Club Chin Chin

Club Chin Chin is a year long pop-up, part of the new Joel Selwood Stand in GMHBA Stadium.

Club Chin Chin will have a menu filled with staples from the Flinders Lane restaurant, as well as brand-new dishes - including spiced tiger prawn salad, an ice-cream sundae and a take on the half-time footy pie.

A RIOTOUS COLLISION OF CASUAL SOUTH EAST ASIAN CUISINE CONTEMPORARY ART AND LOCAL CULTURE.

It's open Thursday to Sunday, with a set menu only on game days; when there's no game on, you can book via the Club Chin Chin website for à la carte dining.

On game days, remember its at GMHBA Stadium, you'll need to purchase a dining and match pass via Geelong Football Club.

We hear it already has a 5000-person waitlist.

broadsheet.com.au

First Look: Club Chin Chin in Geelong Amps Up Stadium Dining and Old-School Footy Snacks

The 200-seat eatery is the first regional outpost of Chris Lucas's Flinders Lane restaurant Chin Chin. It's planned as a 12-month pop-up at the football stadium, but the fit-out is well thought out.

Set on the third level of the newly opened Joel Selwood Stand, which takes the stadium capacity to 40,000, that undeniable Lucas Restaurants (Grill Americano, Society, Yakimono and the upcoming Batard) boldness starts well before you enter the lift to the restaurant. There's a glowing welcome sign, the walls are bathed in Chin Chin's signature hot pink and there's a collage of pop-art-style Chin Chin art posters.

That boldness continues through every feature: from the reflective pink bar to the moody glow that comes from the table lights, giant neon bunnies overlooking the grounds and the hot pink lighting that bathes the field at night. Club Chin Chin, through the brand's strong identity and restaurant know-how, has managed to make stadium dining feel like anything but.

"No matter where Chin Chin shows up, we always bring the same energy. We spent a lot of time designing the space and the experience to ensure guests felt like they were transported out of the stadium and into our world," Celia McCarthy, general manager of guest experience at Lucas Restaurants tells Broadsheet.

"From the neons that beam out onto the field to the Thai language lessons [played over speakers] in the bathroom - we didn't compromise on anything."

The pop-up restaurant is open on game days, of course, as well as Thursday through Sunday each week whether or not a game is on. That means diners are often overlooking an empty stadium, which adds an intriguing contrast to the vibrant dining room. "There is something about an empty stadium," executive chef Benjamin Cooper tells Broadsheet. "A stadium makes sense when it is packed, high-energy and frenetic, but when it's empty, there is a surreal nature to it."

The food offering at Club Chin Chin will be similar to the CBD original, with familiar plates like the restaurant's signature kingfish sashimi on the menu. Cooper has also worked on some Geelong-only dishes, including a salad with spiced tiger prawns, glass noodles, leaf celery and chilli-lime dressing and twice-cooked beef short rib with coconut salad and prik nam pla (a punchy dressing with fish sauce and chillies). New desserts include an ice-cream sundae, and a fried custard pie with star anise sugar and apple-and-cinnamon ice-cream.

If you want to eat at Club Chin Chin on game days, you'll need to purchase a dining and match pass via Geelong Football Club. A set menu only is only available on game days; when there's no game on, you can book via the Club Chin Chin website for à la carte dining.

Alongside the crowd favourites and the Club Chin Chin exclusive dishes, red curry-spiced sausage rolls and butter chicken party pies (Cooper's nod to the nostalgic footy pie) will be part of the game day set menu.

Consistency is one of the hallmarks of the Chin Chin institution, though the team says both existing Chin Chin restaurants - one in the CBD and one in Sydney - have personalities. The newest addition is proud to have the AFL element. "This is Geelong's Chin Chin and we're just here to entertain and look after you all," Cooper adds.

Published on 03 May 2024
by LYNDSAY SCOTT broadsheet.com.au

Club Chin Chin opens 4 May 2024