Benjamin's Kitchen

When I was a kid, a long time ago, before mobile phones and the Internet, before reality TV (before colour TV), a meal out meant Chinese on a Friday night, and Chinese meant Australian-Cantonese, at restaurants run by the descendants of people who came here before Australia was even a thing – the people who gave us Kylie Kwong. It wasn't pretty, it probably wasn't even what you'd call Chinese now, but it was our introduction to something that has become as Australian as – the neighbourhood Asian restaurant.

These days the neighbourhood Asian restaurant is likely to be anything but Cantonese (unless it's actually Cantonese) – pan-Asian maybe, as it is at Benjamin's Kitchen in Alphington.

I can't remember the decor at the old Cantonese, but it certainly wasn't pale blue walls painted with a soothing mural of cumulus, timber tables and white bentwood chairs, nor interesting lamps suspended above those tables, as it is at Benjamin's.

No memory remains of the Friday night Chinese menu other than black bean sliced steak – nothing like the menu at Benjamin's, which is pan-Asian in the best possible way, a crowd-pleaser with something for all the family (though maybe not your eldest's vegan girlfriend, as nearly all the dishes are of flesh, fish or fowl).

Son-in-law eggs makes a nice start – two soft-boiled ones, shallow-fried and halved, the yolk oozy and the outside crisp in a lemongrassy sauce, while your eldest's vegan girlfriend can kick off with a couple of fat, juicy vegetable spring rolls and a little sweet chilli dipping sauce.

There are old faves like Thai red curry duck, salt-and-pepper calamari, and teriyaki pan-fried chicken – dark, soy-sweet chunks of bird with a nice smoky backbeat piled on a bed of savoury, saucy Asian greens that are threaded with sliced red chilli for a spicy kick.

A friend had recommended two must-haves: twice-cooked pork belly and the Heaven duck, so we must-had both.

The pork belly is two slabs of juicy, sweet pig with a nice dark glaze, a creamy layer of fat and sweet, tender meat. It's served with a contrasting crunchy salad of grated daikon and carrot. Yes, good.

The Heaven duck – with hoisin sauce and a drop of whisky – was served in a filo pastry case on a bed of iceberg lettuce, with a mix of crunchy sauteed carrot and celery. The idea could be to pick the whole thing up and eat it as a kind of massive duck pie; we shared, picking bits of sweet duck and vegetable out with chopsticks, and while it was tasty, it wasn't heavenly as such.

Never mind. We turned to fat fillets of sweet rockling, crumbed and pan-fried and served on a bed of wilted bok choy, a simple dish that let the fish flavours sing.

On the side was good coconut rice, sweet and delicious, with a spike of ginger for added excitement, and to finish a creamy-wobbly coconut panna cotta laced with passionfruit.

The servings here aren't huge, but four mains and a couple of entrees gave a family of four a decent taste of everything and didn't leave anyone hungry. There's a homespun quality to the flavours, though the execution is better than I could manage in my kitchen, even with the help of, say, Adam Liaw or Kylie Kwong. And the vibe is distinctly neighbourly.

Do… come for the breakfast of a "crap bun" (soft-shell crustacean and salad on brioche rolls)
Don't… bring your eldest's vegan girlfriend, unless she's fasting
Dish… twice-cooked pork belly
Vibe… neighbourhood Asian