Okra restaurant - Good Food Gift Card

OVERVIEW

This polite and pleasing split-level eatery has been skilfully blending the spices of South-East Asia here in Hawthorn East for a decade. Not much has changed, and that's the way the locals like it. The formal, restrained decor, with thin linen tablecloths, timber floors and subtle lighting, makes an unobtrusive setting - perfect for the head-turning presentation of some dishes. The hor mok talay is a flaming tinfoil parcel of steamed seafood in a delicate red Thai curry mingling coconut milk with kaffir lime and lemongrass. Equally theatrical is a baked clay entree plate of oysters, also alight, each bathed in a sweet ginger broth. Despite the somewhat stiff setting, service is friendly and there's culinary finesse: iceberg lettuce cups of duck sang choy bao, Singapore chilli prawns on the end of a chopstick for dipping in creamy gravy, and grilled eye-fillet with caramelised tamarind sauce - a smoky profound pleasure. It's a happy collision of elements that ensures Okra's enduring popularity.