There were four of us here today enjoying a Saturday lunch in this cosy and bright local Italian. It was certainly warm indoors so a good place to escape the chill of the second day of the Melbourne Winter.

Decor is pleasant with neutral tones, some funky grey tiles at the bar that add to the modern contemporary feel. The tables are close enough for that trattoria / osteria feel but not so much that it's uncomfortable.

Steve and I arrived first and were shown to a table. Water was poured and menus given out but after a while we had to flag a waiter to place a drinks order. And the same happened when our friends arrived. In fact throughout the meal, although the wait staff were friendly we did have to seek out help. More on the service later...

In terms of entrees, between the four of us we ordered:

• Melanzane a’ Parmigiana | Baked eggplant parmigiana
• ‘O Cuoppo ‘e Terra | (Neapolitan fried street food) | Pea arancini, potato croquettes, polenta chips, beer battered zucchini and salty dough balls
• ‘A Tunnat ‘e Mar | Peppered yellow fin tuna, crispy shallots, caper vinaigrette & micro herbs
• Mussels and Clams in White Wine and Tomato

Steve had the tuna and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh flavours. I loved the cheesiness and tomato in the eggplant which was baked so that it was soft and creamy. The mussels and clams went down well and we asked for more bread to dunk in the beautiful cooking liquor. The fried street food was probably the weakest link; heavy and lacking in flavour with all the items being a bit samey and a bit dry. Some dipping sauce like some sugo would help this dish and bring some much needed freshness.

I forgot to take pictures of main courses. I think it was because it took a wee while to come so I was hungry and ready to dig in when they arrived! 

Between us we ordered:

• ‘E Mafaldine ‘a Cacciator | Our version of long curly pasta, slow cooked duck ragú, porcini mushrooms & shaved pecorino cheese
• Spaghetti al Sugo Napoletano | Spaghetti, slow cooked (4 hours) ragú of pork and beef in Napoli sauce
• ‘O Merluzzo all’ Acqua Pazz | Poached rockling in a lightly herbed broth & cherry tomatoes

Both Steve and Rachel had the spaghetti which didn't look too large a serve but apparently looks were deceiving. I had the duck ragu and found it a hearty bowlful. It's interesting that the menu at 38 Chairs does specify that the pasta they offer is not al dente but more of a soft texture and that was certainly true. I enjoyed the flavours of the duck ragu; found it light on the porcini and it was more duck and tomato but nevertheless enjoyable. I think I prefer my pasta al dente though.

TIm had the rockling and that was quite a dainty serve with only two small pieces of fish for a reasonably hefty price.

The food is good so we did order dessert. I had the tiramisu and it was delicious. Strong in chocolate and cocoa flavours with a crunchy topping it wasn't overly rich and was just the right way to finish the meal.

It was generally a good feed with some great dishes - eggplant, tuna and tiramisu being the highlights. The forgettable elements include the street food entree and the patchy service. The soft pasta I'm ok with because the flavours work and they obviously intend it to be that way. I may not take up a chair there as a regular but given it's kind of in our 'hood, I'm open to popping in again.

A quick Sunday brunch date with friends that live next door to Seven Seeds made it a great location for us.​ Of course they are regulars but it was my first time and we thought it would be busy as our get together coincided with Mother's Day. And yes there was a line but when my friend suggested we eat outside (it wasn't a particularly warm day but it was dry and we were adequately dressed) we were offered a table immediately so that's what we did.

Everyone (except for me) had the Eggs and Waffle Benedict - Smoked ham and Cheddar waffle, poached eggs, chipotle hollandaise. I went with the Avocado Smash - Yarra Valley feta, saffron, lemon, 3 paprikas and coffee salt, coriander, pepitas, poached egg, toasted multigrain and a side of bacon.

The Avocado Smash sounded complex and fancy but it was just good old smashed avo with a poached egg. It was tasty and a good version but did the 3 paprikas and coffee salt elevate it to another level? The jury is out on that one.

The Eggs and Waffle Benedict went down very well with everyone. I get the impression it was pretty rich or that might have been the additional black pudding that was ordered to go with it!

The coffee is good, our waiter was pleasantly friendly and even though we were seated outside he still checked in with us frequently enough.

Not a bad breakfast joint and if I lived next door I reckon I'd be a regular too!

Destination Carlton Wine Room for a get together with Shern, Jon and Matt on a Saturday evening. I'd been with Steve a few weeks prior for a drink before we had dinner at The Town Mouse and we liked the atmosphere and enjoyed the couple of beverages we had so I was looking forward to returning.

