Wood Spoon Kitchen

88 Smith Street, Collingwood. (03) 9416 0588
Score: 28/40
I was nervous about visiting this place, because I was coming with a vegetarian, but there are so many non-meat options on the menu here, it was a totally bearable experience.

This is a really funky place with cute minimalist decoration and some seriously cute lighting. The staff were friendly and attentive from the minute we sat down. We immediately ordered some umeshu on ice (sweet plum wine $6.50) and got down to business, looking at the menu.

This first thing to arrive was the oshinko (selection of pickled vegetables, $4.50). There was carrot, celery, garlic  and broccoli. They were sharp and crispy and, I suspect, homemade. Really lovely.

The next dish was okonomiyaki (Pan-fried pancake with egg & shredded cabbage, served with teriyaki sauce & Japanese mayo $9.50). Forget about those chunky deep fried monstrosities from the food court at your local shopping centre, this was flat and thin and very delicate. We ended up pretty much fighting over it!My only suggestion would be using slightly less of the teriyaki sauce, because I find it can be a bit overpowering, so mention this when ordering if you’re of the same opinion. But having said that, my companion had no problem with the sauce.

I really wanted an onigiri, rice ball, as they’re made fresh here. It reminds me of when I lived in a house, as a child, with a Japanese house keeper and used to eat these every Saturday for breakfast. I digress.

We decided to go out on a limb and chose one of the cheese curry and one of the sansai, or mountain vegetable, both $3.90 each. Both were warm and delicious. The cheese in the curry onigiri was a bit like Indian paneer. The sansai one was also delicious, but a little light on the filling.

For our ‘mains’ we chose dengaku don (eggplant in miso based sauce w tofu & vegies on rice, $14.90) and Ankake Tofu (fried tofu cubes served with sansai sauce with rice on a bed of garden salad, $ 14-90).

They were nice dishes, although sauces weren’t particularly distinctive from each other or some of the other sauces we’d already had. And both contained a similar mix of vegetables, including beans, making them a little too much of a muchness. They were decent portions, but not particularly memorable.

Overall a really nice dining experience – not sure it’s as good as Wabi Sabi up the road, but for a reasonably priced option in that area it will surely do well. I think I’ll definitely be back for an onigiri – they were fantastic.

Service:  7/10
Food: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10
Ambience: 7/10

Website: www.woodspoonkitchen.com