Hawthorn East 3123 Vic
Ph: (03) 9813 1623
Before watching the movie Moon (an excellent sci-fi film), John and I decided to have a quick meal at Okra. I thought Okra was supposed to be a Thai restaurant, but it seemed more like a Malaysian restaurant than a Thai one.
We ordered the Loh Bak entree, Massaman Beef Curry, Beef Rendang and Roti to share. The Loh Bak is something I've eaten a lot of, as Vietnamese cuisine has a similar thing. It's basically a pork spring roll where the skin is beancurd skin rather than pastry. It's very nice and served with a sweet sauce and some fried beancurd. The Beef Rendang is spicy and not too bad. The Massaman Beef Curry was lacking a bit in flavour.
The rest of the menu looked like a strang mish-mash of various cuisines. It seems to inhabit both Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai food. The other dishes on the menu didn't look too appealing to me, although my work mate Joe says that he goes there a lot and that it's good. From what we ate that night, which wasn't too much, it was ok, but nothing special. And for the prices that they are charging, I would expect more. They're aiming for a fine dining type atmosphere but I don't think the food really works.
The service was very good, seeing as we were the only customers at the time. The restaurant filled up throughout the night but service was still good. The restaurant itself is a bit strange as it's a long space that makes it feel a bit closed in. However, we got the best table (in my opinion) right next to the window and got a good view of the whole restaurant.
I probably wouldn't go back as I've had similar food for cheaper, and reading the menu didn't really get me excited.
Overall Rating: 12/20, Food was ok but a bit too expensive for what it was, simple food.
Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.
I know Okra - my parents used to always go for the seafood laksa, yum yum.
ReplyDeletexox Sarah
Agreed - Moon is excellent!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame the restaurant didn't quite live up to its price.
I went to Okra many years ago and my impression was also a bit underwhelming. It seemed like it was Malaysian-Chinese folks trying to make Thai food, but not quite getting the essence of Thai food.
ReplyDeletePerhaps relating to its fne-dining pretensions, it lacked the robustness of flavour and character that SE Asian food needs to have.
Sarah, seafood laksa is definitely not Thai right? It must be listed wrongly as a Thai restaurant.
ReplyDeleteCindy, wasn't Sam Rockwell sensational? I loved the ending. And I kept forgetting Kevin Spacey was GERTY, his delivery was so different.
Christopher, I think you hit the nail on the head. The food really did lack the robustness in flavour that I was hoping for. Maybe the clientel they are taking aren't Asians?