Jin Yan - Castle Hill

I believe that my parent's have developed a new found love for the Chinese restaurant Jin Yan - which is located within Castle Hill RSL. Proximity may have something to do with it. The fact that you get 10% if you are member (5% at lunch) may have something to do with it. Food being decent may have something to do with it. And the fact that my dad sees the bosses when he goes to Y2K gym may have something to do with it. All these factors combined - it feels as though every time I'm eating out with my parents, this is the place it's at.

One of the many many times we've been here, we ordered the following:

Oysters with vermicelli and XO sauce. The oysters were not super huge but they were decently sized. Plump. Juicy. Flavoursome from the XO sauce but not overlly chilli. And since vermicelli is one of the things I love, and this was topped with vermicelli, I rather enjoyed my oyster :)

Oyster with XO sauce and vermicelli

We also ordered a coral trout - cooked two ways. A lighter version with the fillet bits - with snow peas, shoots and carrots. The fillets were sweet, succulent and fresh (which I guess is what you'd expect from a fish fresh out of the tank). You can add more taste to it by dipping the fishy into the oyster sauce - but I think it tasted better without.

fish cooked 2 ways

The more boney bits of the fish was deep fried and served with bok choi and tofu. It was more heavy on the sauce. Extremely tasty - it got my partner's tick of approval.

Fish cooked 2 ways

Crispy skinned chicken was also ordered. Nothing too special. Crispy skin, deep fried garlicy bits on top and your average chicken really.

Crispy skinned chicken

Mixed chinese veges and fungi and mushies were drowned in sauce. A bit too drowned for my liking but my company seemed to enjoy this.

mixed asian veges

The last dish took YEARS to come out. I think they left it off the order. It was black pepper beef cubes with honey roasted sesame topped walnuts. The beef was average - even slightly on the tough overcooked side. But the walnuts were AWESOME! Honey coated nuts are the bomb! :) I could eat plates and plates of just the honey coated walnuts.

black pepper beef with honey roasted walnuts

Overall, the service at the restaurant is variable - it depends on how busy and how short-staffed they are. Some waiters are nice, some less so. The food is also decent (most of the time atleast). However, it probably doesn't warrant the frequent frequency of which my parents visit this restaurant.

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28.5/40

Jin Yan
Castle Hill RSL
77 Castle St
NSW 2154
Tel: (02) 8858 4848