Okra

Mietta's Eating & Drinking in Melbourne 2000

Contributors' Choice
Page 116

The test to authenticity is native patronage. Okra is far from Asian in its café-style setting in top-end Hawthorn. But the flow of "natives" is unceasing. Step in out of the cold night, and the first sniff is unmistakable. Durian! The thorny tropical fruit the airlines wouldn’t allow in their cargo bay, let alone hand luggage. And as Okra forewarns in its dessert menu, durian (in its ice cream) is an acquired taste. If you’re Malaysian, or from that part of the region, you’ll more likely as not love it. But what is aromatic to the connoisseur is obnoxious to the uninitiated. This is not to plug the virtue of the durian, only to illustrate the Okra commitment to please the individual palate, however socially correct or otherwise.

The cuisine is Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian - anything Asian, really. Pricey. That’s how the menu comes across at first glance. Laksa for $12.90. But the portions are enormous. If you cannot imagine a gourmet laksa, feast on the king prawns, scallops, mussells and clams that come in Okra’s, with yellow Hokkien noodles and rice vermicelli bathed in a smooth curry sauce. Be sure to ask for the sambal belacan (chilli paste). For an entrée, the loh bak - pork marinated with five-spice powder, wrapped in beancurd skin and deep fried - will be a good place to start ($5.90 for two pieces). If you’re going to give the durian ice cream a miss, the sticky black rice pudding could be a meal in itself. This is a rich, sticky pudding made with glutinous black rice with a rich custard topping of egg and coconut cream, served with a sauce of coconut cream, palm sugar, ice cream and fruits ($6.90).

Okra is just over a year old. Irene Lay lays down the law, chatting up the guests out front while husband Chen Yang serves them up in the kitchen to Irene’s formula. The restaurant has three levels, all non-smoking. But Irene is not without heart. Smokers have a lounge, away from the diners. Lunch on Sundays is hawker fare, with two sittings - at 12.30 and 1.30. Bookings essential.

159 Camberwell Road
East Hawthorn
Malaysian & Indonesia Cuisine
Melways reference 45:H12
Phone: 9813 1623
Opening hours: Lunch: Wed- Fri & Sun 12 noon-3pm, Dinner: Tues-Sun 6-10.30pm
Licensed
Accepts credit cards
Seats Inside: 75
Closed: Some public holidays
Features: Restricted smoking, kids encouraged, private rooms seat 20 and 35
Favourites: Pla sam rod $24.90, Eye fillet grilled Sumatran style$17.90, Seafood curry laksa $12.90

*An updated review can be found in Mietta's Eating & Drinking in Australia 2000 pg86, published by Black Inc., 2000, Vic