PekoPeko. South Melbourne

In a drab strip of shops ducking for cover behind the St.Kilda Road Skyscrapers, is a small jewel. It's like diving into your ancient auntie’s jewellery box full of plastic tat and finding a proper gem. That's PekoPeko.

The menu has 74 items listed but ordering is straightforward. Most will choose either a Peko Box (Bento Box) $10.50, a Peko Plate (rice and topping) $8.90 - $11 or a Peko Noodle Bowl of noodle soup $9.50 and share an entrée $5.50-$8.40, between two people with all dishes arriving together. The drink list has a handful of Beers and wines, along with quirky Asian drinks like Calpis Soda and Green Tea Lattes.

It's a hot day in hell

Outside its 40 degrees centigrade and your body is sucked dry of all moisture. Parched, you lurch down Centre Place and scurry up a staircase in the lane beside a cafe - like a junkie looking for a quiet spot to shoot up.

At the top of the stairs is a bike and industrial clap trap. Up some more stairs is a door. Step inside and you are in an oasis with floor to ceiling windows that look down on the coulourful grind that is this wonderful part of the city, devoid of the beige vistas of mainstream Melbourne.

Modern interior, wood, wall paper, eclectic furniture and thank heavens, air con. Lots of beers available from the long bar. Cool vibes and something to refresh the soul, body and spirit.

Horoki

Nestled behind a vase featuring a hand drawn sheet itemising the daily specials, a small ghetto blaster evacuated my earwax with Tito Puente’s latin rhythms. Before me was a plate of garlicky peri-peri prawns with thick soft wholemeal bread, golfball sized potato and salmon croquettes, some sliced magret straddling aubergine and a dish of deep fried soft shell crab.

A plume of fire rose at the other end of the room – and over the top of the coffee machine I could just make out the chef at the stove. No, I am not in a tapas bar, but at The Age Cheap Eats Guide best restaurant Horoki, a favourite of we Stickyfingers.

The red bar stool I am perched upon resembles a rather large leather gear stick and driving the flames is Ken Higuchi, who I recall - in my days schmoozing clients - was the chef of Restaurant Suntory, a vastly different venue to this 30 seat laneway nook. Seated under lights shaded by enormous round shades, two thirds of the clientele here are Asian, of them the majority are Japanese.

We like the unpretentiousness of Horoki. We like the innovative fusion of Japanese technique with western recipes and the fast service, which makes it ideal for a pre-theatre or movie session. We like that the menu doesn’t change much either and that the food has always been consistent in its presentation...