caramelised pork, chilli & lemongrass ($26) was OK but having two proteins in the dish seemed to be one too many for my palate to appreciate together. 

'Son in Law' eggs with chilli jam ($8) were good although you don't get to enjoy the burst of goey egg in your mouth when they're already served cut in half. Dry red curry of soft shell crab with snakebeans, thai basil & kaffir lime leaf ($31 compliments of chef) had lots of tasty sauce but consequently dulls the prized crispness of the soft shell crab batter. For dessert Palm sugar ice cream sundae with salted honeycomb & a lime syrup ($14) was a good combo of flavours to satisfy but a bit awkward to eat with the large spoon provided. I felt it would have also worked as a deconstructed dish in a bowl or plate. Service was down-to-earth and pretty efficient. I enjoyed the buzzing atmosphere and decor and sitting at the kitchen counter was a great way to see some cooking theatre to pass the time while waiting for dishes. You'll need to get there ridiculously early to try and avoid the queue.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Down-to-earth and pretty efficient service, Interesting decor and buzzing atmosphere, Fresh ingredients and tempting menu

CONS: No bookings policy unless you have a large group, Very popular so expect long queues

MUST TRY: Kingfish sashimi, Omelette of Coffin Bay oyster
VERDICT: The wait lining up was worth the experience although I'd definitely try and arrive earlier to avoid a long queue. Overall enjoyable dishes that tempt me to return to try more.

—

Coriander cocktail: cucumber, bombay gin, green chartreuse, lime, palm sugar ($15); Chilli infused vodka cocktail: frangelico, fresh pressed lime, cinammon syrup ($15)

Kingfish sashimi with lime, chilli, cocounut & Thai basil ($18)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Omelette of Coffin Bay oyster with chilli & garlic sauce ($15)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Chin Chin pork 'roll ups' red braised suckling pig with pancakes, slaw & Asian herbs ($18)

Crispy barramundi and green apple salad with caramelised pork, chilli & lemongrass ($26)

'Son in Law' eggs with chilli jam ($8) — they were good but unfortunately when served cut in half the egg loses it's goey contents before you eat them
WORTH TRYNG :-)

Dry red curry of soft shell crab with snakebeans, thai basil & kaffir lime leaf ($31 compliments of chef) — had lots of sauce and flavour but you then lose the crispness of the crab

I requested some lettuce leaves to try it as a san choy bow — seemed to work OK

Palm sugar ice cream sundae with salted honeycomb & a lime syrup ($14) — nice flavours but a little awkward to eat with large spoon

$129 for two

Menu

Cocktail menu

Eating at the kitchen counter is a great way to watch the kitchen theatre

The lineup already at 5.49 pm — this place is as popular as Mamasita

View Larger Map

Omah’s: Chilli Mud Crab, Malaysian, Port Melbourne (6 May 2011)

136-138 Rouse Street, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
http://www.omahs.com

In search of a good chilli crab

Thanks to Omah’s for inviting me as a guest to try some of their restaurant dishes while I was visiting Melbourne for the AgIdeas conference. It’s a fairly large restaurant with nice décor and seemed to be well suited to cater for larger groups if required. The menu dishes sound traditional but like many places the kitchen seems to provide their own take on them to try and cater for both Asian and Western customers to try and find a happy ground. To start I tried the Chicken satay ($6, 2 pieces). It was served with small pieces of pineapple and cucumber but unfortunately no sign of compressed cubes of rice or onion as sometimes seen. The flavours were quite good although it would have been great with a more smoky flavour.

It’s hard to find chilli crab in Sydney and even rarer to find a good one. I was pretty happy with the version at Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse but like always the mess and frustration of getting to the crab meat is usually the biggest deterrent. I learnt a great tip from Kenneth. When you pick up a piece of crab you need to lick off the sauce so when you start cracking and opening the shell it will keep the messy fingers to a minimum — the technique actually works. Omah’s Chilli Mud Crab ($39.90) is decently sized and quite reasonably priced. For some the homemade sauce could probably be more chilli hot but I was pretty happy with it which had a good depth of flavour I was hoping for. If you like it really hot just let the kitchen know beforehand. To help mop up the sauce the sliced flat roti ($4.50) is the way to go but it tends to dry out quickly so it would be better if it could be covered somehow to keep it fresh and warm for longer perhaps. It was good to check and see the crabs were actually live ones in the kitchen.

The Oyster omelette ($18.90) is a dish I haven’t really found in Sydney but I’m hoping it exists somewhere. It comes with nice plump oysters although I’m not a huge fan of the gelatinous textured parts inside and would have loved the base to be a bit more crispy but it was a flavoursome rendition. The Buttered Prawns ($24.90) is a first for me and its fragrant dry egg fluff gives it an intriguing level of texture making it a winning dish. The prawns are properly deveined and decently sized. To finish a refreshing Ice kacang ($7.50) was in order. Decently priced and sized it includes a few of the classic ingredients except for maybe red bean. The inclusion of the ice cream gives it a creamy rather than icy consistency which isn’t what I’m used to and I would have preferred more of a rose water taste throughout, although maybe the ice cream dulled its flavour.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice décor, Interesting and tempting dishes on menu, Decent chilli mud crab at a reasonable price, Prices seem fairly reasonable for the quality and atmosphere

CONS: Trying to cater for both a traditional and western market — some dishes might not live up to expectations, Intro slideshow on website can’t be skipped — annoys me, I think my parents would like Omah’s so I wish it was in Sydney

MUST TRY: Buttered Prawns, Chilli Mud Crab to compare to all others you’ve had, I've heard the Salted Egg Mud Crab is pretty good

—

Chicken satay ($6, 2 pieces)

Chilli Mud Crab - Queensland mud carb cooked in chef's mild sweet chilli sauce ($39.90)

WORTH TRYING :-)

A prized piece of claw

Essential finger bowl

Instruments of engagement

Roti for soaking up the sauce ($4.50)

Oyster omelette: Fresh oysters with chopped chives and coriander served with garlic chilli sauce ($18.90)

Decent sized oysters

Gelatin gooey consistency inside

Buttered Prawns - Fresh Australian wild prawns coated in fragrant dry egg fluff enhanced with curry leaves and spring onions ($24.90)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Ice kacang ($7.50)

Ice kacang ($7.50) — what lies beneath

Live mud crab kept in kitchen sink

Ice shaving machine

View Larger Map