Coda Bar & Restaurant

Open Tuesday-Sunday Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday Lunch.

Basement 141 Flinders Lane (Cnr Oliver Lane)

Melbourne 3003

Telephone +613 9650 3155

Facsimile +613 9650 5127

My last night in Melbourne, & i wanted to make the most of my trip and visit another restaurant. Flicking through Tom's Melbourne eating guide (2009 + 2010), he decided on Coda, a fairly new restaurant that offers Modern Australian & vietnamese fusion tapas styled dishes.

Our late afternoon call to make a booking, we were told that there were no spare tables, but for two people, we could easily be seated at the bar.

This i didn't mind.. so we just turned up at 7pm, and luckily - only had to wait 5 minutes before a couple had finished their drinks & left their seats (where the kitchen was in our full view!)

The restaurant had soft lighting, with mesh covered lanterns, and a full open kitchen & bar. I loved the layout of the restaurant, & the fact that it was a basement style room - made it feel even cooler :)

Seated infront on the kitchen we were able to see the happenings in the kitchen as well as the cute bartenders making drinks & serving us our meals.

Hopkins River steak bernaise charcoal grilled $29

Tom ordered the man steak, which he claimed was excellent, succulent, with the bernaise sauce so good that he was lost for words pretty much!

Pomme frites $8

Me being addicted to fries, i just had to order these & Tom helped me finish them as well. They were heavily salted (just the way i like them) & were fresh & crisp, serving size more than enough for the two of us we struggled to finish it.

Eggplant and tofu lettuce delight, enoki mushroom, crispy garlic and black vinegar $5

In the Eating guide, they mentioned a vegetarian style san choy bao - & this is what got me! Since i've become vego i havent had san choy bao before, so it was the first dish i ordered. Everything was finely sliced, and in two bites this morsel was finished. It ended all too soon and i really wanted another one, but i still had my coda slaw & chips to finish off.

Coda slaw, wombok, carrot, hot mint & red cabbage $8

I ordered the healthy cod slaw - to counteract with the unhealthy fries. Cabbage was fresh & crunchy, with a light vinegar & lemon dressing.

Wok fried morning glory with garlic & ginger $8

After the coleslaw i was still not full.. so i ordered another small dish, while still picking at the fries. Then i started to get full.. & regretted ordering another dish. But i thought i'd be okay, as the first two dishes i had were faily small, i could handle another one.

When i started digging in though, i could feel my stomach getting over filled, and i was struggling to finish the waterspinach (something i have a lot at home, & i love it), I hardly ate a quarter and asked if i could take away it (i wasnt shy at all to ask this, i wanted to take it home cos there was so much left eheh). The waiter came back & said due to health regulations they didn't allow doggy bagging. I shrugged, it was no big deal.

I really liked the ambiance and the design here, and the menu (found here) was really funky & different. I had to ask what everything was haha i really had no idea that a wok fried morning glory - was water spinach.

I was really looking forward to trying the desert taste plate of Baked lemon tart with Yuzu marshmallow, Valrhona chocolate custard pot, & hazelnut brittle & pumpkin foam - but we both thought we'd be too full, and opted for waffles later in the night somewhere in Fitzroy... which we didnt end up having at all. Tom was abit tired & had an early start the next morning, so we called it a night..

But i did end up going to san churros with Ann & Jess for a late night desert!

Bau Truong

You'd think i'd have reviewed many Viet restaurants before this, but this one is actually my first. Not that i don't eat it often, but i don't remember taking any pictures hehe. Eating out locally usually means something quick & on the go, & me not carrying my camera with me.

This time i made sure i packed it into my gym bag, as i was meeting the lovely Ann for a catch up dinner. She couldn't make it to the gym because she stubbed her toe at work, which didn't stop me from doing a session of the cross trainer before picking her up.

You can always expect a cheap meal in Canley Heights/ Canley Vale, Ann chose this place for us tonight. I've been here a few times before, back in my meat eating/pesketarian days.

This restaurant is always busy, they have one in Cabramatta as well, they cover quite alot of the Vietnamese dishes, & not so many vego options, but i managed to find a fried rice & asked for it to be made with no meat.

Tasty pineapple fried rice

This was indeed tasty, and a huge serving. I only managed to eat half of it, & take awayed the rest for breakfast the next day. (Yup, i can pretty much eat anything for breakfast, sweet/savory).

Beef in wild pepper leaf rolls

Ann's serving was pretty big as well, but she finished it off with no problems.

We also had drinks. Me, the coconut drink, Ann had the avocado & durian shake. WHich was pretty thick and sweet, no traces of ice at all, really lovely (i would know because i was constantly sipping some too hehe).

Unlike many other restaurants in the area, you can actually see into the kitchen here, and it's very clean, something that you'd like to know when you're eating out.