Pok Pok - Melbourne

Rumours have spread quickly that good coffee has arrived in Docklands. Served alongside hawker-style thai food no less. Well, it seemed like a thai-malaysian-asiany fusion but let's not get caught up in that. Instead... *cue gospel choir* It's about time! From the moment I heard about this place I was keen to give it a try to see if our prayers really had been answered. I wondered by on a Thursday evening, delighted to discover that it was open for dinner on Thursdays and Fridays. The fit-out is lovely. This spacious, modern space offers coffee and food to-go downstairs, with seating upstairs on the brightest of bright pink chairs. Cute. Staff are lovely and welcoming. They seem just as excited to be there as the locals are to have them here. Apparently they're bursting at the seams come the lunch rush. Downstairs they are running Sensory Lab on their La Marzocco, which despite being dinner time when I arrived, seemed like an offer too good to refuse. I sat down to the paper menu and my long black and struggled with the difficult decision on what on earth I would try first. I can see this becoming a regular haunt very quickly. I settled on hainanese chicken rice that carried off a fantastic kick of chilli that I wasn't expecting. YUM! It would have been rude to walk away without entertaining some fried roti for dessert. Served with condensed milk and sugar, it was a tad sweeter than I would usually eat it, but damn good nonetheless! So welcome to the neighbourhood Pok Pok. Let's hope you set a trend of things to come.

Went here at lunchtime on a Friday with a big group of 12 people. Had made a booking. Was seated quickly. Despite us being a large group, our food came out quickly. We were all done within an hour which is rare for such a large group. Amongst us we ordered the pork belly curry, the lamb massaman, pad Thai chicken , and fried rice. The pad Thai was overly sweet and bland with a dull brown colour with no hint of anything green. Just boring pieces of chicken and tofu. The pork belly curry was an interesting new taste and very good with super succulent tended pieces of kind. The lamb massaman was a big hug amongst the group. Portion sizes are for one person so not to share. Price ranges from 14-18 dollars per dish. They do fresh fruit juices too.

Pok Pok is one of the top dining options in the Docklands area. They offer a variety of delicious Thai dishes, with my personal favorites being the Mussaman Lamb curry, the Hainanese Chicken Rice, and the soft shelled crab cold rolls. While the prices are in line with typical restaurant prices, ranging from $11 to $15 for a main dish, the high quality of the food makes it worth it.

What a treat for the Docklands to have such a reputably delicious Thai predominant coffee shop, which seems strange at first as its western- style coffee sandwich and rolls take- away downstairs and proper dining hall upstairs complete with open kitchen. Sound cool already? We did make a table reservation for lunchtime and they called an hour before to remind us and also said they can only hold bookings for ten minutes. Fair enough when you get there you'll know why. It's packed. Ambiance is terrific, very high ceilings make the place seem airy but on a hot summers day, ceiling fans would have been good, even though the docklands is a perpetual cyclone town. There's no air conditioning but some windows do open out to the street. Our table ordered Thai beef salad, grilled chicken and green mango salad, Muslim chicken rice and a pad Thai. The salads do pack a punch with heat. Very deceptively chilli hot. The pad Thai looked fantastic as a healthy version was not covered in oil and was heaped with lots of fresh bean sprouts. Three big prawns accompanied it. The Muslim chicken rice is to die for. The accompanying chilli ginger sauce is amazing! Nice touches such as tiny punched tin drinking vessels and hot pink chairs make it a very lively place to be in the arvo. There's also a great big singles bar if you're dining in alone or with two people. Would I return? Yes. They also serve breakfast. There's so much to try on the menu too. The only thing is the staff tend to get a bit manic that's what I noticed halfway through the lunch service. But were always prompt an cheery.

Pok Pok probably serves the most exciting dishes you can find in Docklands. Great variety of Thai and fusion style Southeast asian dishes with very reasonable prices. Will be coming back here again :