Chin Chin (Melbourne)

The fact that their opening hype hasn't died down since 2011 says a lot. Chin Chin’s executive chef took inspiration from the streets of Southeast Asia, brought it back to sunny Melbourne and added his own dose of magic to everything. You're looking at stellar dishes like Rendang Curry of Wagyu Beef (AUD27.50), Salad of Shiso & Sesame Prawn Dumplings (AUD28.50), and Thailand's quintessential Sticky Rice (AUD14.50) topped with a slice of Nyonyan tapioca cake. Attention is the name of the game here, with all their garnishes and herbs hand-picked daily to ensure top-notch quality. Prices are quite steep and the queue's madness (count yourself lucky if you get a table within 2 hours), but the food and upbeat vibe's more than worth it.

This salad with shredded banana blossom, toasted coconut & lime. (Why so hipster and pretentious?) The queues are freaking long and the place is freaking loud - literally I almost went deaf dead. But the food is so good, I'm sold.
#burpplesg #burpple

Its fusion asian food is fresh and full of herbs.
This dish is sashimi Kingfish slices dip in lime, chilli, coconut, and thai basil. The fresh basil and lime does creates that tangy palate!

Kingfish Sashimi - A$25.5
📍: @gogobarmelb , Melbourne, VIC, AU

This particular dish - Red Curry of Braised Duck (AUD 34.50) was my favourite dish of the night but only came after 20-30 mins after all the other dishes. Love the creaminess of the curry that was paired with coconut rice and a molten Son-in-law egg.

Easily one of the best desserts I've tried in my 3 days here. It's basically a classic mango sticky rice, with black sticky rice that's superbly moist and chewy, topped with a tapioca cake, toasted coconut, and a bright turmeric caramel. Can't really taste the turmeric in there, but I liked how balanced the dessert was, with just the right amount of sweet in every component, and ahhh that tapioca cake ❤️

This has to be the dish of the day - the flaky, medium rare salmon with the spicy, fragrant red curry paste along with the smokey fragrance from the burnt banana leaf package. It's just like a sambal stingray but not. I love it!