Restaurant Review: Coda

Coda opened around this time last year. With a lot of hype surrounding the restaurant as Adam D’Sylva former young chef of the year, was opening his first restaurant with fellow industry veterans from MoVida and Taxi. The location was an unusual subterranean basement off Flinders Lane which used to be the site of Mini. The space looks like a funky new age loft with distressed ½ painted walls, industrial mesh room dividers and light bulbs hanging bare with the cord just curled up in a tangled mess above. The design and clever use of space gives the restaurant a interment yet chic look which suits the cuisine well.

This is one of those restaurants where you like it or you don’t, some complain about the portion size and others complain about what some might called a uninspired menu. Me? I’m a fence sitter on this one. I came with my girlfriend who is a huge critic of Asian foods like most people she believes mum’s cooking is best. 

The menu is loosely based on Vietnamese/Thai flavors, with a few additions of something a little Italian in a few places. The menu is similar to a tapas restaurant where there are lots small single item dishes which you order a few to try like a yum cha, followed by dishes which resemble more of an entree size and followed by main share plates and desserts.

To start we had..

Freshly shucked Pacific oyster with a mirin and finger lime dressing.

Wonderfully fresh pacific oyster, with tart finger lime dressing to cut through the creaminess and just a few pieces of Pompelmo creating bursts of freshness.

Spanner crab, galangal, roasted chilli and lime betel leaf.

This was the definition of refreshing for me, it was light and really stimulated the appetite. flavors were all well balanced. I would be happy having a few more of these.

Crispy prawn and tapioca betel leaf.

Since there's no dumpling on the menu, i figured this was as good as it gets. this Tempura fried betle leaf is juicy and full of flavor, the leaf actually fries up very well and has a delicate texture that you wouldn't get with any dumpling skin. Another goodie!

Quail lettuce delight, up cheong, shitake mushroom, coriander and water chestnuts

This was the San Choi Bao wannabe, This I found overly salty, all I could taste was the mushrooms, no quail or lup cheong, a pretty one note dish.

Hà Nôi style crispy rice paper roll with nuoc mam dipping sauce

Good nuoc mam, but ricepaper roll could have done with a bit of taste, couldn't really taste the filling.

Coda roll, crisp parcel of bone marrow, ginger, shitake mushroom
and rice paddy herb.

This just had something about it that made my mouth water, the crisp spring roll skin gives way to a warm chewy center which is the shitake, but then a warm fatty goodness fills your mouth which can only the bone marrow. pared with the lemon pepper dipping sauce that reminds me of my late grandfather how can I not like this.

Hervey Bay scallop, pearl tapioca and Yarra Valley salmon
caviar

This was similar to scallops at Ocha, with the hollandaise, but the tapioca, gives it a nice texture, sweetness of the scallops balanced well off the creaminess of the sauce and bursts of salty salmon roe. pretty normal.


After not being all that satisfied with just having the starters, i opted to try a main. the most popular looking around the room seemed to be the yellow duck curry. so I thought why not.

Roasted yellow duck curry.

This thing looks better than it tastes. some of you might like overly reduced salty curries but. I definitely wasn't a fan, especially with the, dry as Alice Springs rice I was given to do with this. I was kinda wishing I went straight to desserts at this point. BLEH!

Monkey banana fritters, salted peanut coconut caramel and black sesame
ice cream

Sounds weird and exotic, that's because it most certainly is. The salted peanut, coconut caramel kinda reminds me of some Asian dessert I've had somewhere before. this was my highlight of the night. Crispy fried bananas and smooth as silk black sesame ice cream which I could eat all night long. with such a brilliant combo you can't go wrong.

Tasting Special: Cherry and Almond Torte with Creme Fraiche Sorbet.

Looked amazing tasted pretty homey, moist cake, gorgeous velvety sorbet, but apart from that. Should have got the Chocolate Tian.


There's probably only certain people you'd take here, if your Asian definitely not you're parents, unless you want to be slapped for making them buy a $10 spring roll. If your feeling adventurous, with a group of friends, have a story to tell, then visit Coda for a amazing time with great ambience. but if you come looking for something traditional this ain't the place to be. 


As I said before I'm a fence sitter, still considering whether I like this place or not, but I definitely won't be coming back in a hurry.  

Address: Basement, 141 Flinders La (enter from Oliver La), Melbourne, 3000
Reservation: (03) 9650 3155

Hours: Tue-Sun noon-3pm and 6pm-late.
Website: http://www.codarestaurant.com.au/