It was a busy service and we were seated upstairs which doesn't have quite the same bistro / wine bar feel as downstairs. Our waitress was friendly and upbeat but as the evening went on we discovered she's been drafted in as emergency cover hence when we asked where the ladies were she couldn't answer! She apologised at a later point in the evening for a "haphazard" evening but more on that later.

We skipped starters and went straight to main courses with a couple of side dishes:

• O'Connor Striploin with a brown butter, pickled onion and mustard
• Half roasted chicken with charred leeks and golden raisins
• Housemade tagliatelle with beef shin ragu, garlic and Pecorino
• Crispy roast pork jowl and a Slipper Jack mushroom ragu
• Roasted baby carrots with smoked almond, honey and almond
• Baked cauliflower with macadamia and caper marjoram

Our food did take a long time to get to us and I think the full house plus some sort of function elsewhere in the building was probably the reason for that. The staff were stretched quite thinly and rushing around trying to tend to everyone. They didn't come across over stressed or frazzled but certainly there was a lack of attentiveness. I wouldn't have used the word "haphazard" as our waitress did but there was certainly room for improvement.

Food wise it was a bit of a mixed bag. The dishes looked appetising. I had the roast chicken and it was tasty and cooked well but it wasn't very generous with 1 piece of charred leek and the chicken was more of a baby chicken...Similarly the roast pork jowl and the steak kind of met expectations flavour wise but didn't feel particularly value for money,

Sadly the tagliatelle was a fail; a tiny portion for $24 and it was cold. Tasty but cold and because service was inattentive and no one came to check in, there wasn't much scope to send it back plus we'd waited so long for the food, satisfying hunger took priority.

The cauliflower looked impressive - half a head baked and it tasted nice enough with a nutty puree but not enough of a calling card to cause us to return. I don't like carrots so didn't have any but the plate was cleared so they must have been good to eat.

Service was sparse; food was decent but not enough of a draw for a repeat visit and there was just some warmth, hospitality and generosity missing which is a shame as for a local neighbourhood gem, if it had those qualities, I'd be a regular.

Last time we were at The Town Mouse was a few years ago so it was time for a revisit and we found ourselves seated at the bar for second sitting. It's a fun and quirky dining room and I do like the vibe. There was a moment of confusion as they tried to locate our booking but that was soon resolved as we discovered it was in our first name not our surname so it's that kind of place where we're known by first names and I welcome that. Friendly familiarity and hospitality from a capable and confident front line crew.

​We start off with some small bites:

• Smoked duck liver parfait, pickled cucumber & crisp potato
• Fried school prawns, tarragon & juniper

The school prawns are salty and crispy. The tarragon and juniper dip is quite strong in flavour so we go easy on that and I think a plain or simpler mayo would have worked just as well as the prawns were so well seasoned with spice, salt and freshly squeezed lemon.

The smoked duck liver parfait is like a canape. The crispy potato works and the pickled cucumber much needed to cut through the intensity of the parfait. The textures are complementary; crispy and creamy but we find the parfait almost cloying. The flavours are so strong and it's so creamy and rich. I can understand concentrating the flavours given it is only a small bite but even so in it's miniature state it's pretty heavy.

​Again it's another intensely flavoured dish and I don't think the rouille is necessary as the crab sauce is rich enough. Flavours are classic seafood and the fish is cooked well but it doesn't help with the richness and heavy feeling of everything we've had so far.

The side dishes we have our:​

• Creamed corn, pickled garlic, creme fraiche & watercress
• ​Fried chat potatoes, yuzu mayonnaise

We did question whether to have the creamed corn as we thought it might be too heavy and were going to go with some of the lighter options but our waitress recommended the corn as the way to go.

The corn is delicious but again it's a delicious dish in isolation but after all the creaminess we've had so far in pretty much every dish it really is too much. As is yuzu mayo with the potatoes. The potatoes themselves are lovely; golden and salted and without the mayo, the simple and clean flavour of potato is a very welcome guest amidst all the richness of the other dishes.

Steve and I agreed that we like the feel of The Town Mouse and there's definitely some creativity in the food. But as a collection of dishes we didn't enjoy them and just found it all too intense and too rich. Maybe we selected the wrong combination of dishes.

The front of house staff are extremely capable and experienced; we enjoyed their hospitality. There was a glass smash by our neighbouring diner and the team came together and unobtrusively and efficiently cleaned up the bar, calmly and politely asked the diner not to pick up the glass, threw out any open dishes and re set the working area as if nothing had happened.

