Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine

Grand entrance

We found Chin’s Stylish Chinese Cuisine from My Food My Love’s post. I immediately called to make a booking for the two of us to celebrate the birthday of yours truly. :)

Before we went, we had one reservation about the place and that is the parking issue. Our fear was confirmed when we were asked by a “jaga kereta” or parking attendant to pay RM5 for parking at an MPPP lot by the road side opposite QE2 (at close to 9pm). We had to fork out the sum requested for fear that he will induce harm on our car, or worse still, on us. :(

They have a few set menus to choose from ranging from RM88++ per pax to RM218++ per pax. Sam Chin (the restaurant owner Dave Chin's son) was patient with us and actually recommended the set for us (RM88++ per pax) and explained each and every dish on the set menu.

Chic and stylish decor

The décor is chic and stylish just as the restaurant name suggests. I absolutely loved the large framed paintings hung on the ceiling and ambient lighting from the grand chandeliers. The view from the restaurant is great and we actually caught a glimpse of the Superstar Pisces (which recently made Penang its home port) as it was leaving the pier for the open sea for its 2D / 1N cruise.

Excellent view from our table

Dave and Sam Chin with famous TVB actor Ron Ng

Waiting area after the grand entrance

Cabinet displaying beautiful hand painted plates

Chin's menu

Love at First Sight tea

Bar

Beautiful chandelier and great ambiance

Hot Appetizers

Heavenly Blessed Joysticks

Sesame Prawns on Toast

Smoked Chicken

Cold Appetizers

Garlic Cucumber

Crystal Bean Noodles (Approximately 1cm wide transparent noodles made of mung beans. The texture was springy and chewy and excellent when served cold)

Delicate Tree Fungus

Century Eggs in Grilled Red Pepper

Cold Appetizers

Specialty – Chin’s Aromatic Crispy Duck.

The aromatic duck (not to be mistaken with Peking Duck) is deep fried and shredded into small strips at the diners’ table. It is served with pancake, cucumber, spring onions and sweet sauce. According to Wikipedia, the crispy aromatic duck was created by the Chinese community in the UK in the latter half of the 20th century and is served by most Chinese restaurants as a signature dish on the menu, thus explains why it is Chin’s specialty.

Beautiful hand painted plate

Main Course

Steamed Frog Leg in Bamboo Tube Pepper

Sauteed Hot & Sour Chinese Cabbage

5-Colour Unpolished Organic Fried Rice

Cumin Mutton Skewers

Spicy Hot Poached Fish (Shui Zhu Yu)

Beef Tenderloin in Hot Stone Oil

Beef tenderloin cooked in hot oil at the table

Dessert

Jasmine Jelly / Sea Coconut / White Fungus

Even though the restaurant was running on full capacity that night, the service was most of the time prompt with just some slight hiccups which was quite excusable. Sam Chin was all apologetic about it so kudos to him for making his customers feel special. :)

Above and over all else, I will definitely recommend this place for a one-of-a-kind Chinese / Cantonese / Szechuan / Fusion dining experience in Penang. I had the opportunity to talk to the man behind this unique establishment, Mr Dave Chin himself and was told that he has tried searching for a restaurant with this concept in some countries in Asia e.g. Singapore but has yet to find one.

The only thing to be prepared for is, just like most Szechuan / Hunan cooking, some of the dishes could be a tad oily for some to palate.

Chin’s is actually not officially open yet and I think is currently only available via advance booking only so please call to book to avoid disappointment.

Check out Helen Ong's post on Chin's here.

Chin’s Stylish Chinese Cuisine
Tanjong City Marina

Church St Pier (Next to QE II)8A Pengkalan Weld

Georgetown, Penang
Tel: 04-2612611 / 012-4716128