Restaurant: Chins Stylish - Georgetown, Penang (Top Pick)

I visited this restaurant one evening and it is actually on the QE II Pier down at Quay Weld in Georgetown. I have been to a quite a few Chinese restaurants in Penang and I have to say that this was one of the most impressive in terms of style, décor, ambience and, thankfully, the food!!

Chins Stylish Restaurant is very aptly named and the clientele that eat there tend to reflect this in the main. This isn’t really a "jeans and T-shirt" joint but I doubt you be turned away if you chose to "dress down". The place is nicely decorated and furnished in a classical Chinese style with lots of use of rich reds, dark wood, atmospheric lighting and widespread use of traditional Chinese paraphernalia.

The staff are very helpful and friendly and the service is attentive but not intrusive. The menu here is quite extensive and they have a good range of signature dishes on offer. This was more of a relaxing night out for me and less of a ‘review’ night so I apologise if this write-up lacks some detail.

Many of the diners here select the fix menu options and we chose the one which comprised the Chinese Crispy Duck and a Szechuan style fish cooked in oil/stock with a maximum of chillis. Two of my favourite dishes at any time. The meal was preceded by a range of small vegetable appetisers and 3-4 small dishes of meat/prawn based dishes which were excellent (again, apologies for the lack of detail but the meal was some time ago and the reviews have got a bit behind as the time to depart Malaysia seemed to rush up on me).

The crispy duck was very very good and was served traditionally with pancakes, hoisin sauce, spring onion and cucumber after being deftly ‘carved’ (forked apart) at the table by a waiter much more skilled than I at this. It truly was superb. This was followed then by the Szechuan Fish which was again very nice indeed being both hot and fragrant. Accompanied by steamed rice it was an excellent meal. Rounded of with banana fritter and ice cream and a good bottle of wine to accompany the meal the whole bill came to around RM 300.

Chins IMO is a first class restaurant and one to which I will definitely return. It would be ideal for that special occasion or a romantic dinner for two, or even just a night of good food indulgence. They have tables by the windows overlooking the Quay which are of course popular so it would be an idea to book if you wanted one of these. Indeed, I think it would also be a good idea to book if you wanted any table on a Friday and Saturday, especially at peak hours as even on a Tuesday Chins was very popular. Easy to see why and Top Pick from me!!