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2013-08-08
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Tucked along Purvis Street lies a hidden gem serving up authentic Hainanese fare for many decades. Chin Chin Eating House may not raise an eyebrow with it's rustic facade but you will be surprise at the amount of crowd they draw into their humble-looking eatery. I was there for dinner on a Saturday evening and I could see the mixture of people, young and old, including huge families waiting out for a seat. After about 15 minutes of waiting, an auntie came and pointed to a table large enough to
Our orders were quickly taken by an unfriendly moody uncle who kept on ratting all the signatures off the menu and wanting us to order more. We went for a few of the signatures he recommended and he doesn't seem very satisfied and went on rattling away. We had to told him that we will just have these few as my dinner group were majority ladies and they don't eat much.
After waiting for 15 minutes, the food for our table was served. Whetting our appetite is the Sambal Kang Kong ($10) which was nicely prepared. Check out the glistering surface, usually it is drenched with hot oil to give off that kind of shine and it will retain the crunchiness of the greens. Delicious but I wish they can be more generous on the sambal as the spicy umami was pretty mild.
The Whole Hainanese White Chicken ($20) is almost visible on every table of the restaurant and we couldn't resist not having it too since we are here. Every slice of chicken I had was moist and smooth, with a nice fragrant of light soy sauce that goes so well with our individual portion of chicken rice, black sweet sauce and chilli! Being not a big fan of chicken rice, I would say this is one of the better ones I ever had.
Another of their signature dish, the Hainanese Pork Chop ($18) is served with green peas, potato wedges and accompanied by a bowl of sweet tomato-based gravy. I love how the slices of pork chop are so evenly coated with golden-brown crispy bread crumbs. Delicious, homely and rustic. It is so good when drizzled with the lightly sweet gravy over it. Best of all, it wasn't oily at all.
What got all our fingers busy and working is none other than the Prawn Paste Fried Chicken ($15) which is finger licking good! Hot, crisp and coated with prawn paste, this is surely one treat both kids and adult would love. Although it's a little on a the oily side, I would say it's definitely worth the calories for the delicious-ness.Overall, it was a sumptuous and filling dinner for the group of us and although the service wasn't that friendly, we couldn't ask for more with great value food that tasted good. If you're dropping by for dinner, do come early to avoid the crowd!
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