The Town Mouse scores pretty high up on the AFR top restaurants in Australia; higher than many much lauded places. Our humble opinion is that it is original and it's worthy of the hats it has achieved but it's not as great as some of the places it has superseded. We weren't blown away by the food and didn't enjoy it enough to want to return. Also the seats at the bar are just so uncomfortable I can't imagine having to sit there again for a meal. Our neighbour at the bar actually ended up standing at the bar to eat and I was pretty close to that too!

Steve and I spent last Saturday night on a bit of an exciting culinary mystery tour - no menu, no choices to make and therefore identifying what goes into the mouth isn't always obvious. Nora offers two sittings and proceedings start when everyone is seated and ready so it's a bit like being at a dinner party except everyone is seated with their own dining companions in different areas. Steve and I enjoy a view up at the bar where the tabletop decorations consists of some tamarind pods, pandan leaf, coconut, lemons and birds eye chillis; an homage to our Thai adventure.

Sarin Rojanametin and  Jean Thamthanakorn are the chefs and they calmly work the whole evening delivering course after course with a focus and precision that makes us feel like we are in safe hands. The cool calm delivery is occasionally interrupted by a warm smile on the odd ocassion when they come over to serve and it's very evident that they take pleasure in their hard graft and their creative craft. 

Kentaro is the ever polite but always accommodating sommelier and he pairs our dishes with the same commitment and creativity that comes from the kitchen. In fact the whole team along with the wait staff and I don't doubt even the pot washer have that unwavering, steely passion. It's not flamboyant or brash but it's constant, relentless and almost zen like saved from being robotic by genuine smiles and understated warmth.

Individual dishes are brought to us and the pace is pleasantly pacey. Not rushed but no long drawn gaps of boredom either. And as each dish arrives there's always a muted giggle at the cryptic moniker.

When the dishes are delivered, the actual ingredients that I've provided are not actually divulged so a game of guess what I've just eaten ensues and when the dishes are cleared, we get to ask and find out. If you're more patient than I am, you could even wait till the end when you're given the menu.

What looks like two mangetout arrive on a cylinder of astro turf and we're informed it's:

• What Goes Up Must Come Down - sorrel, egg yolk, durian

There's a fresh flabour, some creamy richness and some sweetness. I swear I tasted meat but in the big ingredient reveal, there's no meat. Amazing what egg yolk can do!

• Beneath the Ground - dirt, root, sardine

The green astroturf lifts up and "beneath the ground" is literally our next dish. Less attractive than the green leaf, it's a while fish bone each that looks very dead and decayed. The whole beneath the ground thing is taken pretty far! There's also something mousse like in what would have been in the fishes head, like its brain...pretty confronting so I make Steve go first! 

It's actually really tasty and the fish brain is fresh and not fishy or offal like at all. And the specks of dirt are like dried cuttlefish so very reminiscent of the Asian snack food of my childhood.

• Childhood Bread - freshly milled toasted rice bread sourdough with fermented shrimp butter
  

​I'd been intrigued by the lovely looking terracotta clay pots in the kitchen and now one was coming towards us. As the lid lifted a smoky aroma escaped and revealed a humble looking brown bun.

I found the flavours muted in this dish. The theatre was fun and the bread was tasty but it was just bread with a flavoured butter. I think the creativity in this dish is in the presentation rather than flavours.

Now I'm not a huge bone marrow fan; more so because of the slippery, fatty texture but I don't mind the flavour. So I give it a go. The marrow almost melts into the rice and the leaf offers some freshness.There's also some lemongrass flavours wafting through which lifts the heaviness of the marrow and rice. I actually really enjoy this; meaty marrow and toasty rice, But I want more rice and another leaf to see out the rest of the marrow.

• Thai Cupcake Wanting to Become Western - King Edward potato, chive

​The sweet stuff continues and a little rustic, home made style foil packet arrives revealing what looks like a mini baked potato. Turn the potato over and there's an ooozy gooeyness that looks like melted cheese. But it's a dessert and the ooziness is coconutty eggy custardy filling similar to the fillings in the custard buns at yum cha. But instead of fluffy bun there's a baked potato. Definitely East meets West in a foil packet!

And that was our Saturday night trip. Definitely trippy! They call it "progressive Thai". Sarin and Jean have a mission statement:

"We want culinary adventure to be accessible with a menu that pleases the palette and challenges the mind; cooking food simply, but interestingly, leaving people with something to remember without the formality. We want our diners to be excited, for there to be a sense of discovery and also find warm familiarity in our food."

