cookie still serves

Cookie serves food til 11
Magical words to 5 hungry stomachs on a balmy Sunday evening.
Two cabs up Swanston street and soon we were climbing the stairs and wandering into the amber bathed interior of Cookie: Disco, Eating House, Beer Hall.
There was no time for dancing.
Warm, welcoming and wood panelled with enough brass to put a shine on any lager laced evening. There's as much for the eye to enjoy at Cookie as there is for the palate. Picture books stacked against the shelves, vintage record sleeves, bakelite crockery, gingham napkins and crochet all exist in surprising harmony. Take that, theme bars.
First things first, order something. Anything. Everything. We had the bible ­ the wine and beer list that would take an evening to read from cover to cover. It helps if you know what you want. Thirsty, hot, no time to ponder wine regionsŠthe suggestion of cider was spot on.
The food menu was not going to be easy to tackle. So many delicious things, with kitchen drawing on close, our waiter suggested some things to help get things going.
Drunken prawns and grilled Thai sausage. And with that he was off to retrieve the cider from some mysterious cellar.
Luckily the prawns arrived before we attempted to take bites out of the dark bentwood chairs. Fully shelled, doused in Mekong whisky, garlic and ginger.
The Thai sausage was juicy garlicky grilled pieces of deliciousness garnished with just enough fresh ginger and cucumber to cut through the richness.
Read the menu, in all its magical combinations of Thai flavours, and you'll be tempted to do what we did. Order a little from the little dishes, a medium amount from the medium dishes, and some coconut rice to give the flavours something to soak into.
And if that doesn't suit, they've helpfully added an Italian menu item at the end of each section for that one member of your group who just isn't in the mood for Thai and leaves you to duck out for a pizza.
That's Cookie all over. They've thought of everything.
One by one the dishes arrive. Betel leaf salad is a bowl of shredded chicken, smoked fish and roasted coconut which you wrap up yourself. And there are no beetles, much to the dissapointment of one of us who was not paying attention.
The baked pumpkin is mushy coconutty comfort food that makes you wish you had a Thai grandmother who made house calls.
The salmon, prawn and pomelo salad is fresh and zingy with the scent of lemongrass and ginger, perfect for a summer evening.
The Pipis baked in garlic, ginger and chilli are fantastic but a little low on the reward, but thatıs to be expected, Pipis being pipis and not giant oysters.
The two bowls of coconut rice were so attacked by five spoons an amount of it ended up as part table decoration. As main culprit, one member of the group was forced to concede if there was a book to be written 'How to Spill Rice on the Table' he would take that responsibility, such was his expertise that particular evening.
With sated bellies we relaxed into the banquette seats and sighed.
A Golden Book story about Huey Duey and Luey was handed over with the bill, and reading from it while you wait for your credit card receipt is an interesting way to end a perfect meal. And enough to send one full happy little Cookie to sleep on the bench.
Time to go. Cookie had met the challenge, before the eleventh hour. And passed with with flying colours.
(NB Appologies for the state of the table)