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