La Belle Miette

A macaroon lovers paradise

7/10

30 Hardware Lane, Melbourne

La Belle Miette is a very simple and small shop, serving only macaroons and coffee, tea and lemonade. The shop itself obviously attempts to invoke an elegant Parisian store, and it is a nice addition to the sometimes tacky establishments that line Hardware Lane. La Belle Miette uses a simple formula that is winning many fans, and you only have to visit at around lunch time to see how popular the tiny store has become.

And herein lies part of the problem, as on many occasions recently I have popped in for a mid-morning or afternoon macaroon fix, only to wait in an incredibly slow moving queue, eventually giving up in frustration and returning to the office minus my sugar fix. The shop is so small that it can only fit two staff behind the counter (and that is probably pushing it) meaning that if there is a crowd, service can be slow. Last time I attempted a macaroon run, one staff member was busy making coffees and the other was stuck serving an incredibly finicky woman who was buying about 7,000 macaroons and constantly changing her mind about which flavours she wanted. It went something like, ‘I’ll have 17 pistachio … no wait … make that 15 pistachio and 13 lemon blossom and sake … no wait …’. It was painful to say the least and I left frustrated and empty handed.

BUT if you do manage to visit at a quieter time and snag yourself one of their macaroons ($2.50 each, unless you opt for the Cocoa Single Origin Venezuelan Chocolate, which is $2.80), you won’t be disappointed. The macaroons themselves are tight little packages of loveliness, and I have sampled the rose, violent, raspberry and caramel to name just a few.

The flavours seem to change on a regular basis, but the quality of the macaroon itself remains the same. That said, the macaroons are not the best you will get in the world, or even Melbourne for that matter. The macaroons at Hardware Society, not far down the road, pack far more of a flavour punch and come in a more generous size. Of course, at Hardware Society you can’t get the lovely little boxes that La Belle Miette can provide. A box of La Belle Miette macaroons would delight any self respecting grandparent.

Only time will tell if the macaroon craze will last or fade away into obscurity, but La Belle Miette is a welcome new addition to the Melbourne CBD.

Chin Chin

Asian taste sensations in a funky space, but bring ear plugs

9/10

125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au

Only opening in May this year, Chin Chin has forged itself big reputation. Like Mamasita (which really could be viewed as Chin Chin’s Mexican sibling) the place is full on a week night by 6.30 pm. And this is another Melbourne restaurant adopting the no bookings policy, which can create some stress around dining at Chin Chin.

Luckily we arrived at 6 pm and were seated within 5 minutes, although 5 minutes waiting on a freezing cold evening on Flinders lane can seem like a long time. Another note is that with the layout of the tables at Chin Chin, a group larger than four people would probably struggle to get a table without a long wait, so I advise visiting in groups of four or smaller.

The space itself it very “cool” – it has funky wallpaper and clean shiny surfaces. It feels a little upmarket without being stuffy. The place buzzes with people at the bar waiting for a table, waiters rushing around and diners chatting. In fact, combined with the music (which on my visit weirdly included music from that glorious 90s band All Saints) and the constantly ringing phone at the front desk, you almost need a paper and pen to write down what you are trying to say to your dining companion. But with atmosphere this good (and I haven’t even started on the food yet) it doesn’t really matter. I just wouldn’t recommend taking your parents/grandmother/the hearing impaired here, as they would hate it.

The wine list is ok – not a great selection by the glass, but I really liked the house wine options of a pinot gris or a pinto noir. At either $6.50 a glass or around $20 for a small carafe, they were both good quality drops at pretty reasonable prices. They also serve ice cold Beer Lao, possible the best beer in the world (in my opinion anyway). But the food really is the reason why people shiver outside on Flinders Lane waiting for a table. The entrees average around the $8 - $12 mark and the mains around the $22 - $30 mark. Sharing is encouraged, and why wouldn’t you to ensure a maximum array of amazing flavours. The spun egg rolls with crab and coconut were indescribably good. The twice cooked beef short ribs were fall-apart-tender on your fork. If anyone knows how to make meat this amazingly tender, please tell me and I will worship you. The crispy barramundi with pork was another highlight, although I must admit the pork was a little fatty. The beef salad with cherry tomatoes and PLENTY of chilli was eye wateringly hot, but loving spicy food I was happy. Oh, and even the rice is exceptionally good at Chin Chin. I have no idea what they do with it, but wow, it was delicious. My dining companions and I didn’t talk much as we all fell in love with what we were eating. And when we don’t talk, something must be up.

The service at Chin Chin was also spot on. The waiter was a little over familiar at times, but I couldn’t fault the pacing of the food or the drinks service. I even liked the little touches, such as the wine waiter wearing an apron that said “wine guy” or not being made to feel guilty about wanting tap water instead of paying through the nose for bottled.

So, with good reason, Chin Chin takes its place as one of the cities most popular restaurants. Per person our lovely meal (plus two glasses of wine each) came to around $45. For the quality of the food and service, plus the location and atmosphere, I think that is bang for your buck. The Melbourne CBD needs more restaurants like Chin Chin, that feel a bit special, have amazing food, but don’t leave you weeping at the sight of the bill. Chin Chin,I promise I will return.

HuTong Dumpling Bar

Beautiful dumplings at decent prices. Shame about the service …

8.5/10

14-16 Market Ln
Melbourne

http://hutong.com.au/

I have now tried both HuTong restaurants (Prahran and the city) and the hands down winner for value and food is the city restaurant. But hands down for service goes to Prahran. I think it has something to do with the whole attitude that sometimes develops in china town restaurants in Melbourne, where no matter the level of rudeness and disdain that is handed out to customers, people will return. Which they (and I) invariably do. Case in point – I have been to HuTong twice in the city despite receiving pretty darn rude service. And I plan to go back. Because unfortunately, with food that good and fast, and prices that low, and BYO to top it all off, it simply cannot be beaten in Melbourne. The Prahran branch has to compete a little more with the surrounding restaurants, so probably can’t afford to adopt it siblings attitude to customers.

Although, as a side note, the original HuTong restaurant in the city win the rudest staff in China Town award. No, that coveted prize goes to Shark Finn Inn, where I was once told that I could not have a glass of water “because there was a drought”. Seriously, I am not lying.

Moving back on track, so why HuTong pulls in the crowds and attract endless blog posts? First, the décor is modern and a step up from its neighbouring restaurants. The tables are nicely spaced, the lighting dim and it isn’t too noisy. Second, the food is fast, fresh and seriously good. Their famous Xioa long bao (delicate dumplings filled with a soup) live up to their reputation, but I thought that their steamed scallop dumplings were the stand outs for the night with their delicate encasing and sweet scallop centre.

The "famous" xioa long bao

The chilli wontons were also delicious, but the let downs were the spinach dumplings due to a slightly stodgy dough. All plates of dumplings hover around the $9-$10 mark, and to feed four people you shouldn’t need to spend more than $25 a head. If you have bought along a few bottles of wine, this makes for a merry and reasonable Friday night dinner. I haven’t yet delved into the other menu options at HuTong, as I am still mildly obsessed with the dumplings, but I hear the claypots are worth the journey. In terms of desserts, I went for the childhood favourite of banana fritter, which was delicious but disturbingly phallic due to the unfortunate placing of two balls of ice-cream.

To finish, I want to make clear that the problem with the service at HuTong does not lie with the younger staff, who are all courteous and efficient. Rather, it is the management who scowl at customers and talk down to those who dare ask questions, that need to be reminded of a few simple customer service principles. If this improved, HuTong would be a real winner in the Melbourne dining scene. This said, considering that it take two weeks to get a weekend booking there, I don’t think they are too worried.