Restaurant Review: Chin Chin

Location: 125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Phone: 03 8663 2000
Link: http://www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au/ 
Cuisine: South East Asian, Thai
Overall Impression: 6/10

Chin Chin Restaurant needs no introduction. Its increasing popularity is clear for all to see. With their no booking policy (all groups of less than 10 people are on a walk in basis), avid fans are willing to wait for up to 2 hours to indulge in their delicious South-East Asian fare. 

Alice, KM and I headed down to Chin Chin for dinner on a Sunday night where the wait wasn’t at all reduced. After an hour, we received a text message saying our table was ready. 

The menu encourages sharing and features a variety of South East Asian hawker food. As expected, the food was a delight to indulge in. 

Chin Chin pork “roll ups” Red braised suckling pig with pancakes, slaw and sour herbs

Spicy hot green papaya salad with chargrilled red chilli, prawn floss and peanuts

Green curry of grilled chicken with salted duck eggs and Thai basil

Everything tasted fresh and had beautiful flavours. Despite the menu items having been tweaked and modernised in comparison to their original counterparts, the dishes retained authentic South East Asian characteristics. 

Crispy skinned duck, pickled cucumber & ginger salad with sesame salt and fresh lemon

Grilled banana roti bread with sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon sugar

GoGo bar

Leading the way for Modern South East Asian cuisine, Chin Chin Restaurant satisfies Melbourne’s lust for spicy and flavoursome street food. While the value for money proposition is questionable, my dining experience was thoroughly enjoyable. However, the no booking policy and resultant queues mean, unfortunately, I will have to think twice before returning.