Good things come in small packages, especially this little place on Flinders Lane, in the Melbourne CBD.

It's was a match made in heaven, and for a couple of years my Saturdays consisted of having brunch at Tonkatsu Joshu on the corner of Flinders Lane and Degraves St, crossing the street to have a poke around in Missing Link and then walking down to Degraves Espresso for a coffee or two, and maybe a bit of a read.

I've been coming here since about 1995, and I've only tried a handful of dishes because they're all so good - I'm talking about the pork - "katsu" - dishes like katsu don, or the nice and filling katsu curry, which is probably my favourite comfort food. And the yaki soba noodles are good when you're after something a bit smaller. Certainly Japanese food has been neatly stereotyped into being "california rolls and raw fish". And while I can cope with that stuff occasionally, there's nothing like my comfort dish and a fruitful visit to Missing Link across the road.