July 8, 2011: Mentum Chin

Chin Chin has been opened upward piffling to a greater extent than than a calendar month together with attracted much weblog attention, nearly all of it positive, inwards that time. Twitter chatter amongst Ed Charles together with Jess Ho convinced us that they'd cater (fish sauce together with shrimp glue free!) to us vegos together with nosotros checked it out on Fri night. There are no bookings permitted for groups of less than eight, together with nosotros were hardly surprised that fifty-fifty at 6pm Chin Chin was packed out. Jess herself was on the door together with squeezed us onto the 'chef's table', a high bench overlooking the kitchen. She knew our drill together with helpfully pointed out the meat-free dishes across the carte du jour - a little proportion of the total together with a fleck tofu-heavy, but to a greater extent than than ii tin eat inwards a unmarried evening.

We were inwards the mood for cocktails together with in that place are nine originals on offering (each $15). Mine (pictured right) was a sweet, real floral together with ice-heavy mix amongst Thai basil, pinkish grapefruit, rose water, vodka together with lychee. Michael had a zippy mix of tamarind syrup together with fresh Mandarin amongst tequila, orangish curacao together with a Szechuan tabular array salt rim.

Jess had recommended the salad of organic silken tofu, Thai basil together with a hot sugariness bitter dressing ($16). I'm non certain that I picked upward much oestrus or bitterness but liked it nonetheless - the fried tofu pieces soaked upward the dressing, in that place were lots of calorie-free fresh veges together with a pocket-size constituent of rice noodles.

As nosotros finished off the salad, out came our rice ($3), roti ($6) together with dry out curry of stir fried vegetables, spice crusted organic tofu, kaffir lime foliage together with Thai basil ($13). Unfortunately, past times the fourth dimension nosotros were produce to eat it 5 minutes later, the roti was already mutual frigidness together with tough. (It was even then pretty bang-up for mopping upward the final of the curry sauce). The curry was lovely - thick together with spicy - though I didn't pick upward the kaffir lime tang that I was looking frontward to.

Strangely the final of our dishes to brand it was the "little something" nosotros ordered - spicy corn together with coriander fritters amongst iceberg lettuce together with chilli jam ($8). They were worth waiting for! Each lettuce exit held a sliver of fresh ginger, together with in that place was mint to add together to the packet every bit well. Usually I'd prefer to a greater extent than corn together with less batter, but every bit exercise of a watery lettuce roll the soft batter-heavy fritters actually worked. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bright bar snack.

so pleased Em. Thai nutrient e'er has me craving H2O ice cream for afters then I was all over this. Like Fatbooo I constitute it crazy-sugary-sweet. The lime syrup offered a fleck of time out but non quite then much every bit I would've liked. I was glad to endeavour it but'll human face farther downward the dessert listing adjacent time.

My 2nd favourite affair after those corn fritters was receiving the neb - the nutrient constituent was less than $60 for the ii of us, including dessert, together with I'd expected it would damage us a lot more. While Chin Chin was inwards Fri black bar mode, nosotros received first-class service - Michael had a piffling panic that our curry contained stray meat together with our waiter patiently checked it out together with cheerfully reassured us that it was oyster mushroom. (Michael tipped to a greater extent than than park given his graciousness.) I didn't inquire virtually vegan options but most of the veg nutrient looks suitable including a duo of the desserts!

City bars are rarely our scene but we'll happily brand an exception for Chin Chin's friendly energy, cocktails together with corn fritters.

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Almost everyone loves Chin Chin! so pleased Em. Thai nutrient e'er has me craving H2O ice cream for afters then I was all over this. Like half-eaten, so pleased Em. Thai nutrient e'er has me craving H2O ice cream for afters then I was all over this. Like my seasonal table, so pleased Em. Thai nutrient e'er has me craving H2O ice cream for afters then I was all over this. Like wine nomad, so pleased Em. Thai nutrient e'er has me craving H2O ice cream for afters then I was all over this. Like let's instruct fatty together, so pleased Em. Thai nutrient e'er has me craving H2O ice cream for afters then I was all over this. Like I'm then hungreeeeeeeeee together with so pleased Em. Thai nutrient e'er has me craving H2O ice cream for afters then I was all over this. Like Kaz's Food For Thought was disappointed.

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Chin Chin
125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD
8663 2000
veg snacks together with mains $8-16, desserts $9-12
http://chinchinrestaurant.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is broad together with flat; infinite betwixt tables is mixed. All service is at the tabular array together with there's a 'disabled'-labelled toilet.

