Lanterne Rooms

Now that the big glass-fronted ASIO building on Parkes Way (which we're not allowed to speak about) is fully built and supposedly occupied by spooks, won't they want somewhere discreet to have off-the-record lunches? Somewhere quiet, elegant and easy to slip in and out of? 

Just as well that Lanterne Rooms is at the Campbell shops just up the road. Now in its sixth year, it's brought Nonya fine dining to a city that doesn't usually take well to Asian food outside the realm of the coconut milk laksa and the Mongolian lamb. With a dining room discreetly divided by Chinese screens and softly billowing drapes, Lanterne Rooms manages to be breezy and light in summer but warm and intimate in winter. 

Which is what we're looking for this evening - a post-work dinner with colleagues. An entree of spicy cassava with mantau bread ($16) makes for a good start, the delicately crisp mantau slightly sweet and fluffy inside. It  is a perfect foil for a helping of cassava cubes softened with curry and spice and dotted with mustard seeds. It's a very good dish. The Penang hawker-style satay skewers ($18 for four) are tender and juicy on the inside and charred with tiger stripes on the outside without being too smoky, which is really what you want in a satay - that hit of charred flavour on the outside that doesn't interfere with the clean sweetness of the chicken meat and the seasoning. 

There are more intriguing entrees on offer on the menu and the slow-cooked lamb cutlets with coconut salad ($20.50 for two) have a crisp battered outer shell but are tender on the inside. A creamy, spicy curry seasoning is heaped on top and it's all accompanied by a tangle of shredded coconut, mint and coriander like a cool pickled salad. It's a dish with an excellent balance of flavours and texture, soft and crisp, cool and spicy all at once. 

The mains come on to the scene with the spatchcock gulai ($33.50), a lighter dish that's flavoured with soy and coriander. A dish of braised beef cheek ($34.50) is meltingly tender and soft and is surrounded by a broth that sings of umami flavours, with some dark mushrooms scattered on top for emphasis. It's a well executed dish with plenty of dark flavour but not too heavy on the palate. A big bowl of pork ribs with pickled green chilli and jackfruit is smoky, sweet, salty and sticky. The ribs are glossy and fall off the bone. A finger bowl is provided for this part of the meal and it's very necessary. We could do with a little more of the jackfruit and pickled chilli, which are scattered throughout and lend a tang to the dish. A glass of Collector's Marked Tree shiraz goes down beautifully with the spicy, meaty flavours.

Lanterne Rooms tends to run a tight dessert ship with a couple of classics on offer. The chocolate and coconut panna cotta with pandan pearls ($14) is a smart looking affair - a little glass full of striped panna cotta, like a barber shop pole. A scoop of coconut ice cream on the side elicits happy sounds from our friends as they dip in - the flavour of the coconut coming through whilst remaining delicate and creamy. A little pile of pandan pearls makes a bright green swirl across the top of the panna cotta but doesn't come through strongly enough.

A zabaglione with summer fruits is an incongruous choice for a winter dessert but let's take a chance. The thick, creamy trifle doesn't disappoint and is lifted by a tiny sprinkle of cumin and fennel seeds and a few crystals of sea salt. Are we greedy? Yes, but it's so tempting to finish with something sweet, to stay a while and chat. There's that discreet service again - no one interrupts, glasses are refilled, and it's all very easy and gracious.