Simon Food Favourites: Soft Shell Crab

Showing posts with label Soft Shell Crab. Show all posts

23 November 2012

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.

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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

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

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29 August 2012

Barramundi Bar and Grill: Groupon deal for Seafood Platter for Two, CBD Sydney (17 Aug 2012)

Cnr Jamison & Lang Streets, Sydney NSW 2000

http://barramundibarandgrill.com.au

Seafood sampling on a budget

‘$49 Succulent Seafood Platter for Two, Includes Lobster Mornay, Soft Shell Crab, Grilled Prawns and More, Plus a Bottle of Woodhouse Wine at Barramundi Bar & Grill, CBD ($138 Value)’

Thanks to Groupon for providing me a $100 credit to purchase two $49 Seafood Platter for Two vouchers at Barramundi Bar and Grill. Bookings needed to be made via email as per the restaurant conditions. I assumed a booking for four people with two vouchers at the same table wouldn't be a problem since the deal advertised 'purchase multiple vouchers' but the email response from the restaurant firmly pointed out the rule 'one voucher per booking per couple' applies. This resulted in a number of time consuming email exchanges trying to find an available date where both my friend and I could independently make our table bookings in the hope of dining on the same day and time. Even though we were booking a few weeks in advance just after the deal went active we only found a date where one voucher was booked for 12.30 pm and the other at 1.30 pm due to the restaurant's limited spots. My expectations were low after my booking dramas which could have been resolved quicker by a phone call combined with reviews on Urbanspoon not being promising. Arriving at 1.30 pm on the day the restaurant was busy so the difficulty in finding a matching time was I guess justified. By sheer luck there was a table available right next to my friends 12.30 pm booking so we thankfully got to sit near each other in the end.

Now to the food. Being realistic I wasn't expecting an amazing seafood platter for only $49, especially when you consider the bottle of wine was already worth $28 making the platter just $21 shared between two. This alone makes the deal a bargain and definitely filled me up with the bonus of a good tipsy factor. Armed with the advice from my friends dining earlier I started with the battered fish. This was the best way to appreciate the batter before it went cold although it could have been more crunchy and golden overall for my liking. Grilled prawns were OK but I'd prefer fresh prawns. There was lobster meat to be had under the thick mornay sauce but again my preference would be fresh or garlic butter. I scrapped most of mornay sauce off the decent sized scallops that hid underneath. To appreciate the scallops better I'd suggest a ginger shallot dressing which isn't so heavy. The heavy style of cooking certainly fills the stomach. My favourites were the soft shell crab with light crisp batter and the surprisingly tender calamari — both of these were he standouts on the platter for my friends and myself. Salad was fresh and dressed as you'd hope. Leaving little room for dessert I was still tempted to try the Tiramisu genoise ($10). Not your typical tiramisu but still nice. It's a generous serving with excellent crunchy vienna almonds and a generous amount of mascarpone making it quite rich and thus one best shared.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Service was friendly and welcoming (Maya), Pretty good value as a deal, Wine was quaffable (but not Woodhouse as advertised), Atmosphere and decor was pleasant

CONS: Only one voucher per table per booking so not suitable for groups, I wouldn't want to pay full price ($110) for this seafood platter unless modified with fresh prawns, oysters, and more lobster, Limited table space

MUST TRY: The soft shell crab or salt and pepper calamari on their a la carte menu

VERDICT: You get a lot to share for only $24.50 per person including wine making it decent value but keep in mind most of it is fried or in mornay sauce. My preference would be for some lighter cooking styles like grilled fish and fresh prawns.

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