He's just turned 27 but chef Khanh Nguyen has been working towards a restaurant like Sunda for almost a decade.

"This is my dream come true," Nguyen says. "A refined restaurant with south-east Asian flavours, all these ideas I've been writing down for nine years. I'm nervous but so excited."

South-east Asia and Australia meld in dishes like marron with belacan (shrimp paste) butter, roti with garlicky Vegemite dipping curry, and Thai-style larb with kangaroo.

Nguyen plotted a deliberate path through Sydney's restaurants to realise his goal. He hit Luke Nguyen's Red Lantern to nail Vietnamese cuisine, Becasse for refinement, Mr Wong for powerhouse Asian flavours, NOMA Sydney to expand his knowledge of Australian ingredients (and to pick up leadership lessons along the way).

Finally, as a proxy finishing school, he polished up at Brent Savage's Bentley and Cirrus. Eating trips to Vietnam (30 days, 130 meals) and elsewhere in south-east Asia boosted the repertoire too.

Nguyen was brought to Melbourne by the Halim Group (Hotel Windsor) to open Sunda, just open (Monday, March 26) in suddenly hopping Punch Lane. The new building, tucked behind Longrain and next to the new Bar Saracen, is a two-level steel-and-glass structure seating 80 and designed by architect Kerstin Thompson.

Sunda will be open from April 3, Tue-Thu 6pm-late; Fri noon-late; Sat 5.30pm-late, 18 Punch Lane, Melbourne, 03 9654 8190.