Super Normal Canteen

I have wanted to try this for ages and now that it moved it Flinders Lane, it became the perfect excuse to celebrate a friend's birthday. Andrew McConnell closed down Golden Fields to focus on Super Normal and the outcome was amazing. With a a warehouse like setting, you walk in to this buzzing vibe and innovative food space.

While we were waiting for our table we tried a couple of the cocktails and they did not disappoint. I'm no cocktail expert so I won't go into too much detail but the umeshu spritz and pop up cocktail with nashi syrup but the perfect start to an evening of great food.

We were struggling to decide so we went with the chef choice menu which was $65 per head and it ended up being an abundance of food for us.

To start, there was the sesame cucumber, rice cakes and roasted pumpkin seeds. The sesame cucumber really took me by surprised, it looked so ordinary but who knew slightly pickled cucumber with sesame can taste so good. 

The rice cakes were lightly fried and given a sweet chilli coating, good texture and interesting eat for anyone who has never had rice cakes before. The roasted pumpkin seeds were a great way to get your pallet going.

Next there was the sea beam with ginger and the famous lobster roll. The sea beam had a delicate fish flavour they was pair beautifully with the white soy and ginger. The roast seaweed also give it that small element you won't expect in a delicate dish of such.

The lobster roll has a soft but crunchy brioche bun with a generous chuck on lobster. This was a party in my mouth. I would definitely go back again for this. Looks so innocent but it's goodness that you need to try it for yourself.

Chicken with black sesame and the chilli prawn and chicken dumplings were next. The chicken were just cooked and it came with cucumber and black sesame. It wasn't my favorite dish but I didn't hate it either. I just found this a bit too plain for me.

Boiled prawn and chicken dumplings were just McConnell's version of chilli wontons. Except this was not oily like the variety you will normally find in Chinese dumpling stores. The won tons had a distinct prawn and chicken flavour and the chilli slaw on top went with it beautifully and wasn't overpowering.

The braised eggplant and tofu. Nice play on the variety of textures.

Mains included the braised short rib with pepper sauce and a side of steam rice and lettuce hearts with miso dressing and nashi. At this point we were very full already but the short ribs is one of their signature dishes so I couldn't pass on it. The meat was succulent and soft, the fried tripe and eggplant puree was a nice change from the typical mash that comes with meat dishes.

Finally it was dessert time, the much anticipated peanut butter parfait did not disappoint. The slight saltiness of the peanut butter was the perfect balance with the salted caramel and the big quenelle of chocolate on top.

Overall 18.5/20, like Cutler & Co I walked away full, satisfied, and genuinely impressed with the food. Great service from start to end.