And definitely all those thing happened in the 3 hours we were there. For all the creativity, it's not Vue de Monde and that's not a bad thing. It's humble but innovative; thought provoking but with tones of familiarity.

Given the menu restrictions, it's not a place I'd tell everyone to go but for those open minded enough to give anything a go and that enjoy pushing those food boundaries then this a true gem.
​

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and Steve and I were enjoying a casual stroll around Carlton and wondering where to stop off for lunch. We'd had a look around the deli and were torn between revisiting an old fave or trying out DOC Espresso and watching people tuck into their bowls of pasta won us over so we took up one end of one of the larger communal tables and made sure we were comfortable.

It's not table service so I went up to the cash register to order. The chap that took my order was pretty brusque but we'd been to DOC in Mornington where service and warmth doesn't abound so I figured this was definitely from the same family!

We shared the small antipasto which had generous amounts of prosciutto, some bresaola and salami and then a small ball of mozzarella and a small triangle of either pecorino or parmesan accompanied by 4 chunks of bread drizzled with olive oil. It's simple fare but darn tasty and authentic and we really enjoyed the quality of this produce.

The antipasto actually arrived the same time as our two plates of pasta and we had chosen the parpadelle with truffle and porcini mushrooms and the lasagne. I was tempted by the veggie lasagne and the amatriciana but we decided to go one tomato based and one not so.

The lasagne was traditional with layers of ragu and rather than bechamel there was gooey melted mozzarella. Flavours were spot on. I'd have liked it browned on top I think but this was still yummy. The parpadelle was al dente with garlicky oily goodness and slippery mushrooms. Another simple but yummy dish.

We actually stayed a while as we had a bottle of wine to finish and we didn't feel rushed, We saw others come and go, some for coffee and a toasted sandwich, others for a plate of pasta and everyone seemed to enjoy the Italian goodness. A great stop for something quick, tasty and authentic.

Friday evening with friends; what better than drinks and pizza? Shern had booked us a table at Kaprica and after a few pre dinner beverages we were ready to be fed.

Seated cosily around a round table, I loved the handwritten menu and the laid back but busy atmosphere. I didn't like the smell of drains near the toilets but luckily that was localised and we were seated far far away.

We started off with sharing some the buffalo mozzarella salad, the garlic and chilli prawns and the bresaola. When we realised it was 4 prawns per serve, we ordered another dish pronto and that came pretty quickly. We loved dipping the bread into the garlicky, chilli prawn oil. All so tasty and great way to start off the feast with some fresh and intense flavours.

Pizza wise we went with 4 large ones to share between 6. It was so hard to decide but we ended up with:

Prosciutto - Tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, rocket and parmesan
Mr John - Tomato, mozzarella, pesto and hot salami
Potato - Mozzarella, potato, caramelised onion, rosemary
Salmone - Tomato, marscapone, red onion, salmon, fish roe

This was damn fine pizza. Thin crispy bases, delicious but simple toppings. Non greasy and a pleasure to eat. There are so many other pizzas I want to return to try and also the pasta which looked wonderful coming out of the kitchen.

So tempted by the delicious little tarts in the glass cabinet but we resisted and with warm tummies and happy minds we ventured back out into the wintry night.

I had my birthday dinner at The Town Mouse. Steve manage to book us a place at  the bar. I arrived first and was given a choice at a reserved place or out in the courtyard. It felt warm enough to sit outside so I chose to do that.

The service and welcome was friendly and there was a real passion for the food that exuded from the people who served us.

We started off with a few small things:

• Goat’s cheese profiterole, caraway, thyme & our honey
• Smoked duck liver parfait, pickled cucumber & crisp potato
• Selection of cured meats
• Oysters served with chardonnay vinegar sorbet & lemon
  
  

The oysters tasted great with the sharp, icy coldness of the vinegar sorbet that made our cheeks ache. The profiteroles were that perfect goat's cheese and honey flavour combo with a light flaky crunch from the pastry. I found the smoked duck liver parfait very rich and creamy so the mouthful sized canape was more than enough. Full of savoury flavour and the acidic tang of the sliced pickle to cut through the richness.

• Venison tartare, pickled radish, nashi pear, ginger & wasabi
• Poached chicken, king oyster mushroom, ricotta, avruga & salad burnet
  

We then moved onto a couple of slightly larger dishes. The venison tartare was fragrant with sesame and the wasabi gave it a good kick. A twist on the classic beef and horseradish combo this was similar yet slightly different and highly enjoyable.

