The Best Dishes Everyone Should Try in Melbourne Best Dishes Everyone Should Try in Melbourne | Page 12

you visit first then? If I was you, I'd let your final destination decide, like if you are going to see a pub band
in Brunswick after eating, then Blue Chillies should be your choice. If St Kilda is where you are going, I'd
see which Chinta you can get into as all three of these restaurants, are invariably packed (with good
reason).
We never, ever book though, we always take pot luck. Mind you, we do tend to go early, around 6 or 7pm.
This is before the rush. My eating out is like a Navy Seal Sortie (that's not quick fried either). I like to get
in, order, eat and get out, my partner hates it. I'm impatient, if we haven't had our order taken before we
hit our seats, I start looking around expectantly and champing at the bit. This is just to give you an idea
about the service, no restaurant would make this diatribe if it wasn't fairly good.
Chinta Blues
No you're not experiencing déjà vu. There is some funny business going on here. When I first found my
old favourite in Acland Street, I looked for number 6, I couldn't find it anywhere. Wandering along what I
thought was the start of the street, I stumbled onto number 94, which is Chinta Ria. I was confused but
thought it was just part of getting old, all googly mapped out.
I know Acland Street very well, so imagine my surprise when I found there's a secret bit, that they've tried
to hide behind McDonald's. We discovered it by accident, on a completely unrelated trip, and this is when
we discovered the Fitzroy Street end of Acland Street. This is a lovely little spot, but you could spend a
lifetime trying to get a carpark.
But if you look at their unfinished site (Chinta Blues) you might wonder what the Price of Wales is,
tuppence ha'penny I should think with the recession the way it is over there. What they mean is, there is
a car park behind the pub. They've also mentioned some trams 112, 96, 16 and 79, so the parking may
hold you up.
Mind you, I was in the city recently, I hadn't been on a tram for years. I ended up walking further than I
wanted to travel on the tram, just trying to find somewhere to get a ticket, and I couldn't get one, so I
walked instead. I also got arrested by the transport police for not having a ticket. I'm not even on a tram