Aunglo

Moo kata (also “mu kratha”) is a Thai cooking method that combines hotpot and barbeque. It’s also the hero of Aunglo, a casual Thai restaurant hidden behind a laneway roller door in Melbourne’s CBD.

Aunglo serves a present-day version of moo kata, meshing Japanese, Chinese and Korean influences. Diners can choose their own adventure, with options between moo kata or hotpot on its own. The signature moo kata includes bone broth seasoned with lemongrass, ginger and chilli, which is placed over white charcoal and topped with pork fat. A quality selection of meats can be ordered to barbeque and cook in the broth, from A5 Miyazaki Wagyu to thinly sliced oxtongue and fatty pork belly.

For a snack, you might order calamari, fried chicken, enoki mushrooms and the owners’ favourite: grilled mackerel. And for dessert, try the fruity Korean bingsu in one of three flavours: watermelon (served in a hollowed-out watermelon), lychee rose and chilli-salt pineapple.

The garage-style decor nods to Japanese and Korean influences, through chochin lanterns to light the space and a collage of Thai children’s storybook pages, Korean manhwa and Japanese manga plastered on the walls.