The poached chicken was more classic and the thick slices of succulent chicken breast were delicious to eat. Clean pure flavours came through - so yummy.

• Roast half wagyu rump cap (600g), walnut butter
• Heirloom kales, slow cooked egg, rye, comté & mustard
  

We share one of the main dishes with a side and it was the right amount for us. The beef was such high quality and grilled and sliced displaying the ruby pink meat attractively. The walnut butter was tasty too but my slight criticisim is because the meat was rare, and we were sat outside, it cooled quickly which didn't affect the beef but it did mean the butter never really melted into the meat and was more like a paste when smeared on it that wasn't that attractive and I think didn't really help with the flavours in the mouth. Better for it to melt in.

The kale dish was really "bigged up" to us as THE best  veggie dish in the World. It was delicious but I'm not sure it's as good as the hype.

In all our visit here was very enjoyable. It's interesting, creative food and full of Melbourne hipsters in skinny jeans, chunky silver jewellery and checked shirts, beards and tattoos. The food is reminiscent of The Commoner but perhaps where The Commoner retains an element of homeliness and comfort, it's a little more eccentric and unusual here. This is a place for foodies for sure!

Friday night date night and after a recommendation from my German colleague Maren we headed for Mutti's in Carlton.

I have to admit I had never heard of this place until the recommendation but Steve has a soft spot for Germany having lived there for a year during his university life. And I remember my high school German classes with Frau Poll and I owe my  vocab knowledge to her. I have to admit I have committed to my memory the German words for the most random things - boiled egg, guinea pig, tortoise and how to give directions as long as it only involves going straight, then left or right and to the traffic lights!

Mutti's looks homely and less kitsch than the Hofbrauhaus. There's no stein swinging, no oompah band, no lederhosen. But there's a cosy atmosphere, dark wood tables, twinkly candlelight. And there is a suitable accented waiter for some authenticity.

So our Friday night starts with ein Bier und ein Almdudler mein Herr. Almdudler was described as an Alpine soft drink and basically tastes like sparkling elderflower cordial.

The food items sound good and Steve and I deliberate for a while but don't feel rushed. The place is pretty calm and although we were there early ish, was also quite empty which was a shame. It could do with being a touch busier for a more convivial vibe.

Anyway Steve and I decide to share two entrees:

Pinzgauer Kaspressknödel
 A fragrant beef broth served with handmade beer cheese dumplings and fresh chives

Paprika Topfenpalatschinken
Fine crepe spiced with sweet paprika and fresh herbs, filled with a variety of mushrooms and soft cows milk whey, finished with Prima Donna and Parmesan

The beef broth is surprisingly delicate and fresh with lots of green herby flavours. The dumplings were well seasoned and yummy pillows of cheesy goodness.

The pancake and mushrooms was exactly how it was described. Lots of melted cheese, mixed mushrooms and then a freshness to it from the sprinkled dill.

Both entrees were actually lighter than expected but rustically comforting at the same time.

Again we decided to share each other's main course and we opted for two traditional dishes. I couldn't get past spatzle especially as my most recent experience with it at Cafe di Stasio was disappointing and Steve couldn't deny the pork hock.

Kalbs Vögel (Grandmother's recipe)
Tender pieces of milk fed veal, braised with paprika, onions & spices and served with house made spätzle & fresh asparagus

Pork Hock for one
with golden crackling, cauliflower & potato crumble, apple sauce & caraway
& dark beer jus
 
The veal dish was really delicious. Huge chunks of veal braised in a really flavoursome sauce that was savoury and just on the right side of creamy. The spatzle was a delight and I could have eaten a bowlful with just the yummy sauce. The meat was just excess and very generous, I loved the tender asparagus too that just provided a freshness and texture that cut through the buttery and heavier spatzle and the rich meat and sauce. I would return for spatzle.

The pork hock was probably the disappointing dish. It just lacked the wow factor and the yumminess of the veal. I guess we expected one big piece of hock with golden crackling but when it came out there was a smallish hock and chunks of meat just in gravy and it wasn't very golden, just very dark and I can't remember the crackling so it can't have been that good.

The hock did come with the cauliflower and potato crumble which was delicious and had Alpine nostalgia running through it.

Mutti's serves comfort food that is hearty and welcoming. Whilst some dishes were better than other, we cannot fault the generous serves and the comfort of the dining room. We were too full for dessert but in keeping with the German roots the mention of apple strudel did make us smile. Maybe next time we'll have spatzle and strudel.

