January 17, 2007: Hako

On Midweek nighttime nosotros had tickets to the Melbourne Theatre Company's latest rendition of Don's Party lined up. Faced alongside the business of getting a reasonably quick in addition to early on dinner, Michael took our typical approach of refering to Cheap Eats. Out of the CBD department came Hako, a tiny Japanese eating spot that scored the amount iii stars in addition to a veggie-friendly V.

We met Mike out the front end in addition to our reservation for iii belike took upward 20% of the seating! The listing of specials was written on butchers' newspaper in addition to taped to the wall, offering roughly every bit many dishes in 1 lawsuit to a greater extent than every bit the primary menu. Only a modest proportion was truly vegetarian but these options looked appetising enough. Our Asahi beers arrived inside minutes of our order, in addition to nosotros easily passed the fourth dimension earlier the get-go repast arrived nutting out how the angle of the earth's rotation affects the seasons in addition to solar daytime lengths across dissimilar latitudes, alongside the aid of a pen in addition to a beer. (The topics occupying Mike's heed at whatsoever fourth dimension are varied in addition to unpredictable!)

The get-go film inwards a higher house is of Michael's agadashi tofu entree ($9.80), deep fried edible bean curd alongside lite soy. He happily gobbled it downwardly earlier our other nutrient arrived, the side past times side dish beingness his selection from the specials board: bok choy in addition to oyster mushrooms cooked alongside Dashi sauce ($10). Although he liked this too, Michael would convey preferred to uncovering a few to a greater extent than mushrooms involved.

Predictably, I ordered the vegetable tempura ($12.50). Arriving on a plate that dwarfed both my veges in addition to our petty table, I didn't human face to live on filled past times this serving. However it turned out to live on simply the correct size; the batter was crisp in addition to hot, the veges fresh in addition to tender. It would convey been a winner all round, if my rice had turned up.

Hako jibe the pecker for our pre-theatre dinner, but it didn't quite alive upward to the expectations that that big blood-red Cheap Eats V built up. While the lunch-time bento boxes mightiness live on a hitting alongside omnivorous Japanese nutrient fans, the options for a vegetarian novice such every bit me are pleasant but non worth crossing town for.

By contrast, Don's Party fulfilled in addition to exceeded my expectations! The ensemble variety of xi were abrupt in addition to funny without exception: David Williamson's tale of electoral, social in addition to sexual politics however resonates on ii out of iii levels in addition to is an interesting snapshot of unopen to other era on the third. And the 1969 laid upward pattern was a delight!

Address: Shop 7, 250 Flinders St (enter from Degraves St), Melbourne CBD
Edit 08/11/07: novel address 310 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD
Ph: 9650 0207
Edit 08/11/07: novel hollo upward 9620 1881
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Price: veg entrees in addition to mains $3.50-13.50