Chin Chin

Chin Chin is the old fave, the current fave and the new fave all wrapped up into one. With its consistently fresh, fragrant and flavoursome food, buzzing vibe, affordable price tag and friendly service, it's always on the top of my recommendation list.

Whilst the lack of bookings can occasionally turn people off, the fact that Chin Chin's will take your number and call you when your table's ready makes it a much more attractive option than Mamasita's that makes you wait on their stair case (and also provides a great excuse for a pre dinner drink). 

Even at midday on a Monday this place was buzzing as we headed off for a cheeky start-of-the-week work lunch. 

Once seated by Chin Chin's very friendly staff we commenced our ordering of the Chin Chin pork roll ups, the Gapi Fried Rice, the papaya salad, the massaman curry with rice, the wok fried salt and pepper calamari and the caramelised sticky pork.

The pork roll ups are generally on my regular order - simple but fresh flavours that perfectly combine the sweetness of the sauce, the zest of the herbs and the meatiness of the braised suckling pig.

The papaya salad was everything you'd expect from a good Asian salad - fresh, textual, perfectly spiced and well balanced with a salty but slightly sour sauce. The only thing I would say would be to cut / mince the garlic into smaller pieces rather than scattering whole and half raw cloves throughout the salad. 

The wok fried salt and pepper calamari was probably one of th best calamari's I've had in a while - just when I thought I was the one who was mad in thinking that calamari was meant to be tender and not at all chewy, out came this perfect dish that proved calamari could melt in your mouth!

The caramelised sticky pork was the dish of the day - mouth watering sticky chunks of pork well balanced with a sour herb salad and chilli vinegar dressing.

The least impressive meal of the day was the Gapi Gried Rice with caramelised shrimp, sweet pork, chopped omelette and bean sprouts. Whilst it was definitely 'nice' after being covered in lashings of siracha sauce, it in no way compared to the other flavour sensations of the day. The same could probably be said about the massaman curry which, whilst I know is one of Chin Chin's more popular dishes, I always find too rich and filled with far too much onion.

All in all Chin Chin still remains my new (well technically old) fave and far outshines its sister restaurant Baby Pizza.  Luckily Kong came along to lift up the family's name (stay tuned for a blog on that one!)  

And a special shout out to Corey who provided valuable input into the photos and general critique of the meals for this blog - a true food blogger at heart! 

Food: 4.5/5

Decor: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Total 12.5/15

Verdict: the new fave - put it as number one on the to do list

The Merrywell

I should start with the disclaimer that I had my first Merrywell experience at 10.30pm on a Friday night (after, perhaps, a drink or ten!) but it was still pretty darn good.

Often featured in Melbourne's top burger lists, I had high hopes going in and after the great success I had with the burgers at Fat Bob's, the bar was set high. To eat we ordered the loaded fries, onion rings, the KISS burger and the Red Eye Spicy Burger (and no there wasn't 10 of us - this feast was just for us two). 

Loaded Fries

Onion rings

KISS Burger

The loaded fries were pretty amazing -  loaded with crisp salty bacon and creamy gooey cheese - an absolute pig out sensation! The onion rings were also good - crisp and not too greasy. And what about the burger?  Well to start with, the patty was thick, pink and juicy - perhaps too pink for some, but just how I like it to be cooked. Unfortunately when it came to taste, the flavour of my Red Eye Spicy burger was drowned out by its overwhelming spice - and I'm the type of girl who snacks on jalapeños straight from the jar - so this burger was HOT. 

But, with the promise of ordering a different burger next time, I'll definitely keep Merrywell on the list of late night splurges in the future.

Decor: 2.5/5

Food: 3/5

Service: 2.5/5

Total: 8/15

Verdict: Like - worth a try at some point

Sezar

Sezar had been on the 'To do' list for quite awhile and thankfully, it did not disappoint.

Hidden down Melbourne Place, Sezar is a quaint little middle eastern restaurant with a warm decor and a trendy vibe.  The occasion was one of the Dinner Club member's birthdays - and what a way to celebrate!

To start of the evening we shared the spinach and feta boreg, beetroot salad and lamb kebabs. The spinach and feta boreg was amazing - light flaky pastry filled with a delicious and well seasoned cheesy filling. However, the beetroot salad and lamb kebabs were unfortunately rather average - lacking flavour and pretty much failing in comparison to the rest of the night's meals. 



Spinach and fetta boreg

Beetroot salad

Thank goodness the main meals were anything but average - perfectly spiced melt-in-your-mouth beef cheeks (incredible - the kind of meal I would be perfectly happy to eat every night) and juicy flavoursome BBQ Chicken on a bed of spiced cous cous (spectacular - who knew a run of the mill chicken could taste so good). And on the side we had zucchini fritters - crisp on the outside and deliciously moist and. flavoursome on the inside.

BBQ Chicken

Spiced beef cheek

Zucchini fritters 

With spectacular service, amazing food and even better wine, Sezar is a fantastic restaurant that I would highly recommend that everyone should try soon.

Food: 4/5

Decor: 4.5/5

Service: 4.75/5

Total: 13.25/15

Verdict: Love - rush out and try it soon

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1794831/restaurant/CBD/Sezar-

Yum Yum Dumplings

The plan was to head to one of my fave dumpling joints - North East China Family. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovations so we thought we would give Yum Yum Dumplings, a couple of doors down, a try.

While the vibe and décor of dumpling joints (especially in China town) are largely similar, Yum Yum Dumplings felt slightly (and very slightly) up market to the usual - we were given actual wine glasses to poor our byo wine in and were surrounded by TV's showing us the different menu options. 

To eat we had the chicken and prawn dumplings, Shanghai noodles and pork buns.

Chicken and prawn dumplings

Shanghai noodles

Pork buns

The dumplings were quite nice - not as juicy as I usually like them, but good flavours and otherwise well cooked. The buns were also nice - fluffy on the outside with a well seasoned pork mince on the inside. The Shangai noodles are probably a miss - quite oniony and fairly flavourless.

Overall, it was a decent dumpling joint but will most likely be returning to North East China Family instead when it's up and running.

Food: 2.5/5

Décor: 3/5

Service: 3.5/5

Total: 9/15

Verdict: Don't bother - while not bad, there are better dumpling joints around