Melbourne Patron

It has been months since I ate at Tonka (20 Duckboard Place, Melbourne). My work crew chose it as the venue for our 2013 Christmas lunch, and the photos I took have been lying in wait (taunting me!) ever since. It's not that I didn't want to write it up; but I've had a backlog of posts to write - and the delay possibly also says something about my reaction to Tonka: I didn't need to rush the write-up, because I knew it would still be there. Like its sister restaurant, the excellent Coda , Tonka boasts that X-factor: a mixture of classiness, cool design, warm service, and of course, high-quality, original food, accompanied by perfectly matched drinks. Tonka's take on food is widely seen as 'Modern Indian', although it's more Modern Australian/Indian, with touches of other influences. As one workmate put it, this place gives us "a fine dining version of Indian". In any case, it seems to have filled a gap in Melbourne's dining scene t...

One of my dear friends turned 30 recently, and as part of the five-day celebration, a few of us went to dinner at Easy Tiger (96 Smith Street, Collingwood). I'd been once before and loved it - we'd had excellent waitstaff, sat out in the courtyard surrounded by funky fairy lights, and the same friend - who at that point had just discovered she was fructose-intolerant - had been impressively catered for. Considering it's an Asian restaurant (apparently highly influenced by the chef's experience in Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines), and that onion (high in fructose) features regularly in Asian foods, we were delighted that our waiter went to the lengths of marking on the menu which items were, or could be made, fructose-free. So it was with high and gleeful expectations that we arrived for a birthday feast. My housemate and I landed first and were graciously seated street-side in ridiculously comfortable chairs, a bit low for my liking, in a rather squishy arrangeme...

Despite its excellent food and a stellar reputation, I only had bad associations with Longrain (44 Lt Bourke Street, Melbourne). Let's just say both of my previous visits had to do with the same former boyfriend and, well, it didn't turn out well. So it was with some trepidation that I attended a birthday dinner at Longrain last week. Continually swirling in the back of my mind was the phrase, 'Third time lucky!' Thankfully (touch wood), the evening was pleasant and trouble-free. Arriving early, I fixed my face (well, as much as possible) in the small but stylish and immaculate ladies' room, and sat in the bar area to await my friends. Several times I was politely asked by staff if I had a drink on the way: the service so good, it was almost annoying! When everyone had arrived, we were shown to the round table at the front of the restaurant, nearest the window. It has a built-in Lazy Susan - you know, that spinning round thing so you can share the food more eas...