Melbourne 3000
03 9663 7660
www.cookie.net.au
Whenever I eat at Cookie, I leave hungry.
My work colleagues and friends seem to love group lunches at Cookie. I admit the atmosphere is upbeat. The food is interesting with a mix of original flavours. But the dishes are small and expensive. There are hardly any choices for vegetarians that are any bigger than snack size. It seems to come down to the old stereotype of vegetarianism being a euphemism for dieting. I am vegetarian but I still eat!
The menu is hard to read as there are no subheadings beyond the size of the dishes and dessert. After trawling through it, you will realise there are no vegetarian curries. One would also expect a Thai restaurant to have at least one. Disbelieving I even confirmed this with the waiter. Sorry no vegetarian curries, why don’t you order a salad?
For those of you with small appetites, Cookie is not all bad. The dishes are well thought out and original. The pumpkin with coconut, ginger and coriander smells delicious with a taste to match. The deep fried lotus root salad with watercress, cashews and tomatoes is refreshing and well balanced. The phad thai is fine but no better than any of the cheaper restaurants just across the road (of course the size is smaller too).
For those, used to ordering larger quantities I recommend lots of rice. Is it embarrassing to order three serves of rice at a work lunch? Yes. Instead I settle for hunger.