Supernormal Where to Eat in Melbourne is part of the TPOL Down Under Trip Report.
Melbourne is the capital of food. A worthy representative of this moniker is Supernormal which is located on the famous Flinders Lane (not to be confused with Flinders Street). The lane has all sorts of restaurants fro boutique to pop up. I chose Supernormal because it serves a medley of Japanese and Chinese food. Mind you, this wasn’t a wannabe trendy restaurant where a talent less chef who isn’t good at one type of food or another tries to bind mediocre dishes together. Fake foodies call this fusion. I call it fraud. Their website describes it perfectly, SUPERNORMAL IS AN INSPIRED INTERPRETATION OF OUR FAVOURITE ASIAN EATING EXPERIENCES. INFLUENCED BY THE CUISINE AND RESTAURANTS OF TOKYO, SHANGHAI, SEOUL AND HONG KONG, CLASSIC DISHES ARE REVISITED AND SOME NEW FAVOURITES BORN.
Supernormal has a set menu which I recommend as a starting point. It’s plenty of food but feel free too make a food additions on your own.
Wine
I started with Chenin Blanc, a light white wine from South Africa. This is a nice start to a long evening.
Kimchi
Ginger in Japan, Kimchi in Korea. I could eat both all day. Here, the Kimchee came in three varieties. All were cold and crisp.
Oysters
I’ve tried oysters throughout Australia. They were a flop in Darwin because I didn’t know ‘oysters Kirkpatrick’ meant oysters with bbq sauce and bacon(see The Road to Kakadu: Walking in Dundee’s Footsteps). They were not much better in on my way back from swimming with the crocs (see Litchfield National Park: Swimming with Crocs in the Wild). Here, they were more of the same, convincing me that perhaps I don’t like Pacific oysters.
Salmon Balls
Who doesn’t love salmon balls and seaweed?
Tuna Salad
It’s insulting to call this tuna salad. It’s fresh pieces of tuna and avocado. It’s something that I deserve to eat every day.
Random Salad
This was another another appetizer from the set menu. 
Lobster Rolls
These are the best lobster rolls I’ve had. I call them the Junior Whopper of the menu because I could have 100 of them. Because they were mouth watering culinary perfection, I had to order an additional one. You won’t find this on the dollar menu. They are $16AUD each. 
Steamed Buns
Those who have been to China, will appreciate when I say this app tasted like the smell of side street in Shanghai. ”Authentic” and “local” are terms that too many travelers through around to describe food. Those words are appropriate here.
White Fish
Continuing with the authenticity, the fish was another example. Simply perfect.
Red Wine
I saved Australian red wine for the main event. I ordered a pilot noir and it was not soft like most in its family. This one came out swinging.
Wagyu
I went from made in China to manufactured in Japan. When I was in Osaka, I visited Matsusakagyu Yakiniku, for some of the best beef in the world. This was not as delicious but damn good nonetheless.
Dumplings
I pushed it too far by ordering more food at this point. Everything was perfect or near perfect. Trying one more dish given how much I had consumed was a sure fire way to tarnish an impeccable scorecard. I also should’ve known based on the description of the dumplings that these were not going to be great dumplings. Authentic dumplings do not have chicken in them. Greedy, I ordered them anyway and found them to be predictably mediocre.
Dessert
I didn’t leave with a sour taste in my mouth. The dessert was pleasantly sweet, capping off a great evening.
Overall
There was nothing ‘supernormal’ about this feast.
TPOL’s TIPs:
- Supernormal is located at 180 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
- Bill: All in, it was 399AUD for two people.
