For way too long, going to the movies meant being cramped in a university lecture hall-sized room that smells like a mixture of body odour and stale popcorns, fighting over arm rest in seats that are still dank from other people's butt sweat. You either get too cold or too warm halfway through the movie and god forbid if you watch a movie during lunch or dinner time: You only had the choice of overcooked (and overpriced) hot dogs or bucket-sized popcorn.

But it seems that the cinema management has finally upped their game to give movie-goers a much better experience, because while I was swimming in my newly-wed bliss (and missed all of 2016's movie blockbusters), Hoyts Chadstone underwent a complete refurbishment. When a good friend of mine took me on a movie date earlier this year, I was wide-eyed in astonishment at the complete transformation of Hoyts.

Soulless snack, food and drinks check out counters have been replaced with a groovy Treats City that has a vast variety brand name snacks and different flavours of popcorn in resealable bags so you can take home the leftover.


If you are feeling hungry, fear not for having to ruin your movie experience with a questionable-looking hot dog on soggy bread! Chur Burger has partnered up Hoyts Chadstone to bring the gourmet burger experience to movie-goers. The much loved Sydney burger chain has received wide recognition for being one of the best burgers in Australia and I was elated to be invited to try it out.

Chur Burger Chadstone is run by Head Chef Warren Turnbull, who believes in offering a great burger at a great price. Using fresh and tasty ingredients, each burger is cooked to order and it really showed through the burgers we got.


The Chur Beast is for those with a serious appetite: Double grilled beef, double bacon, double cheese, tomato jam, BBQ sauce, mustard mayo, it was a burger that truly lived up to its name. However, it was definitely not a sloppy burger. Steve reported back to me and said the beef patties were cooked right to medium rare and it was evident that the ingredients and condiments were fresh.


(FYI, I gave Steve one job: "take a nice, Insta-worthy picture of your burger" and he presented a front-on tight shot of his burger, though I must say the burger is making my stomach grumble at 11:00pm on a Wednesday night...)

I opted for a more modest fish burger to the protest of Steve: "The people who invited us will think what a waste of money inviting this girl who got possibly the least popular burger item on a burger menu ever!" Well, for the fish burger haters, let me say this: It was the best damn fish burger I ever had.


The crumbed fish fillet was cook to crispy perfection and I could taste the fish, rather than the usual sloppy, starchy mess I was used to. We also got sweet potato fries and chips with chilli salt for sides. The serving was generous and the price was fair for a burger eatery right in Hoyts Chadstone.


We thoroughly enjoyed our night out. Watching the latest flick in the new Xtreme Screen auditorium was simply a sensory delight and the wider reclining seats made the experience much more comfortable. Since the reopening of Hoyts Chadstone, I've watched more movies in six months than I had in three years. But now my pre-movie dining options will include Chur Burger too.


SaveSave Disclaimer: I was a guest of Hoyts Chadstone and Chur Burger in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opnions herein are my own and not influenced by the developing company, and/or its affliates, in any way.