Chin Mentum Ii

January 2, 2012

first visit, but hadn't been willing to bargain amongst the stress together with queues for a provide trip until the combo of belatedly lunch, heatwave together with novel year's 24-hour interval world vacation gave us an chance to see when tables were inward slightly less demand.

last time.

It's worth noting that both our mains were vegan, the pumpkin curry was gluten-free, together with the bill of fare promises that dietary requirements of all types tin live catered for. Inclusivity for the win! It's equally good worth noting the component subdivision sizes - later splitting 2 mains together with a starter amongst Cindy I was stuffed to the gills. I suspect I ate to a greater extent than than my fair part of the curry though, because Cindy somehow all the same had room for dessert.

She went amongst the three-colour pudding (layers of sugariness beans amongst pandan infused tapioca, caramel together with crushed ice, $11).

Cendol. And similar Cendol it has around wonderful novelty value (look at it!), but is all a chip sugariness together with sugary. Cindy didn't actually love it, although that may convey inward purpose been because she was already basically full.

We had a pretty damn fantabulous luncheon at Chin Chin - friendly service, groovy nutrient and, most importantly when it's forty degrees outside, air conditioning. Despite all the hype, the prices for vegetarian dishes at Chin Chin are all the same reasonable - Cindy together with I managed 2 mains, a starter summation a roti together with around rice for less than $50 (watch out for the drinks though, that's where they become you). We'll definitely return, but likely solely when nosotros tin fourth dimension it to avoid the crazy stress of their busy-ness (early together with belatedly lunches seem to live the best bets).

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Read virtually our start see to Chin Chin here. Then, if you lot tin confront it, brand your agency through all the other weblog reviews. Nouveau Potato together with Niche, Fork, Knife together with Chopsticks, Makansudah, Dangerous Duplicity, Makan Melbourne, Dine With Me, Where Adles Eats, Irrepressible Food Baby, Poppets Window, Sweet together with Sour Fork, Dying iv Desserts, Melbourne Culinary Journal, dear melbourne, Fill My Belly inward Melbourne, angryaussiefood, Temasek, Eat This, Does My Bomb Look Big inward This?, Outright Gluttony, Köstlich, foodbitesandflights, mochii eats, kran together with nina, funky ass together with Addictive together with Consuming convey all enjoyed it since nosotros concluding visited.

A few bloggers convey been a chip disappointed yesteryear the much-hyped Chin Chin - see Very real Hungry Caterpillar, Gastrono Me, foodloca, Miss Adriennely, Momo together with Coco, Hold the Peas together with je t'aime l'automne.

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Chin Chin
125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD
8663 2000
veg snacks together with mains $8-16, desserts $9-12
http://chinchinrestaurant.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is broad together with flat; infinite betwixt tables is mixed. All service is at the tabular array together with there's a 'disabled'-labelled toilet.

Billy Kwong

August 19, 2014

I've managed to gear upwardly my electrical flow work province of affairs in addition to then that I larn to brand semi-regular trips to Sydney for a calendar week at a time. I commonly remain somewhere close the beach in addition to haven't actually stumbled across likewise many places worth blogging (let's simply nation that I swallow a lot of inexpensive Thai food). But clearly I've been talking nutrient amongst my colleagues, because on this trip 1 of them booked me inwards for a Tuesday nighttime outing for something a fight fancy. Our master copy innovation was Berta, but their exceptional Tuesday nighttime repast doesn't include a vegetarian option. Luckily, my friend had plenty of fall-back plans in addition to nosotros were able to snare a tabular array at the 1 on the altitude of her listing - Billy Kwong.

Billy Kwong is a stalwart of the Sydney scene - run yesteryear celebrity chef Kylie Kwong amongst a rigid emphasis on local ingredients in addition to sustainability, it's a regular presence inwards lists of 'must try' Sydney restaurants. It's a tiny in addition to crowded infinite in addition to has solely lately started taking bookings later years of long queues for tables. We felt lucky to nab a booking on the hateful solar daytime - rainy Tuesdays are belike the best fourth dimension for impulsive trips to high need restaurants.

