Just Open: Mekong, Chippendale

• Matt Moran buys Chippendale pub

Like the river it's named after, Chippendale's Mekong restaurant travels across many borders - it takes you through through the cuisines of Vietnam, Thailand, Lao and Myanmar. And in fact, the newest addition to the Kensington Street dining precinct even manages to cover multiple stopovers in one item - the squid ink dumplings ($12).

"They can show every country altogether in one dish," says chef Tiw Rakarin (Mamas Buoi, Sailor's Thai) of the region-highlighting entree. The prawn-crab stuffing and squid ink are inspired by Burmese and Thai culinary styles, while the broth - poured from a teapot - is Vietnamese. The fragrant base of star anise, cinnamon, chicken bones and onion is meant to evoke pho. "We cook it for six hours in the morning and serve it at night time."

Mekong is a step up (literally and figuratively) from the street-food feel of its downstairs sister eatery, Lower Mekong - the menu and the digs are a touch flashier (Giant Design has installed fishnet lights and bamboo stalks along the walls), but the menu is still accessible and doesn't require frequent bank-balance-checking.

Rakarin, who grew up in Thailand near the Lao and Burmese borders, offers a lighter take on Burmese pancakes ($12): his crisp riceflour shells are stuffed with a fresh jumble of tomato, chickpeas, snow pea and coconut strips; Vientiane wagyu showcases Lao barbecue-style beef salad, with an in-house tamarind sauce and roasted rice powder ($26); and there's also an Indochine share plate ($22) if you want a culinary express trip across the region. Cambodian curry ($23) with garlic-buttered banh mi also typifies his border-crossing menu.

The headlining dessert is the lychee and rosewater mousse ($12), which features mango and black pepper jelly, mango and rum puree, meringue and berries - definitely order it. It's like a distant relative of Black Star Pastry's signature strawberry and watermelon cake. And if you never know whether to get dessert or coffee, the Burmese-style coconut buns ($12) give you the best of both worlds - the buns are designed to be dipped in a Vietnamese condensed-milk-sweetened version of the brew.

Open Thurs-Sun noon-3pm; Mon-Sun dinner 6-10pm

Upper level, 14 Kensington Street, Chippendale, 02 9282 9079, instagram.com/mekongchippendale