Hattori Hanzo

Perhaps you know Hattori Hanzo as the revered 16th century Japanese samurai or simply from his most recent incarnation as the sushi-slicer-master-swordsmith from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. It is the latter reference you'll find more useful in understanding Cheltenham's new restaurant, in that Hattori Hanzo, owned by the same folks who run the tapas bar, the Garden of Good and Evil, next door, presents Asian food as pop culture, through a Western lens.

It's not Japanese, or even modern-Asian. It's Flinders Lane dining, transported to Melbourne's far south east. The name is Japanese, the references are all about Chinese martial arts and the dishes are predominantly south-east Asian. Geographical accuracy was clearly not a concern. 

This comes as a welcome promise to those who like the fizzing energy, sleek looks and democratic menus. It's all here, every box of modern dining thoroughly ticked. The placemat menus. The mural of a street scene. The bar slinging sweet, exotic drinks. The scene has been set for a party, and to Station Road, the party has come.

On Friday night you'll fight for your seat past 6.30pm, unless you have a posse of six and can book. As a duo, you'll likely be sitting in the window with the flicker of the Kurosawa​ film in your periphery and the view of Brunel's Hobby Store and Dazzlin' Gems across the street. It's quite the coup for the model train set that they can now chase a purchase high with a charcoal-infused old fashioned.

Don't expect the flaming pungency of Jinda Thai, or to work through your offal checklist. It's a geographical brawl, the menu jumping from Thailand to Laos and Korea with brief stops in Japan, all corralled by chef Pim Wangweerawong​, late of Chocolate Buddha, BangPop Thai and the equally internationally promiscuous St Kilda spot Soul Sisters.  

A $49 tasting menu kicks off with salty edamame, and the junk food snack for the vegan and peanut-free – fried tofu cubes for wrapping like Vietnamese spring rolls in lettuce cups with herbs, carrot and a lemongrass almond sauce akin to a mild satay. There's great crunch, not much kick, but bottles of Sriracha​ stand guard at every table for such emergencies. More lively are poached prawns, shells off, bodies electrified with a sharp, citrussy nuoc​ cham. 

Sarah Wilson's anti-sugar acolytes could hold up the beef tataki as damning evidence that the sweet stuff lurks in your savoury food. Napped in the glossy garlic-and sugar-rich sauce, the fan of soft singed beef slices is the dessert of meat dishes. A lamb shank in massaman curry is tender, mellow, extremely polite. There's the nice idea of stir-frying pickled onions with the pak choi, though you'll mostly taste oyster sauce. If it's not included in your tasting menu you should still order the whole snapper, the spine presented on the side, deep fried. 

Hattori has well achieved its aim of becoming a summer blockbuster-style venue. It is popular. It is nice to look at. You will have a friend who knows Asia well and will hate it deeply and complain about it every one of the next 10 times you go for group dinners, quick snacks and maybe just a beer because; really, it's the nicest room on the street and you can't get those longnecks of China's Snow beer anywhere else. 

Your friend is right. It is a bit careless with culture and style does sometimes rule over substance. But the fact that the chicken wingettes dusted in shichimi are missing some oomph, and the coconut tapioca dessert could make an effective superball doesn't seem to matter. Few eyes are focused on plates. They're on the film, the phones, the luxurious beards of the energetic young crew manning the floor. No one's taking things too seriously here, and neither should you. Serious is not the point. 

THE LOWDOWN
Pro tip Come before 6.30pm unless you want to wait 
Go-to dish The snapper is a spectacle, served with its own fried spine ($44)
Like this? Lucy Liu in the city loves to culture jam in a pretty room. 23 Oliver Lane, Melbourne 

How we score
Of 20 points, 10 are awarded for food, five for service, three for ambience, two for wow factor. 
12 Reasonable 13 Solid and satisfactory 14 Good 15 Very good 16 Seriously good 17 Great 18 Excellent 19 Outstanding 20 The best of the best