The carte du jour changes regularly, in addition to the electrical flow iteration isn't its most vegetarian friendly - at that topographic point weren't quite plenty dishes available for us to fellowship the $95 chef's banquet. The staff were lovely though, suggesting dishes in addition to helping us come upwardly up amongst to a greater extent than than plenty options to shape an splendid meal. The fashion of the carte du jour is fascinating, pioneering a sort of bush tucker Chinese food, whereby relatively touchstone Chinese dishes are tweaked amongst the improver of local ingredients. Most famously, Kwong advocates for the run of insects equally a sustainable poly peptide source, serving upwardly cricket in addition to prawn dumplings in addition to fried rice amongst repast worms (for the record, my dining companions sampled the crickets in addition to described them equally simply adding or in addition to then compaction to the dumplings). Vegans attain almost equally good equally vegetarians hither - all the savoury dishes I had were vegan in addition to the dessert would simply ask a sour cream substitute.

We separate a couplet of the veggie starters amid the 3 of us. The saltbush cakes amongst identify made chilli in addition to soy sauce ($18) were a bright agency to larn started, amongst the slightly salty greens seasoning the crisply fried cakes in addition to the chilli adding or in addition to then bite. Note to self: adjacent time, don't percentage these.

Next upwardly was the vegetarian sung choi bao ($26) - big lettuce leafage cups to survive stuffed amongst a dark fungus, saltbush, organic vegetables, coriander in addition to chilli sauce.

I'm certain there's a knack to making keen piddling parcels out of the lettuce leaves, but I injure upwardly amongst chilli sauce in addition to veggie pieces dribbling downwards my chin. Messiness aside, this was a dish bursting amongst freshness in addition to flavour - the fungus got a fight lost, but this was all nearly big crispy bites of vegetables.

I got a whole principal to myself - steamed silken tofu amongst ginger, shaved kombu, chilli, shiro shoyu in addition to sesame crude oil ($26) in addition to nosotros separate a $15 plate of the stir-fried native greens amongst ginger (my note-taking failed, but I intend it included Warrigal greens in addition to or in addition to then to a greater extent than saltbush). The tofu was creamy in addition to a tiny fight sweet, but otherwise fairly featureless, taking on the flavours of its accompaniments - a salty, umami flavour from the kombu, mild shoyu in addition to a decent ginger boot (I must acknowledge to non actually noticing whatever chilli, but nosotros were a few wines deep at this stage). It's a lovely dish, but belike 1 that's ameliorate shared - it all got a fight samey yesteryear the end. The gingery native greens provided a dainty contrast, amongst or in addition to then precipitous flavours.

There's simply the 1 dessert choice - poached pears amongst hazelnut praline, home-made sour cream in addition to crumbled dark chocolate ($15). We separate this betwixt the 3 of us - it was fresh in addition to pleasant, but strangely unexciting given the fascinating dishes on the savoury menu.

In calorie-free of her Writers Festival appearance, Cindy in addition to I receive got been talking a fight lately nearly what's distinctive nearly Australian fine dining, in addition to Billy Kwong provides or in addition to then answers. Kylie Kwong has taken splendid Chinese cookery in addition to given it a actually distinctive Australian twist. I was real impressed. It's non a inexpensive identify to swallow (e.g. a similar tofu dish at Rice Queen goes for $16), but the focus on sustainable in addition to organic produce, the friendly in addition to efficient service in addition to the imaginative approach to nutrient simply nearly larn inwards worth the money. Billy Kwong is doing something quite unique in addition to is good worth a view if you're looking for somewhere exciting to swallow inwards Sydney.

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H5N1 couplet of veg-bloggers receive got visited Billy Kwong previously, in addition to both Tales of a Vegan Food Fetishist in addition to Not Another Mushroom Risotto were real impressed.

Similarly, the full general blogging crowd receive got zilch but dainty things to nation nearly the identify (aside from a few gripes nearly toll in addition to dessert options). Check out Amateur Gourmet, Dumpling daughter in addition to cheesecake boy, VVN, Dollymic, Aficionado, Street Food, 3748miles, The Belly Rules Blog, FoodPornJournal, food.4.two, Reservation inwards the cite of Jones, forque, The Adventures of Miss Piggy in addition to Belly Rumbles. 

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Billy Kwong

3/355 Crown St, Darlinghurst (although it's shortly to deed to Potts Point)

(02) 9332 3900

menu 

http://www.kyliekwong.org/BillyKwongs.aspx

Accessibility: There's a apartment entryway but a real tightly packed interior. It's sum tabular array service. We didn't view the toilets.