Chin Chin, one of Melbourne's trendiest restaurants launched in Sydney in early October this year, along with some of it's signature dishes as well as some brand new creations. When it hit Sydney it was probably THE buzzword in town, and probably still is. Despite it being a 160-seat restaurant, booking isn't an option for dinner for small groups of less than 6.
So we thought we would try our luck by getting to the restaurant at 6:30pm. We were told the wait would be about 2 hours, which then got pushed back to 3 hours (we visited mid-November on a Saturday). I guess the idea is that while you are waiting, you can grab a drink from Chin Chin's GoGo Bar which is literally next door, so be prepared to spare your whole evening (bar food menu is available).
I did come across some comments on of their customer service (and I don't mean it in a pleasant way), so Mr Piggy and I were prepared, but we weren't prepared enough for what felt like an endless long wait. We had to deal with extremely rude staff at the front desk. However, things did get better after we were seated, our waiter of the night was very attentive and had a much better attitude. 
It is understandable when new restaurants open they may have teething problems. At least the food, whilst I'm not sure if it is worth the wait, was certainly good.
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| Pad Seuw $20.50 |
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| Stir Fry Prawn, Bug Tail, Egg Noodle $29.50 |
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| Butter Chicken $21.5 |
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| Roti Basket (2pcs) $5.50 |
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| Black Sticky Rice w Coconut Custard & Tumeric Caramel $14.50 |
This was rather a heavy dessert, and I am referring to how much carb there was in the bowl and the level of sweetness. We only managed to eat the tip of the iceberg. The custard was more like an anti-custard. It was warm and dense in texture, we found it interesting, but it was not what we were expecting.
We found the food enjoyable, and each dish had it's Asian touch.
Food: 8/10
Service: 4/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Highlight:
- Tasty food & good portions
- Food came out fairly quickly
- Bang for buck (perhaps underpriced)
- Staff could use more training
- Very loud atmosphere (people were pretty much yelling at each other + music pumping in the background)
- Long wait time
Address: 69 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Hours: Mon-Sun 11:30am-late
Phone: 02 9281 3322
