Okra Restaurant, Hawthorn MELB

Okra is a Malaysian/ Thai/ Indonesian restaurant that owner Lawrence started more than 10 years ago in the heart of Hawthorn. Last Thursday, Lawrence and co were kind enough to host an event for us bloggers/instagram-ers to get together and sample their menu. It was a small gathering but gave us a good insight on what the restaurant has to offer for diners.

Cassava crackers and sambal chilli sauce - a vegetarian option and truthfully, I couldn't tell it was vegetarian at all. Sambal chilli sauce is made in house and is extremely fragrant, all thanks to the usage of fresh chilli.

Khanom jeep chicken dumplings - a sweet, salty broth encompasses the lightly flavoured dumplings. Petite enough as an appetizer and kept us intrigued on what else will surprise us that evening.

Satay chicken and beef - WL laughed when he realized that I have no recollection as to whether I had beef satay before or not. Probably one of the best grilled satay dishes in Melbourne,

Thai style beef salad - another light entree to whet our appetite for the next few dishes.

Tangy oyster shooters - probably a bit too hot to be a shooter but nevertheless, seasoned well with Asian aromatics, a feat that has to not overpower the sweet, milder oyster flavour.

Loh bak - a traditional Malaysian dish of meat filling wrapped in bean curd skin before being deep fried. Nailed it.

Crispy whole snapper in tamarind sauce - WL liked this a lot for its tangy taste on the palate which pairs well with the deep fried fish. Fish was easy to consume as the chef had removed the main bones from the fish. Do be careful of the smaller bones when digging into this dish, just in case.

Okra belachan - another Malaysian favourite and thankfully, not overly spicy on the palate nor were the bite sized okra pieces overcooked.

Indonesian grilled chicken - crispy grilled skin and succulent chicken flesh.

Special lamb shank - managed to nibble on a small portion of this lamb shank but loved how rich and moorish the curry sauce was.

Homemade roti canai - I have recently became addicted to roti and this was no exception. Deliciously crisp, oozing a pleasant butter aroma through it.

Black sticky rice with egg custard, sago pudding, served with durian, coconut, mango and green tea ice cream - and a whole lot of fruit. Loved the sticky rice with egg custard and could have easily polished it off myself as it was not sickeningly sweet.

Thumbs up to Lawrence and Mark for accommodating the bunch of us that evening and for feeding us well. Lucky Hawthorn residents definitely have a good Southeast Asian restaurant in their neighbourhood :)