The Wandering Reviewer
+5
Came here on a whim with my dear friends from the UK who are world travellers and great diners. They were keen for Malaysian food and we happened to walk past Chinta Ria. This cosy little restaurant is warm and inviting with lovely decor that invites you to settle in for some good food and exceptional service.
For entree John had chicken satay (2 serves) with satay sauce and Bex and I each had the duck rolls which I could describe presenting like spring rolls. There were 4 nice pastries filled with shredded duck with julienned carrots and silver thread noodles that were then snap-fried. Nice although a little traditional for me.
For main course, I had the lamb red curry that was tenderly cooked diced loin of lamb in curry sauce with potatoes and coconut milk. John had the crab which was a special and said it was the most delicious he'd ever had. On the Chef's Specials it was called Kam Meong Soft Shell Crabs - lightly battered soft shell crabs wok-tossed with butter, egg, floss, dried shrimps, curry paste and chilli. I don't eat seafood but had a taste and it was superb. Even I'd order it. I can remember what Bex ordered but she said it was very tasty and quite rich.
The wine and beer list was good so we ordered a bottle of bubbles to celebrate. At $32, it was pretty reasonably priced and not a bad taste.
Chinta Ria is centrally located at the northern end of Acland Street. Even on a Monday night there was good patronage with most tables full. After we were able to stroll down the street and find a bar for some cocktails.
Staff were lovely and although made a few minor mistakes were quick to rectify and eager to please.
Note: wheelchair friendly (although a little tight), kid friendly, parking is hard in the area and you'll pay around $5 an hour or a maximum of $14 for a day. Parking inspectors are quick so maek sure you watch the clock.
We ordered curry laksa, Nasi goreng, fried rice & roti with peanut sauce. All these dishes were delicious couldn’t fault any dish. The service was pretty average which is why I’ve given a 4 rating. We were also sitting outside as we had a pram & were the only customers sitting outside in cold weather so would have appreciated a bit more attentiveness with the service.
After a brief visit to the St.Kilda beach over weekend, struggling to choose from couple of streets full of restaurants, we chose to visit this place.
Had never tried Malaysian cuisin but it was tasty and full of flavor. For starters we had chicken wings, satay chicken and ayam serai. They’re too good to order again but we saved our appetite for the makn course. For the mains, we ordered crispy duck which is battered deep fried duck with sweet chili sauce-full of flavor, chicken curry -indian style chicken curry with authenticity of asian cuisine. On sides there were rotis, peanut sauce, plain rice and jasmin rice.
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