SUPERNORMAL - Chef Andrew McConnell's new restaurant in Melbourne

180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne - ph (03) 9650 8688

Supernormal is Chef Andrew McConnell's newest Asian inspired restaurant.

Readers of this blog will know that we are fans of Andrew McConnell's food and have tried all his other restaurants Builder's Arms, Moon Under Water and Cutler and Co before. I love it that each of his restaurants offers a quite distinct dining experience, but they all share the same trendy-yet-relaxed vibe about them.

I like Supernormal's sleek, slightly quirky Japanese design and the open plan space. Supernormal is super trendy, yet you still feel like a guest coming for a special meal at someone's house.

We tried Supernormal's set menu in this visit. At $65 a head for 7 courses including dessert, I thought this was great value.

TUNA, AVOCADO, SALTBUSH & KOMBU

The yellowfin raw tuna belly with avocado and pickled cucumber was amazing and probably my favourite dish. It's a new addition to Supernormal's menu and has been featured as 'a must' by The Daily Telegraph.

WHITE CUT CHICKEN, SESAME, WOMBOK & CHILLI OIL SALAD    

Steamed chicken Asian slaw was another close favourite. Super soft chicken was well matched with crispy noodles and the peanut and chilli sauce.

PEANUT BUTTER PARFAIT, SALTED CARAMEL & SOFT CHOCOLATE

I had heard of - and seem the mouthwatering pictures - this peanut butter and chocolate parfait. YES - this tastes as good as it looks.

The caramel sauce was a bit too rich for me, but the parfait is perfectly smooth with a great combination of savoury flavour and texture from the peanuts and bittersweet yumminess from the soft chocolate.

The Supernormal team was very accommodating of our big family table with lil'kids and all. I love when a restaurant manages to be the new cool kid on the block without feeling pretentious.

One for my highly recommended list.