LIFE IS SHORT, SO EAT DRINK AND TRAVEL: February 2012

I'm so happy to be able to start off with a post on my experience at the informal, yet stylish Chin Chin. This Pan Asian restaurant serves up some amazing mouth watering dishes, with punchy fresh flavours, which leave you walking out the door wanting to come back for more. Chin Chin is all about sharing, which is something I love to do, as you get to try lots of different dishes....instead of ordering the one dish and wishing you'd ordered what someone else on your table had ordered!

I'd heard about the lengthy waits people have experienced at Chin Chin, so decided on a late Sunday lunch for our group of 4. The wait only ended up being about half an hour which wasn't too bad at all.

So after being seated my eyes went straight to the cocktail list (as they usually do) and something very exciting caught my eye!

Lychee Cocktail Goodness

This super girly cocktail served in a martini glass had a mix of lychee liqueur, prosecco and rose water. The beautiful ball of ice you can see floating in the centre of the glass was the highlight. It was filled with a fresh lychee and some rose petals, and as the ball meted it kept the cocktail nice and icy cool. I'm on a mission now to find some sphere ice cube trays to experiment with different flavoured ice balls at home!! Will keep you updated with how I go on my search.

Spicy Corn & Coriander Fritters

What a start! These delicious ball shaped fritters had a nice crunchy crust on the outside and were warm and soft on the inside. Served with iceberg lettuce to wrap around the fritter, and a delicious chilli jam. Yum Yum!

Crispy Barramundi & Green Apple Salad w Caramelised Pork, Chilli & Lemongrass

This dish was a stand out! The 4 of us at the table all agreed it was probably our fav dish of the day! I would never have thought to mix fish and pork in the one dish, but the combination of the sticky sweet pork and fried barramundi just blew me away. The dressing that coated the salad was super zesty and fresh which i also loved!

Chin Chin Pork Roll Ups

This DIY dish consisted of red braised soft stringy pork, pancakes, slaw and herbs. I loved filling my own pancake, as I could decide how much of each filling I wanted to add. The sweet, plum like sauce that was served on the side was super yummy drizzled over the pork.

Crispy Skinned Duck With Pickled Cucumber & Ginger Salad

This dish had nice flavours however I probably wouldn't order it on my next visit, as I didn't feel it was as exciting as the other meals we experienced. In each bite you get the crunch of the ducks crispy skin, and the softness of the melt in your mouth juicy meat. The salad served on the side had a nice tang that went well with the duck! I love the combination of duck and cucumber, and this was no exception.

Chinook Salmon Wrapped In Banana Leaf w Coconut Red Curry, Lime & Thai Basil

I love salmon and all the exciting and interesting ways you can experiment with cooking it. This dish was beautifully presented with the salmon fillet wrapped in a banana leaf. The Red curry flavours were all the way through the salmon keeping it nice and moist, and the lime and thai basil added a great fresh flavour.

Chin Chin Special Rice w Crab, Pineapple, Chicken & Coriander

I really enjoyed this rice dish. Simple flavours, but super tasty. The rice had a lovely shine to it and was nice and fluffy. And the crab was really soft and juicy - as crab should always be!

Palm Sugar Ice Cream Sundae w Salted Honeycomb & Lime Syrup

If you visit Chin Chin you simply must leave room for this amazing dessert (or just mentally tell yourself your not full - like i did! ha ha) The sweetness of the palm sugar flavoured ice cream drizzled with the bitter lime syrup creates an unforgettable flavour. And let's not forget the salted honeycomb goodness crumbs on top.