Vietnamese & Chinese Restaurant-Melin BYO

The friendly staff here are very attentive and customer focused. I came in quite early for dinner just before 6 and was seated immediately. The ambience is classic «Aussie Chinese» restaurant but calmly lit and very comfortable. I immediately ordered the cocunut water with coconut meat as a drink and the classic beef Phở spicy style with extra lemon grass and chilli. The coconut water arrived quickly and it was a delicious mix of frozen coconut water and flesh mixed with ice. After a mix up wirh my order and another I waited about 25 minutes for my Phở, for which the staff were extremely apologetic. However it was well worth the wait, unlike other Vietnamese Phở I’ve had, the broth was rich and delicious with plenty of substance. Mixed with Rice vermicelli and and sliced rare beef, just perfect! With the obligatory plate of lemon, mint and bean sprouts, which i quickly mixed through, the dish took on a fresh and delicious balance to the rich beef broth. Needless to say I smashed the lot in record time and even though I live on the other side of the city, ¹⁰⁄₁₀ will be back! 5 star experience minus 1 star for the slow order.

Happily, this place reminds me of being in Vietnam. It’s a family run place and so the kids help out; it’s a little tacky in its decorations and like heaps of the small Asian fusion places from the Valley to the ‘burbs, it’s a bit tired looking. I guess that could be because these guys don’t make a million bucks, and don’t push out hundreds of meals a night, but the food is good. The hosts are generous, as are the serves and it’s the real deal. We had roll your own rice paper rolls, spring rolls, dumplings, fried rice, vermicelli salad, lemongrass chilli chicken and Asian greens. Yum!

Boasting a Win for the «Best Restaurant and Excellent Customer Service» in the Redlands Retail Awards is a fair achievement I would say. I was keen to see if Melin measured up though and I have to say, they delivered.
Melin is a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant. They have a huge selection on the menu. I usually see this as a bad sign but in this case, it all seems good. The menu is split into Vietnamese and Chinese with lots of seafood options, healthy salads, and vegetarian dishes plus all the usually favourites like honey chicken and sweet and sour pork. Meals are cooked fresh with 100% pure vegetable and olive oil.