The story of how my group of friends and I finally ended up at Chin Chin is so hilarious! It involves a similar restaurant with a very similar name *cough*Chim Chim*cough* and one of us who actually made a booking there 😂😂😂
So it's with pleasure I'm finally getting to write about the REAL Chin Chin in it's Sydney location. This post comes really late but I don't think the girls will mind so here we go and if they call me out... better late than never!!
Chin Chin is a popular restaurant from Melbourne that aims to present a "quintessentially Australian take on Asian food". Okay before you think it, just know that I know. The last part of the line is enough to make any Asian person slightly cringe on the inside the same way that I almost feel like I need to eye roll each time I hear that something is 'Asian fusion'. But hey, there are so many glowing reviews about the food here that we should look past that and be down to give it a try.
I really liked the industrial look with the glow of the pink neon lights which became more prominent as the evening got darker outside. A soft and pretty pink glow on everything? Yes please!
We're here to celebrate, our girl Katrina's graduation as not everyone could make it to the ceremony on the day. So a Feed Me #1 The Classics type of feast sounds just perfect for the occasion!
The feast promises to provide a selection of Chin Chin's favourite dishes and at $69.50 per person, there are no complaints here.
Because we pretty much opted for a surprise feast, I only had a brief look over the menu at the time but I was really impressed that there was actually so many influences from South-East Asia. I saw Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and probably many more!
Get you a man who can take cute, candid and natural photos of you like this!
I can't remember what these ultra-refreshing looking drinks were but knowing us, mine was probably some sort of cider and Pat's may have been some sort of pale ale.
Cathy got the Purple Dragon Cocktail $22 which was SO PRETTY and tropical looking. The purple colour made us all look at this in so much awe.
Our entrees soon start arriving and the turntable is quickly filled with so many interesting dishes!!!
Corn Fritters with Lettuce Cups, Shiso and Sweet & Sour Chill Sauce
I love corn fritters but to be honest these were probably fried a little bit too long for my liking. They had a bit of a burnt oily taste around them. The lettuce was nice to help pick these up and spoon a helping of the sauce into one bite but there wasn't much shiso... they gave us quite some tiny leaves.
Chin Chin Pork "Roll Ups" with Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Pancakes, Slaw and Honey Hoisin Sauce
YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS. Hellooooo something with pork that looks like duck pancakes and pho. As soon as this dish landed, I felt some eyes on me because of the coriander in this dish hahaha. Easily removable because they are quite large thankfully. The pancake that you construct yourself is pretty nice with the sweet hoisin and crunchy salad but the pulled pork is disappointing because it was really dry.
Kingfish Sashimi with Lime, Chilli, Coconut and Thai Basil
Between a table of 11, they gave us 4 plates of this which was much more than the other side dishes hooray! The kingfish sashimi was nice and fresh. I really enjoyed the creaminess from the coconut milk drizzle as well as the zesty lime and refreshing basil. We definitely said Hello Japan and HELLO South-East Asia in this dish.
Time for mains!
Stir Fry Prawn, Bug Tail, Egg Noodle, Garlic Chives & Hellfire Chilli Oil
HELLFIRE CHILLI OIL!!! This was hot to me but I actually still really enjoyed dabbing a really small amount over my noodles. The prawns and bug tail (that is the flat lobster-like creatures, not actual bug-bugs) had a nice texture that really benefitted the dish from not being velveted like some places tend to do. I also feel like there was more seafood than actual noodles which is a win to me!
Barbequed Cauliflower with Curry Spiced Coconut Cream, Curry Leaf and Chilli
Cauliflower with curry is always such a good combination. The extra char from the barbequed cauliflower was really good. However some cauliflower florets were mushier than others from being overcooked so that was a highlighted inconsistency.
Caramelised Sticky Pork with Sour Herb Salad and Chilli Vinegar
This made me laugh a little when I saw it under the salad menu as I wrote this post! I really liked the sticky pork and especially the edges where the sweet savoury sauce really caramelised itself into the meat. The salad on top is similar to the beansprouts and Thai basil you get on the side at pho, but with additionally cucumbers and a light but sweet vinegar dressing.
Rendang Curry of Beef
I LOVE RENDANG and was really excited for this one! It had cumin, coriander and toasted coconut but to be honest I didn't see or taste the coriander anywhere so maybe they meant coriander powder. I thought it was pretty good. The outside of the beef was slightly crispy and charred while the inside was very tender. The flavour was strong too and the toasted coconut added a lovely crunch. However as the toasted coconut quickly warmed up and softened over the beef, it was less pleasant the longer you let the dish sit.
My boyfriend was really excited to try this was well as he had it in the Melbourne Chin Chin and loved it. For him, it was a disappointment and nowhere near as good. Guess you have to fly me over when the pandemic calms down and we will see 😇
And the best part for last, dessert time! I feel like the desserts took slightly longer to come out than the two other courses had and we were almost like... oh is that it? Do we leave now?
We had 11 people in our group and for this course we only received two sets of each dish. I feel like this was a little flawed as dessert is a lot harder to divide. Although I do note the portion of these desserts seemed larger than average.
Palm Sugar and Burnt Caramel Ice Cream Sundae with Salted Honeycomb and Lime Syrup
I didn't have much of this because who wants to double dip when sharing an ice cream bowl with at least 5 other people. So from my experience, the palm sugar and burnt caramel ice cream was really average and just tasted like plain caramel. There was two other scoops of vanilla ice cream in the bowl as well which kind of felt misleading. The honeycomb was very sweet and I didn't get any of the lime syrup in my spoon but I heard it was very sour. Good for cutting through the sweetness of the honeycomb and ice cream but still a strange combination.
Black Sticky Rice with Coconut Custard and Turmeric Caramel
Upon first glance I thought this was leche flan or Vietnamese style cassava cake. Instead it is a baked custard which doesn't have any distinct flavour and is sadly dense and slightly gritty. The caramel was watered down with coconut milk and nice with the sticky rice. But in the end, this dessert is very heavy and carb-y. Not my dessert of choice for rounding off a nice meal.
Vietnamese Coffee Panna Cotta
This was my favourite dessert of the night and a definite stand out to the two other desserts! The pannacotta had a lovely and strong vanilla flavour and was very creamy and wobbly. The Vietnamese coffee syrup was very sweet and yet bitter (actually depends on who you ask and their preferences) but perfectly intense to pair with the panna cotta. Loved this fusion and combination.
We were all left feeling very full and satisfied at the conclusion of our food and desserts.
Time for some cute photos;
LOVE YOU ALL HOPE YOU ARE DOING WELL! xx
Chin Chin was a wonderful experience and I'm so glad they bought it to Sydney so we could experience the great food and vibes. I definitely recommend getting the Feed Me set so that like me, you can try a selection of the menu at a good price point. That way you'll get to see what you like and what you don't like.
Definitely a restaurant that I plan to come back to sometime and have a good night out or celebrate a special event! 😍
Chin Chin
69 Commonwealth Street,
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Open 7 days a week
