Hi Chong Qing (Hi CQ)

I frequent this place.

Fantastic food and great service. One of the best noodles in Melbourne.

Definitely worth a visit!

Hi Chongqing - Melbourne
Spicy Pork Mince & Chickpea Noodle Soup
Well well well, another day another Sichuan soup, this time smack back in the middle of university territory.
HiChongqing or Hi HC Cafe has really made quite the entrance into the Melbourne noodle soup scene. A cute restaurant with cute furniture and even cuter doggo cushions. They’ve really got it all. While I did come here to stare at the dog cushions I also came here to slurp slurp slurp. I ordered the spicy pork mince and my guest celebrity reviewer @bensonaus ordered the spicy beef noodles. What came out moments later were two delicious and contrasting bowls of the gods nectar. My pork mince and chickpeas was a piece of set. Pork to the left of me chickpeas to the right, here I am stock in the middle of the two. Yum. Yum. Yum. The crunch of the peas and peanuts, the bite of the noodles and the slurp of the broth all worked so well together. The Sichuan peppers were plentiful but not enough to overpower - nice and balanced. I had a quick dig at Benson’s spicy beef soup too. It was delicious beef - the stock had quite the powwow to it - quite spicy but also very oily. Which is what you should expect with Sichuan soups - this is ALOT. I’d say the pork mince was the better of the two but both are good options!
Get here soon before the whole of Melbourne finds out about this place. (Bonus service star for dog cushions coz why tf not). 

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Broth Flavour:/5
Soup ingredients:/5
Service:/5
Overall:/5
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Pretty good value.

Springy tasty noodles with a flavourful base that has a decent kick. The beef is nice and tender as well. The crunchy peanuts also add great flavour and texture variety.

Service was friendly and the place is rather chill and tucked away.

I came in for a meal yesterday, the guy was really friendly and suggested their signature noodle soup and I have a general rule where if someone suggests a meal at a restaurant I try it. So I went with his reccomendations of signature soup and spiciness with beef added. Immediately after eating it I messaged my girlfriend who is a chef and told her that we would be going back for lunch. Enter today, I ordered the same meal as yesterday and just as yesterday it was perfect. Everything about that dish makes sense, the spring onion is fresh, the soup is perfectly balanced it's Herby and spicy and rich without being sickly or heavy, the noodles have a great texture and the chunky peanuts provide an earthy flavour and crunch. I can't speak for the other dishes as I haven't tried them and sadly I never will, I will never order anything but that dish. It's the kind of meal that is made by someone who genuinely believes in what they're doing. Anyone who knows anything about food knows what it's like to eat this kind of meal you can't get it out of your head, you're friends are sick of you talking about it, it's the kind of meal you take someone to eat when you want to show off your food clout. I'm shook.

As a staff member at RMIT just across the road, we often frequent Hi Chong Qing once or twice a week. Every one in the office are big fans of the noodles here and there is a big debate about which ones are better (wheat or rice, I think wheat).
Great place to eat, especially on cold winter days.
The staff are efficient and very friendly.

Reading through a few of the 1 star reviews I honestly think they have confused this with another noodle place around the corner.

Limited options of food available, however, that also happens to be there strong suit. All five dishes are extremely well prepared, full of aroma and taste. You can vary the level of spiciness and heat, which makes it interesting for some. For some, the price may seem higher than other places in the CBD, though the quality and service fully justifies it.

The signature noodles was packed with flavor, even the noodle itself without the soup reeks of flavor coz it tenss to absorb some of the soup.

As people who grew up eating noodles and have eaten noodles all around Asia, this is one of the best we have ever had. The noodles had great texture, the soup had an authentic and unique flavour that was balanced with a variety of spices and ingredients. My parents were the most impressed with the braised beef for its rich flavour and soft texture. Definitely one of the best meals we had in Melbourne. We were also hosted by the really polite and friendly owner who made the experience more memorable. I am confused by any negative review received here - they are probably from people who do not understand Chinese noodles.

Best noodles in Melbourne, period. Some of the best noodles I've had anywhere in the world possibly.ordered the signature ChongQing noodles with beef and an egg (normal spice) and was blown away by the quality of all the ingredients the flavor of the entire soup and the tenderness of the meat. Really really quality dish and for $10.80 they are pretty much giving it away.

Religious eat here weekly myself, with my son, as well as clients. Nothing but the best noodles in town and great service. Not one to write reviews but reviews are the backbone of small businesses. Hate to see a great restaurants reputation get tarnished by keyboard ninjas with no justification.

So, so, so good. Great service, great food, lovely little cushions. My favourite noodle place in Melbourne by a country mile!

Probably the worst meal I've ever had. I would wager that these 5 star reviews are clearly fake. The meal was not cheap, took forever to come out, the meat was not edible and I received terrible service. The noodles were also 100% two minute noodles (but I would have been happier with the flavour of 2 minute noodles!).

The place was also very dirty. I was sitting next to the bin and rubbish bags!

Do yourself a favour and steer clear of here like everyone else.

EDIT:
Trying to take legal action over an honest review. Good luck - Nothing slanderous or untrue in here.

As soon as I walked in the door the man working started talking up the place and bragging about how well it was rated by a food magazine. I had to wait a very long time for food and felt uncomfortable as the guy working was staring at me the entire time. Once the food finally came I was starving, but the food was so disgusting that I couldn’t even eat it in my state of extreme hunger. The meat was uncooked and the broth was horrible. The only edible part of the meal was the noodles, but even these were very hard and undercooked. On top of all this the place was very unclean and covered in other people’s hair. I wish I could give zero stars. One of the worst meals I’ve had in Melbourne.

Came in expecting a 5-stars meal but only left feeling that it was probably worth 4. The beef, don’t get me wrong, was extremely tender and flavorful. But i felt like the noodles itself lacked the chewiness or complexity that everyone was bragging about. Perhaps it was just a bad day but the noodles were rather soggy on my venture (and I, someone who’d rather eat extremely thick noodles) did not enjoy it.

Nonetheless, it’s not bad and if you get the opportunity to go try it, please do.

Delicious noodles and great service. Seriously amazing food. RMIT just became the best uni in Australia to go to, exclusively because of its proximity to Hi CQ.

3.5/ 5

Came with a pretty high expectation due to the high ratings and good reviews.

Got the spicy beef noodles and I felt it is just a tad above average. Most reviewers mentioned the noodles are chewy, but I find it pretty average when compared to lanzhou/biang biang noodles. But to be fair, chongqing style noodles may be different than lanzhou's.

The soup tasted a little bland at first but overtime the flavor grows which is good. Because I'm a soup drinker, I find the soup a tad too oily - but there should be chilli oil in it cos it's a spicy noodle soup.haha.

Overall an above average noodle place with amazing service.

Super tasty, super filling, friendly staff, terrific chow and clearly deserves the glowing recommendations these guys get from everywhere. I am posting this from the bathroom, however, and it would be remiss of me not to level a warning about the spice levels. Tastes amazing on the way in, but may leave a path of destruction on the way out.

It was so amazing I had 2 bowls for my first ever visit. I ordered the Signature ChongQing with extra Beef and Fried eggs first, then the Pork Mince and ChickPeas. Highly recommend this place. Your tastebuds will thank your afterwards.

Noodles were absolutely delish! Perfect on this chilly night! Staff and service is 10/10. Can't wait to be back!

This place, the owners, the mix of cute pillows and ambient tunes, and the warm lights on a cold evening whilst you load up on spicy, succulent beef with just-hard-enough noodles is an absolutely perfect addition to why Melbourne remains as Australia's food and beverage capital.