It had been a while since Charlotte, Claire and I had met up for post work for a feed. Since the last meet up, Lucy has had a baby, Zoe and is now on maternity leave so isn't working in the city and Claire is now 6 months pregnant! So whilst Claire is still around we really do need to make the most of the time she is still at work for our post work dinners. After a few emails we decided to try out Tonka which is the new kid on the Flinders Lane block.

Apparently where the club Honky Tonks used to be...but we three relatively nouveau Melbournians don't remember it. What we did notice this wet night was it was so typically Melbourne. Off a back graffitied back street, almost unnoticeable signage, through an inconspicuous doorway into a startling big dining restaurant. Unexpectedly large with an open kitchen and bar and lots of tables to the back.

The welcome was warm and friendly enough. Drinks were ordered quickly and we decided to let the wait staff decide on our food and leave it to them. Our waitress seemed very efficient and at ease with coming up with a feast accommodating the dietary requirements of our pregnant guest.

Smoked trout betel leaf with coconut, chilli, pomelo and kaffir lime came out first and was a tasty delight. Deep herby flavours reminiscent of Thailand with fresh fish

Pappadums with a tomato, red onion and coriander salsa were what Charlotte specifed she had to try and they were crispy and fresh and the salsa was a good accompaniment which was tasty but really did just taste of tomato, red onion and coriander. Not really unlike anything I couldn't reproduce at home.

 The pani puri, crispy parcel filled with spiced potato, mung beans, date and tamarind chutney with aromatic water was unusually presented with a small bottle of aromatic water to pour into the pastry. Gimmicky or tasty? Well I can see why you have to pour the water just before eating otherwise any earlier the pastry would go soggy so the gimmick is at least practical. In terms of taste, it was nice enough...pastry with some spiced mashed potato. Pleasant enough but not mindblowingly amazing.

The Crystal Bay prawn and chicken salad with green beans, chilli and coconut that came next was much more satisfying. Big chunks of sweet prawn and meaty chicken with crunchy greens. Looking at it I was expecting the tanginess and creaminess of mayonnaise but it's actually more like coconut cream so it didn't feel oily or fatty and the tang came from the fresh lime cheek on the side. Loved the hints of coconut both in the subtle dressing and the toasty bits sprinkled on top.

Continuing along the stream of success came the soft-shell crab pakora with pickled cucumber, lemon, chilli and mint. I'm not sure how many serves came in our portion but there were about two pieces each and they were yummy. Meaty, juicy, crispy and well seasoned.

We then moved onto Avani’s lamb curry with roasted coconut, black cardamom and white poppy seeds along with naan bread and a dish of fried cauliflower, garam masala salt, fenugreek and yoghurt dressing.

The curry wasn't spicy in terms of chilli heat but was fragrant and aromatic with the warmth of black pepper. The meat was tender and the naan bread was great dunked in sauce. It was a decent enough curry and was on a par with the curries from other establishments like Red Spice Road, Coda, Bang Pop, Chin Chin etc. Although I think the duck curry from Bang Pop has the edge...just...

The roasted cauliflower was great - unusual and the sharp tang of the yoghurt dressing cut through the rich flavours of the curry.

And that was our meal. It was probably the right amount and gave us space in our bellies to order dessert. I think one more dish wouldn't have gone amiss though and was surprised they didn't bring another main.

So we moved onto dessert and actually making the dessert decision did take some time. But it was Charlotte's birthday and every birthday girl deserves dessert! She opted for peanut butter parfait, salted caramel, chocolate mousse and caramelised popcorn. It looked very appealing and I stole a bit of delicious popcorn from her. She has informed me and allowed me to quote that this was the best dessert she'd had in a long time. I guess that means she approves.

I went with coconut rice pudding, mango sorbet, pineapple chiboust and shortbread. This was a great way to finish the meal not being that huge a chocolate fan. To me a great dessert isn't necessarily chocolate and I prefer non cooked fruit creations like this. I loved the creaminess of the rice pudding, the tang of the sorbet and the textures and butteriness of the shortbread crumbs. Claire agreed having dipped a spoon in both camps. She enjoyed another berry based mocktail as her dessert.

Tonka isn't the place for a chicken jalfrezi, rice and naan and several pints of Kingfisher. In all honesty, we've not found a place like that in Melbourne. It's unusual fusion, quite light and delicate. Certainly enjoyable and different to the usual Thai / Chinese fusion. This new kid is quite welcome on the block.